The Kendrick Lamar Esp
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[00:00:00] All right, let's go. Welcome back to the Baseline and Boundaries, a Mindset Revolution. I am your host, Dr. Tamika Scott, and today we are talking about transformation, real quiet and un apologetic. So if you've ever experienced a change so profound that it shifts the way you see yourself and the world around you.
Then this episode is for you, so stay here. Stay tuned. We're gonna explore how transformation isn't always loud or visible at first, but when it happens, oh boy, it's powerful. I want us to go through looking at Kendrick Lamar's song that is trending like crazy, and I absolutely love it. The song they not like us.
And how it relates to [00:01:00] that inner transformation that only you can see until the world sees it. We about to blow up, so stay tuned. Let's get into it.
All right, Let me start by asking you this. Have you ever gone through a change so deep, so personal that if no one noticed it would be a shocker? Maybe you had some shifts in your thinking. Uh, change in your habits or a deeper understanding of who you really are. And yet no one said a word.
It's like change was happening, but no one outside of you could really see it yet. See, that's the power of transformation. It often starts with the quietest places of all. Inside of you. It starts with the work no one else [00:02:00] gets to see. That's where the real power lies. When you transform from within, there's a shift that happens.
It's intentional first, then externally, everyone sees it. Which brings us to the point of Kendrick Lamar song, they not like us. It's a perfect metaphor for this. Seeing the song Kendrick talks about being different. Definitely different. About not fitting into the norms and the expectations of others. I mean, he speaks to the transformation that is rooted so deeply in our identity.
The kind of doesn't require explanation. It doesn't require permission. He says they not like us because the people who are transforming don't need anyone to understand their journey. Or to validate their path. Okay. And it's that [00:03:00] energy that I wanna talk about today. It's the energy of transformation that is, again, it's unapologetic, it's grounded, and it does not need to explain itself.
When you're truly transforming, you don't have to ask for permission. You don't need others to validate your progress. You just keep moving it forward.
So let's stop performing for acceptance. Okay. This is, I don't know, I just, I absolutely love that song and so many aspects of what, um. Kendrick is speaking to, speaks to many of our journeys, um, in particularly my journey. And it's just, it's, it's mind blowing, but it's amazingly put together. And so with that, let's talk about, um, one of the hardest parts of a transformation, and that is learning how to stop performing [00:04:00] for acceptance.
We've all been there. See? Me too. Feeling like we needed to prove ourself to others to fit in to others' expectations. To me, it's their standards, but here's the truth, this is what I've learned. When you transform, you no longer need to perform. I'll say that again. When you transform, you no longer need to perform.
You are not doing it for anyone else's approval. Here's what Kendrick tells us in his song. They are not like us. He don't say it like that. It's they not like us. They not like us. And truthfully, that's okay. The truth is we are going on our own transformation journey is going to make others uncomfortable and.
It's okay 'cause we've been uncomfortable for a very long time, and for some people it may even try to hold [00:05:00] you back because your growth is gonna challenge them. But the key is to embrace that discomfort and not to shrink back to make other people feel comfortable, especially when you have spent a bulk of your time in life being uncomfortable to ensure that other people are comfortable.
That in itself probably needs to be its own podcast. Episode back to the lecture at hand. Now, as leaders, especially, it is so easy to feel like we need to conform to play by the rules to perform on behalf of or for someone.
But what happens when you stop performing? And start leading from your true baseline. You see, I think you realize that you've been the one holding yourself back by trying to fit into spaces that weren't built for you. [00:06:00] You performing for folks who not even interested in your, your show per se.
Um, it is time to stop making your transformation a performance and start by letting it just be your reality because you are amazing and the right people will see your amazingness easily.
Now, let's understand that we don't need to perform anymore, and with that we're going to evolve. Evolve without apologizing 'cause growth. It is beautiful. So with that, let's talk about evolving unapologetically. I think we've all been there, right? Where we've had to justify our growth or apologize for the space we're taking up, or even shrinking down to make others more comfortable with our success.
See, I remember when I first got my degree and. I, in [00:07:00] many spaces was like, yeah, I'm Dr. Scott, but in a lot of spaces at work, sometimes with family, I was like, uh, no, just, just call me Tamika. Don't, don't, you know, don't bring out, don't talk about Dr. Scott. And it wasn't until I had a, um, a colleague share with me, like, you, not everyone gets this degree.
A doctorate period. Um, and the way that you achieved it with a full-time job, a whole family, and the amount of time that you did like rise up SISs, like that's literally what, what, what you shared with me. Um, own it, take responsibility for it. You are amazing. And so. Don't apologize because you've evolved and stand, you know, 10 toes down with knowing that you are Dr.
Scott. And that meant a lot to me. But it also reminded me of how in so [00:08:00] many times when we are in our growth season, we downplay that growth. But let me be clear, you don't need to apologize for your evolution. You don't need to shrink. Your greatness for anyone else. Don't dim your light because the people think it's too bright.
When Kendrick Lamar says, they're not like us. They not like us. Let me actually sing it. He like so many of us who sing that song, who make that statement, we declare and we're decreeing. We are celebrating the facts that we don't need to fit in. Into anyone else's mode. We don't have to meet the status quo.
We don't have to meet what folks have identified as corporate standards. Um. The white gaze that is presented for many of us or what is deemed professional or what's deemed unprofessional or what is deemed, [00:09:00] um, good and what is deemed evil and all of the things that come with that. We don't need to shrink our greatness and if you don't get it, tough cookies for you.
I mean, I hope one day you do. And so like his song says, it's important that we embrace, that we've transformed, and it's who we are. It's who we are in this moment, and that is the essence of any true leader, any true person who is authentically growing into the best version of them. Being able to show up as your most authentic, unapologetic self is so freeing.
It is understanding that your transformation is , is a process. And sometimes that process is messy, and that too is also okay. And I believe that the world is waiting for leaders like you who show up as their true selves [00:10:00] without fear, without apologizing.
So if you feel like you're not showing up as that, it's okay. There's always opportunities for growth. There's always a bus or a train that's coming your way to get to your greater self. , So I want you to ask yourself this question. What would happen if you stopped shrinking to make others feel comfortable?
What if you embraced your transformation and let your power speak for itself? Because they are not like us, should they be.
Finally, I wanna talk a little bit about confidence. The confidence that comes from, from knowing who you are. See, when you're going through a transformation, you begin to trust yourself a hell of a lot more. You trust your decisions. You trust your inner and outer voice. You trust your ability to create change you wanna see in your life, and you also trust that [00:11:00] if you do mess up along the way, that you have the skills and the ability to get yourself back and a good position.
See, the power of transformation isn't just about changing external things. It's about how you show up for yourself and the trust that you have for yourself in the process. , See Kendrick's, they not like us. Also talks about confidence that comes with owning our journey. He's not waiting for anyone else to tell him that he made it.
He's owning it all by himself. And that's the kind of confidence that I'm talking about here. When you transform, you build new levels of self-trust, and that trust doesn't need to be loud or boastful or seen at all times. It speaks for itself. So how do you build that kind of confidence? Well, it starts with being true.[00:12:00]
It starts with standing firm in your identity and not needing anyone else's approval to feel worthy of your transformation because all of the posting on social media, the likes and the clicks, and you telling me that you're doing all of the things and at every conversation that we have is loud, but you standing in your truth, owning who you are and your amazingness.
And sometimes quietly leading out all of the wonderful things that you're doing, amplifies self-trust and the confirmation that you are uniquely made to do what you are uniquely doing. And no one else can do it the way that you can do it because they not like us. So as you reflect on this episode, and I hope you take a moment and listen to Kendrick DeMars, they not like us, I want you to think about the transformation that's happening inside of you.[00:13:00]
It might not be visible to everyone else, and at some point it shouldn't be. And that's okay. What matters is that you're owning it, you're embracing it, and you're letting it guide you to the places of greatness that are all yours to own. That power of transformation, my friend, it's real. Again, it's quiet at first, but once it shows up, it is undeniable again.
Think about the song. They not like us. Say they not like us. It builds up quietly. And then the next thing you know, you're screaming they not like us. Right? Like that's literally what happens during the song. I feel like I, and so when your transformation shows up for you and others see it undeniably, don't explain it.
Because you don't have to explain it to anyone. [00:14:00] Know that it will speak for itself. As always, I'm so grateful to have you here with me on this journey. I've transformed. You're transforming, and I'll be transforming again. But in the meantime, I want you to remember that you don't have to perform for anyone else's approval.
You are an audience of one. So keep evolving, keep transforming, and leading unapologetically with your confidence. And to the next episode. If nothing else, remember we see things differently so that we can do things differently. Until next time, friends.