Aspire: Noah Callahan-Bever Of Complex

Like I Said I'm Not Tryna Be Jay-Z, I'm Tryna Be The Person Responsible For Jay-Z's Success...There A lot Of People In The Background That Pull The Strings That Most People Don't Get To See. These Are The People I Respect And Look Up 2! I Want My Aspire Post To Inspire People To Look Past The Artist And Entertainer And See There's A Whole World Beyond Tryna Be A Entertainer. (Now That I Said That Lol) Lets Get Down To Business...

 

This Guy Pulls The Strings At Complex Magazine. He's Probably Responsible For Your Favorite Urban Trends Right Now. I Been A Fan Of Complex For A While Now....And If He Ever Reads This I Could Be A Valuable Asset To The Complex Team!!! Lol This Guy Is The Definition Of Grinding To Fulfill Your Dreams And Hopefully One Day I'll Be Doing The Same! 

I Always Wanted To A Guide To Success And This Makes No Sense But I Get It! Lmfao Especially When He Says Show Love To The Next Generation...I Just Started Following You On Twitter! So Here The Guide From The Man Himself! Enjoy Get Inspired! This Shit Is Dope!!!


A bunch of crazy funny shit–and some painful fuck ups, too–got nestled in the cracks between the above highlights, but those are stories for another day. Without further ado, here’s 20 pretty important things I learned, usually the hard way due to my own trespasses, along the road to the riches:

20) People love lists. They’re the simplest and most immediate way to organize information and there’s nothing people enjoy more than having their tastes confirmed, disputed, and broadened.
19) You should consider everything you create to be an argument to the world as to why the people they consider ‘your peers’ are not really your peers. Don’t just accept the comparison.

18) A really good Q&A can deliver as much analysis as a well-written narrative feature—but about 10 times more people will read it.

17) If you agree to interview a rapper, you’re also agreeing to accept the possibility that, due to the circumstances of said interview and the ensuing reaction it evokes, you may never want to listen that rapper’s music again. I’ve never covered Q-Tip. He may be a nice guy and it could go great, but I have certain sentimental attachments to the music of ATCQ that I’m not willing to forsake.

16) Apprenticeship has been the key to whatever level of success I’ve achieved.

15) You can’t stand on the shoulders of those who came before you if you tear them down on your way to the top. Be gracious.

14) Honor your commitments to the people that put you on, even if it postpones new opportunities momentarily. You wouldn’t even be entertaining the opportunity if it wasn’t for those that put you in that position in the first place.

13) You’re only privy to 40% of your boss’s job, so keep that in mind when you Monday morning quarterback his or her decisions. It’s never as easy as you think, and you’ll only ever know the breadth and depth of the pressure until you have to do it yourself.

12) Compensation follows success; which follows excelling at what you do; which follows doing what you enjoy; which follows doing what you have a natural talent for.

11) There’s always a vocal minority that thinks you suck. One of them is probably going to comment on this 
post. Somehow I’ll soldier on.

10) Invest time mentoring the next generation. If you do a good job, one day they may cut you a check. Or at the very least, in the shortterm, they’ll explain the Internet to you (Lookin’ at you @bfred and @jlapuma).

9) If you surround yourself with the smartest people you can find, people will think you’re a lot smarter than you are. Only insecure people think this works the other way.

8) Don’t hoard the credit, there’s always enough to go around.

7) I get a lot of compliments on certain stories I’ve written, and that’s cool, but honestly, if you can’t get a good interview out of 50 Cent or Kanye West it’s time to assess your career ambitions.

6) People who are friends with everyone say the same nice things to the people whose work you don’t respect.

5) The internet is far more permanent than print. And anyone with a writer’s ego should appreciate that.

4) If you’re gonna shit on someone’s rhyme, you should try, at least once, to sit down and write a 16. It’s hard. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinion as a listener and consumer, but a little respect for the difficulty of the process may inform how you express your dissatisfaction.

3) Generally speaking, those who are the most critical of you are your biggest fans. Just ask my mom.

2) When I was 12 my dad told me that I’d enjoy life a lot more if I acquired a taste for inexpensive coffee, wine, whiskey, and women. I didn’t listen to him, but that doesn’t mean he was wrong.

1) When you’re on a packed flight, never change your seat at the gate. The dude in front of me has been growing yeast in socks. At least that’s what it smells like.