Students who are part o the Detroit Public School Community District got the morning off from assignments and exams - instead, they were privileged to have the opportunity to glean some advice, about learning both in the classroom and in life, from iconic rap personality Big Sean.
Taking place at the Gem Theatre in Detroit, hundreds of students gathered to hear Sean and billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert chat at an event titled “Mogul-2-Mogul,” which was part of the Sean Anderson Foundation Mogul Prep program. According to The Detroit News, the program was founded by Big Sean and his mother, Myra Anderson, striving to make the inroads into the entertainment industry easier for youngsters who are in the public school system.
One of the themes of the discussion was all about turning the L's of your life into lessons that will make stronger. “All the times you worked hard to have good grades, and all the times you failed a class, and had to come back and really boss yourself up and get it right, that’s what it’s all about,” stated Big Sean. “It’s not looking at a loss as like a loss. It’s looking at it as like a lesson.”
Both Big Sean and Gilbert then shared some tales of how they too started at the bottom in terms of having glamorous jobs. In the room full of eager student ears, Sean discussed how he worked summers and after school as a telemarketer. His specific job? Selling prosthetic limbs. “I used to get hung up on all the time,” he said, chuckling at the memory. “I got death threats.”
The larger point was simple: put your mind to it, don't let up in your energy and determination, and you can achieve whatever you want to in life. “Anybody can do anything,” Gilbert said. “You’ll find your way as long as you’re willing to fail.” Big Sean added to this, saying “I used to think, ‘Man when we get to Joe Louis Arena or when we get to the Palace or when we do this or we do that.’ I already knew it was going to happen, I just didn’t know how,” Big Sean, referencing his passion for becoming a rapper. “When you have unbreakable faith ... I think that’s the quickest way to get to where you got to go in life.”