Words of Wisdom, a recently published book from Rev Run of Run DMC, is part Stuart Smalley, part Russell Simmons; sort of a pocket-sized, bathroom-reading, Christian alternative to Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power, a book that made rounds in hip hop circles a few years ago.
I was reluctant to pick the book up because I prefer to think of Run as he used to be: an MC for one of the most influential and popular New York hip hop acts of the 80s. It’s Run, after all, who convinced me that I needed to wear white hi-top sneakers with bright, fat laces to my middle school every day. Today, it’s safe to say he’s convincing folks to do a lot more than just wear cool kicks:
Run is a reverend, a family man with his own TV show and co-author of a book on family values. You can sign up to receive daily affirmations on his MySpace page.
In an era when hip hop artists are increasingly becoming multimedia, “360 model” businessmen and entrepreneurs, Rev Run’s Words of Wisdom is nothing new, nor is it particularly sexy or amazing. But the fact that Run has personally texted his affirmations to the Williams sisters, Diddy, and Donald Trump, and the 30 million-plus viewers of his show has heard them, it seems worth taking a look at, right?
Here’s a few:
Any idiot can face a crisis. It’s day to day living that wears you out.
If you don’t give yourself a quick kick in the butt, someone else will.
The acronym for fear is: False Evidence Appearing Real.
Get your shine on! When you shine, you light everyone’s path.
Your family should be run like a business…with weekly family meetings.
Are things being held up in your life?…Take a spiritual colonic and let life begin to flow for you.
Spoken like a true hip hop reverend. If the daily affirmations aren’t doing it for you, Run still performs, even if it is with Kid Rock. And, although he’d never condone living in the past, we can always revisit Run’s former self.
