5 lessons from a music icon

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In Today’s Issue

Eminem is one of the greatest rappers and artists of his generation (and possibly any generation).

Today, we’re going to explore 5 lessons from him and how to apply them.

Like him or not, there’s a lot we can learn.

Let’s dive in.

5 lessons from a music icon

There’s a common perception of musical artists.

They live undisciplined and generally sinful lives.

Sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and that whole thing.

And for many, this is true.

But I’m fascinated by the opposite.

The artists who live and work like world-class athletes.

Marshall Mathers — aka Eminem — is one of those artists.

He’s not the rapper who spends all night in the studio, using substances to spark creativity.

He’s a machine.

Here are 5 lessons we can learn from him:

1. He treats rap like a 9-to-5

Eminem has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.

What has made him so prolific?

He treats rap like you and I treat our jobs.

• He “clocks in” every day at 9am

• He works until ~1pm, then takes lunch

• He comes back and works until 5pm

• He goes home for the night

• He does the same thing the next day

Akon tells a great story of working with Eminem in the studio.

Eminem was working on a verse when the clock hit 5pm.

Most artists would keep going while they’re “in the zone.”

Eminem stopped, satisfied with the day’s work.

“Aren’t you going to finish the verse?” Akon asked.

“No, I’ll pick it up in the morning,” Eminem responded.

Lesson: choices > feelings

Eminem doesn’t rely on how he feels to make music.

He chooses to do the things that will make him successful, every day.

For him, that’s being in the studio from 9am to 5pm. No more, no less.

2. He’s maniacal about details

Eminem is known for being obsessed with the details of his process.

• He writes lyrics

• He makes beats

• He’ll mix beats

• He’ll give extremely detailed notes

Once, he became so obsessed with fine-tuning sound effects on an album that Dr. Dre — producing the album — had to force him to quit.

He’s known to spend hours laboring over the rhythm of a track at a level that would be unidentifiable to most listeners.

To him, though?

Getting it right means everything.

It reminds me of Steve Jobs, who was known to obsess over the internal design of Apple’s products.

Nobody would see the inside of the product, but Jobs would know if the design was as good as it could be or not.

Lesson: details differentiate

There’s a reason most aren’t detail-obsessed to the level Eminem is.

It’s painstaking, it’s difficult, it takes time.

It also can be a detriment at some point.

But this is also true:

Details differentiate good from elite.

We all must choose how much pride we will take in the details of our work.

3. He’s a craftsman

If you’ve ever listened to Eminem, you know how incredible he is with language.

He’s a verbal poet, mixing words, rhymes and rhythms in unbelievable ways.

His ability to do this stems from his obsession with language.

Here’s Eminem describing it:

Lesson: fall in love with the craft

Everyone wants to be great.

Very few fall in love with their craft.

It’s a different type of passion and commitment.

What moves you so much that you’d obsessively jot notes on your hand?

What feels like an endless puzzle to you that you can’t stop assembling?

This is likely where your love of craft lies.

Look for these signals and exploit them.

4. He’s a humble competitor

Eminem is one of the greatest rappers of all time.

Anyone coming up behind him needs to aim for him.

And yet, his mindset is still one of a humble competitor.

20+ years into his career, he still respects the spirit of competition.

Here’s Eminem:

He wants to “keep up with the best” and HE IS THE BEST.

That’s the mindset of a humble competitor.

Lesson: you’re never too good to get better

There’s a famous saying credited to Albert Einstein:

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.”

No matter how good you are at what you do, there’s room to improve.

The all-time greats never lose this mentality.

5. Set your own standard

Eminem typically goes several years between albums.

Part of the reason for this is his standard.

He can always pump out new music, and it’ll undoubtedly sell.

But that’s not the game he’s playing.

Eminem doesn’t want to put out music just to put out music.

He wants each album to take him to a new level of his craft.

How many people think like that?

How many have THAT standard?

Incredibly few.

Lesson: play to your own standard

I’ve written before about the Inner Scorecard concept.

The premise is powerful and simple:

You define what “success” means to you and play to that scorecard, nobody else’s.

Defining what standards you live by is a major component of building your scorecard.

Summary

5 lessons we can learn from Eminem:

• Choices > feelings

• Details differentiate

• Fall in love with the craft

• Play to your own standard

• You’re never too good to get better

My call-to-action for you:

Reflect on how you can apply these principles in your work and life.

• How do you measure up against them now?

• Where can you improve?

• What’s the first step?

I hope these make you better.

Teddy’s Recommendations

I’m adding a new section to the newsletter each week where I’ll recommend something I’m currently getting value from. It could be a book, podcast, tool or anything else that’s helping me improve.

Today, I’d like to recommend the book “Peak Mind” by Amishi Jha.

Amishi is a professor at the University of Miami and an expert on attention.

Attention is our most valuable resource, and it’s under attack every day.

Amishi will unpack the science behind this in an approachable way and give you some tools to strengthen your mind. Wonderful read and applicable to everyone.

I’d love to hear from you

What’s one lesson from this issue that resonated with you most?

Reply to this email and let me know.

I personally read every email.

Thanks for reading.

See you next Sunday.