Jay-Z Quotes for Personal Growth
The Top 10 Jay-Z Quotes of All Time
“…How you get so fly? From not being afraid to fall out the sky…”
—from Beach Chair, Kingdom Come
Insight: The only way to overcome fear is to face it.
“…I’m not a businessman. I’m a business…maaaannn…”
—from Diamonds Are Forever Remix
Insight: Like businesses, individuals need visions, strategies, partnerships, positioning, constant evaluation and accountability, etc.
“…Remind yourself. Nobody built like you, you design yourself…”
—from A Dream, Blueprint 2
Insight: We are fully responsible for our being. We are co-creators (with God) of our lives and can be whoever we choose to be.
“…I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of not trying…”
—from Beach Chair, Kingdom Come
Insight: Failure is underrated. To not try is worse than failing.
“…I’m far from God, but I work god damn hard…”
—from Breath Easy, The Blueprint
Insight: To create like the Creator takes hard work.
“…I spring train in the winter, around early December…”
—from Breath Easy, The Blueprint
Insight: He who practices the most is most prepared to win.
“If I don’t show the world growth, how are we going to grow?
—December 2007 XXL Interview
Insight: Things that stagnate don’t last long.
“I love that because that’s what I’m supposed to be doing – whether it’s accepted b everybody or not. I’m supposed to be pushing that envelope and trying new things. And people are supposed to say, “Hov, you might have went too far”.
—December 2007 XXL Interview
Insight: If people aren’t looking at you funny, then you’re not pushing the envelope.
“I love what I’m doing. I love the artist I’m developing. I love the whole thing about it. Once again, I have to really look at it for the next three years and say, “Am I doing it for the right reasons?” ‘Cause all I want to do is make history at this point. They got to pay me to make history of course. But that’s my goal. I want to sit there with people really into making history. I mean everybody. I don’t mean just artists. The interns -if everybody’s not committed to making history every time I go into a meeting, and if I can’t look into their eyes and I don’t see the fire, then I gotta move on. ‘ Cause, you know, I don’t have time. I don’t have the luxury of time to just blow off three years. I do, but I don’t. But I’m not looking to have a job. That’s not hot!
—December 2007 XXL Interview
Insight: It’s about making history. Music is just to the tool.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with the aim, just gotta change the target.
—from American Dreamin’, American Gangsta
Insight: We are perfect as you are. Sometimes we just need to re-purpose ourselves in another market (i.e increasing the value of “junk” by re-purposing it as “antiques”)
“I’m a person that works off of music. I let the music dictate the direction.”
—HipHopDX Interview
Insight: Let the creative energy guide you. Don’t dictate too much.
If you know of other worthwhile Jay-Z quotes for personal growth, please comment below.
“Treat my first like my last and the last like my first and my thirst is the same as- when I came.”
—from My 1st Song, The Black Album
“I will not lose for even in defeat, there’s a valuable lesson learned so it evens up for me.”
—from Blueprint 2, The Blueprint 2
“what tomorrow has in store we could never be sure so all we can do is pray”
—from Pray, American Gangster
“I can’t base what I’m gon’ be off what everybody isn’t”
—from So Ambitious, Blueprint 3
“If ya’ll can’t already see i aint worried about ya’ll cos i’m already me”
—from Already Home, Blueprint 3
“I’m in the hall already, on the wall already
I’m a work of art, im a Warhol already
On another level, on another plane already
H-O-V i got my own lane already (already)”
—from Already Home, Blueprint 3
“i’m talking about progress i ain’t looking back,
you know i run track, try not to get lapped,
people talking about Hov left em flat,
trying to rewrite history lets talk about that”
—from What We Talkin’ About, Blueprint 3
Find more Jay-Z quotes at:
Jay-Z on Personal Success in Best Life Magazine
Comment
Anonymous
January 21, 2008 at 11:32 pm“difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week.” – Diamonds remix
Ananda
March 2, 2008 at 7:19 amHey, just wanted to point out a correction ….”how you get so fly? From not being afraid to fall out the sky”…. is from “Beach Chair” not “A Dream”…. and the quote you have up there…. “nobody built like you, you design yourself”… is from “A Dream” on Blueprint 2, not Beach Chair. You need to switch em up.
hazysin
March 15, 2008 at 9:23 amI WILL NOT LOSE….to me that is one of Jay-Z most inspirational quotes….it speaks for itself
hazysin
March 15, 2008 at 9:27 amoh i can’t forget:
i got demons in my past, so i got daughters on the way and if the prophecy is correct then the child shall had to pay for the sins of the father so i borrowed my tomorrows against my yesterdays
LyricalGuy
April 29, 2008 at 6:22 amAnd a drought can define a man when the well drys up you learn the worth of water without work you thirst til you die yep.
from December 4th “Black Album”
sam
April 29, 2008 at 9:26 pm“If you can’t respect that your whole perspective is whack, maybe you’ll love me when I fade to black…”
Anonymous
April 30, 2008 at 6:11 am“I want money like Cosby who wouldn’t”
from Dead Presidents,
Anonymous
May 29, 2008 at 4:50 pm… And my mind is moving just like them, the rims that is.
Moment of Clarity, Black Album
Anonymous
June 27, 2008 at 5:04 pm“I dont follow any guidelines, cause too many niggas ride mines, so i change styles every two rhymes… Ooooooooo.. thats twenty two too’s for ya’ll motha fuckas know what i mean?”
Anonymous
July 1, 2008 at 10:42 amI a am far being God, but I work God dam hard
Anonymous
July 11, 2008 at 12:38 pm“I’d rather die enormous than live dormant…”
from “Can I Live”, Reasonable Doubt
Anonymous
August 15, 2008 at 9:51 amgotta tell you niggas what time it is like movado, my motto stack rocks like colorado!
Simόn
August 19, 2008 at 1:14 pm“Nobody will fall, everyone will be each other’s crutches” –from Feelin’ It, Reasonable Doubt
Ronnie
October 14, 2008 at 8:42 amI get my “by any means” on whenever there’s a drought. Get your umbrellas out cuz that’s when I brainstorm
Anonymous
October 14, 2008 at 8:46 amI ain’t talkin to nobody in particular my flow is just vehicular homicide when I’m kickin up dust. Anyone in my path its a car crash waitin to happen, nigga what?
Anonymous
October 14, 2008 at 8:50 amIf ya’ll haven’t heard, I’m Michael, Magic and Bird all rolled in one, cuz none got more flows than Young, plus got more flows to come. And if I’m not better than BIG, I’m the closest one.
Anonymous
October 23, 2008 at 7:02 pm9 to 5 is how u survive. I aint trying to survive im tryna live it to the limit and love it a lot.
Anonymous
October 23, 2008 at 7:03 pm“Had to get off the boat so i can walk on water”
Yemu
November 6, 2008 at 12:20 pmIm not a busines man, am a BUSINESS!, man!, let me handle my business damn….
Shahab
November 10, 2008 at 11:24 amI Sell, Ice In Winter, Fire In Hell, Im A Hustler Baby, Il Sell Water To A Well
Samisab
November 12, 2008 at 3:23 pm“what tomorrow has in store we could never be sure so all we can do is pray”
Pray-Jay-Z
Anonymous
May 6, 2009 at 2:04 amMy moms crying cause her insides are dying
her son trying her patience, keep her heart racing
A million beats a minute, I know I push you to your limit
but it’s this game love, I’m caught up all in it
They make it so you can’t prevent it, never give it
you gotta take it, can’t fake it I keep it authentic
samora nkosinkulu
May 10, 2009 at 9:22 amDo you know why the call the”Projects” the projects?cause it’s project,an expirement and we’re in it only as objects.:do you wanna ride?-Kingdome come
samorankosinkulu
May 10, 2009 at 9:26 amin my former business,motherfuckers would spray ya… and in the music business mutherfuckes just say stuff
samora nkosinkulu
May 10, 2009 at 9:28 amthey used say rappin’ at 38 was ill,
last year alone I grossed 38 mil
samora nkosinkulu
May 10, 2009 at 9:31 ampolice in the background
screamin’ put that thing down
that was how hard I was tryin’ to my thing down
Anonymous
June 9, 2009 at 7:58 amHustle cane , hustle clothes, or hustle music, but hustle hard in any hustle that you pick. – no hook , american gangster
Anonymous
June 9, 2009 at 8:32 pmhalf a mill for bail cuz i'm African… All becuz dis fool was harassin em.. tryna play the boy like he Saccaharin!!
Sangoulé
June 10, 2009 at 5:59 am"on the rise to the top many drop, don't forget it in order to survive got to learn to live with regrets " regrets – reasonable doubt
Anonymous
June 23, 2009 at 10:14 pmMagazine says I'm shallow I'll never learn to swim. Still they puttin me on there cover cuz I earn for them. Soon as I sell too much watch em turn on him. . . Life and times of Sean Carter.
Sangoulé
June 25, 2009 at 8:12 am"somebody's pulling me close to the ground !! i ain't panicked , i was there before " intro – in my lifetime vol 1
Hawi
July 23, 2009 at 7:39 am“Far from a harvard student, just had the balls to do it.”
rashid jabar
October 13, 2009 at 4:34 am“hey look i heard alot of people say im the luckiest man
on planet,i like to think i stay ready.i wiseman once said
“lucky isnt some mystical energy that dances around the world
bestowing peole with satisfaction and joy,you create your own luck”
fade to black
Anonymous
October 25, 2009 at 10:49 pm…May the best of your todays, be the worst of your tomarrows…
Linday Bullock
November 3, 2009 at 12:23 pmYou can’t change a players game in the 9th ending.
Reasonable Doubt.Jay-Z
Rafael De La Ghetto
November 7, 2009 at 10:24 am“I was born to get cake, move on and switch states/ Cop the coupe with the roof gone and switch plates/ Was born to dictate never follow orders dickface get ya shit straight fucka this is Big Jay”
from U Dont Know – Blueprint
PCrudup
November 20, 2009 at 2:52 amI put my feet in the footprints left to me
Without saying a word
The ghetto’s got a mental telepathy
“Allure” on The Black Album
Edgar
November 27, 2009 at 1:06 pm9 to 5 is how you survive but I aint tryna survive, I’m trying live it to the limit and love it alive. . .
Nyce 1
December 5, 2009 at 11:03 pm“I track money, my worst color is light green…my favorite hue is Jay-Z Blue”- Dope Boys Go Crazy (remix)
Nyce 1
December 5, 2009 at 11:09 pmWe used to fight for building blocks
Now we fight for blocks with buildings that make a killing
The closest of friends when we first started
But grew apart as the money grew, and soon grew black-hearted
Thinking back when we first learned to use rubbers
He never learned so in turn I’m kidnapping his baby’s mother
My hand around her collar, feeding her cheese
She said the taste of dollars was shitty so I fed her fifties – D’Evils
Nyce 1
December 5, 2009 at 11:15 pm…a lot of speculation
on the monies I’ve made, honeys I’ve slayed
How is he for real? Is that nigga really paid?
Hustlers I’ve met or, dealt with direct
Is it true he slay the beef and slept with a tech?
What’s the position you hold? Can you really match
a triple platinum artist buck by buck by only a single goin gold?
Roc-A-Fella ship fold, and you’re left out in the cold
Is it back to charging motherfuckers 11 for an O
For the millionth time askin me
Questions like Wendy Williams, harrassin me
then get upset when I catch feelings- A Million and 1 Questions
KK
December 16, 2009 at 6:52 pmI move onward, the only direction.
Can’t be scared to fail, in the search of perfection.
On To The Next One, Blueprint 3
King Shearin
December 29, 2009 at 6:13 pmmy pops knew exactly wat he did when he made me, tryn get a nut and he got a nut and what..
King Shearin
December 29, 2009 at 6:16 pmi was conceiceved by gloria carter and anagnus reeves, who made love under a sycamore tree.. which makes me a more sicka mc my momma would claim at ten pounds when i was born i didnt give her no pain..
-dec. 4
King Shearin
December 29, 2009 at 6:18 pmour father i brooklyn dodge of them, i jack, i rob, i sin.. aww man im jackie robinson except when i run base i dodge the pin..
- we go hard
King Shearin
December 29, 2009 at 6:20 pmhov is back, life story told thru rap, niggas acting like i sold u crack.. like i told u to sell drugs, nah hov did that so hopefully u wont have to go thru that..
Liz
January 6, 2010 at 1:17 pmMy Hustle is so Russel
Big Tree
February 7, 2010 at 12:46 pmMan my brother hustled so, naturally
Up next is me, but what perplexes me
Shit I know how this movie ends, still I play
The starrin role in “Hovito’s Way”
Allure
Tripp
February 9, 2010 at 9:01 pmCan I Live???
stephanie
March 9, 2010 at 3:25 pmmama forgive me/ i should be thinking bout harvard/ but thats too far away /and niggas is starvin/ nothin wrong with the aim/ but we gotta change the target…im just american dreamin
Terra Noreiga
March 9, 2010 at 10:39 pmNice Website. You should think more about RSS Feeds as a traffic source. They bring me a nice bit of traffic.
Online Shopping
March 21, 2010 at 8:12 pmGreat articles & Nice a site….
Beeach chair
May 14, 2010 at 8:57 amno compuss comes with this life just eyes so to map it out you must look inside sure books can guide you but your heart defines you ……
anamaria
June 19, 2010 at 3:07 amI am glad this website exists. I am doing a commencement speech today and I wanted to provide my students with a relevant quote from someone impactful in their lives. Glad you’ve done this work to have these quotes here because I couldn’t find them anywhere else.
H8TERADE
July 14, 2010 at 11:37 pmYO YALL BE TRIPPIN TRYNA INFER WAT HOV SAID. ONLY HE NO DAT. NAM SAYIN??
Leanne
July 30, 2010 at 5:27 pm“Impossible is nothing to me. Difficult takes a day and impossible takes a week.” ~Jay-Z
HOVA BABY!!!
August 27, 2010 at 4:14 pm“LIFE IS FOR LIVING NOT LIVING UPTIGHT” Blueprint 3 Young Forever
Marcelle Hillsman
September 1, 2010 at 8:31 pmI had to read your post three times to get the full impact of it. I enjoy reading what you have to say. It’s too bad that more people do not comprehend the benefits of coaching. Keep up the good work.
Robert Newman
October 3, 2010 at 3:01 pm“Only GOD can judge me………Love me or leave me alone……”
Sky Mendes
October 9, 2010 at 5:02 am” I heard mothafuckers saying they made Hov. Made Hove say ‘Okay, so make another Hov.’”
Lost Ones, Kingdom Come.
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