Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins Interview: Turning Adversity into Your Advantage

Just a little bit of pain for a whole lot of freedom. You know, it's like you might feel that burn, but once you get on the other side and then it begins to heal, you come out much more stronger. And if you don't face your fears, they control you. They control you. They dictate, you know, whether you're successful, whether you're happy, whether you're healthy, you know, and you have to push through them. That's the whole thing.

Today we're joined by best selling hip hop artist Jeezy. And as he shares how adversity can be an advantage and how believing in yourself is the key to success. This is the launch your business podcast because we know starting a business is challenging, but it doesn't have to be confusing. Each week we'll give you the tactical advice and the necessary tools to scale your business without feeling burnt out. I'm Terry Rice, business development consultant and staff writer here at Entrepreneur magazine. Let's dive in. All right, this is going to be embarrassing, but when I first moved to New York City, my credit score was a 450. And as you can imagine, that made it relatively hard to find an apartment. Most realtors would not even let me see a place. And if they did, they wanted several months of rent in advance before allowing me to move in. As you can imagine, if I could afford several months of rent, my credit score wouldn't be a 450. So how did I finally get an apartment? It was because of my sweatshirt. It had University at Buffalo printed on it. And while I was looking at yet another apartment, the building manager asked me if I went to college there. I said yes. He then asked me if I knew a woman named Rebecca Greenberg. I said, yeah, I know Becky. She got married to some dude a few years ago. Turns out that dude was the guy showing me the apartment. And even though my credit was horrible, Becky vouched for me and my character, and I was able to secure the apartment. And look, I wouldn't say it was the best apartment in the world, but with a 450 credit score, you can't be too picky. I was in a safe neighborhood and the rent was affordable. My only complaint? Roaches. They were freaking huge. About an inch long. And I swear I saw one flying one day. I'd almost dread turning the lights on because I knew I was almost guaranteed to see one. I also avoided having guests over because of the sheer embarrassment. So how did I keep my spirits up? The answer? Thug motivation 101. That was the first track off Atlanta rapper Jeezy's debut album. And although we had very different lifestyles, I instantly felt connected after hearing the first verse. And look, I can't rap, so I'll just say it in a somewhat rhythmic way.

Here we go.

I used to hit the kitchen lights. Cockroaches everywhere. Now I hit the kitchen lights. It's marble floors everywhere. Quick heads up. I will never rap on this podcast again, so there is no need to submit that request. Let's move on. Like I said, I felt connected because I was going through the same experience and had similar aspirations. And his encouragement led me to feel that one day I'd have a home which did not feature uninvited roaches either. I just had to believe that same mindset will work for you as well. And that's why I'm so glad to be chatting with Jeezy today. Born J. Wayne Jenkins, Jeezy's first album with a major label hit number two on the Billboard 250 and was platinum certified. He's since gone on to sell over 6 million albums. But as you'll learn during our interview, things did not magically transform once he achieved success. In fact, some of his behaviors put him at risk for losing it all. Fortunately, he was able to turn things around, and he shares those lessons learned in his new book, Adversity for Gotta Believe, which recently became a New York Times bestseller. Today, we'll chat about why pushing through adversity always leads to more freedom, the way forward from rock bottom, even if you don't have any support, and how improving his personal life improved his business and how you can do the same.

What's going on, my brother?

I'm good. You know, it's funny, before we chatted, I want to bring up the fact that when I first moved to New York City, I was struggling, and literally, when I hit the kitchen lights, there were cockroaches everywhere. So listening to you in the background saying, you gotta believe helped. But then I realized you also had that in your book. So I'm like, great. Now I don't feel special for knowing that, but. But thank you very much. I appreciate that.

We thank you. Having me, my guy, you know, that's the story of my life, baby.

Yeah, well, I'm. I'm still waiting on the marble floors, but at least there's no roaches.

It's coming. It's coming soon.

Appreciate it. Appreciate that. So. So let's chat about you and about your book, Adversity for sale. Do you mind just sharing what Made you want to write the book in the first place. And even starting off with the. The subject or, sorry, the title. Where'd you go with that title?

So I go backwards for the title was. I don't know. I just woke up one day and I was just like, wow. Like, this is it. Because I knew for me, when I started to understand what adversity was, it was a game changer. Meaning that, you know, I thought life was just hard, right? And that's just how it works, especially coming from where we came from. But I started to learn. I started to learn along the way. Like, hold up, like, when I got to that situation again, I was smarter, right? I was more resilient. I started to understand, like, there's a lot of data in this. You know what I'm saying? It's like data and how I'm losing, right? And it's almost like when you say wisdom, knowledge, you know, it's the difference between the two. I started to really understand, like, I started to gain a lot of wisdom, right? And I'm like, hold on. There's something about why I'm losing. And when I really start to break down adversity, I started to understand, like, this is a thing and this is how. This is how skilled sailors are built, right on rough seas. And I wanted to lean into that because I didn't want to tell people how successful I am. I don't want to tell you that I'm successful and I'm living this life, and that's just the way it is. I'm telling you that I've failed my way into that. So adversity for sale for me was like, let me, let me frame it in a way that you understand that I lost way more than I won. And I'm going to give you that blueprint because that's the one you're really going to need.

Actually, let's take a step back. Help me out with this. Some people just struggle with adversity. They run from it. So what would you say to any of our listeners who are going through some adversity and they're just like, not willing to face it, or they don't even want to put themselves in a situation to challenge themselves, whether experience adversity. What would you say to them to help them just. Just push through that, that challenge they're having?

I mean, just a little bit of pain for. For a whole lot of freedom. You know, it's like you might feel that burn, but once you get on the other side and then it Begins to heal you, you come out much more stronger. And if you don't face your fears, they control you. They control you. They, they dictate, you know, whether you're successful, whether you're happy, whether you're healthy, you know, and, and you have to push through them. That's the whole thing. It's like they're gonna teach you something. But if you don't face them, it's like, you know, it's like that boogeyman under your bed. You never wouldn't just go look and see if it's really in there or in the closet. Just, you know, you got, you got to face them, you know, you got to face them, you know, face on. And, and, and I tell people, like, if you ain't never faced the devil, that means you guys are walking in the same direction. You never came face to face with them. You know what I'm saying? Like that, that's, that's, that's the part of life that we all have to get stronger at, because there's gonna be that even when you're successful, there's a lot more adversity, right? It's bigger things at stake. It's more people's lives that you're making decisions that affect. So you have to go through that, you know, and build that muscle so you can be strong and you can stand tall. And even if you make the wrong decision and you feel that pain again, you know that once you go back at it again and walk through this adversity, on the other side of that pain, there'll be freedom.

Let's keep on talking about your book here, because you had these four pillars of success essentially, and I'll read them off. Have a crystal clear plan. Be disciplined, sacrifice. And you got to believe. I think people might be, you know, they have an understanding of the crystal care plan and the discipline. I think the sacrifice part is tough, right? Because whenever someone wants to go through a big change, like, oh, I want to do this, I want to do that, great, you're still only 24 hours in a day, so what are you going to take away? And I think that's where they get stuck. Can you give people some guidance on how they can realize the value from sacrificing and how maybe it's helped you in your career as well?

Well, you gotta think long term. If you're not willing to do the things that are gonna give you a healthier, happier, longer life, then you're not, you know, what is it that you're doing? Right? Because if you're not, you know, working on healing yourself. Right. Working on your physical health. Right. Working on your mental health. Right. Working on your finances, if you're not willing to take a sacrifice for those things, you're not going to achieve what you're trying to achieve anyway. So that means that your vices and all these things control you. You don't control them. So discipline is the biggest key that I ever had when I was coming up, because that's the reason why I didn't become a drug addict like a lot of my friends at the time. That's the reason why, you know, resort to alcoholism like a lot of my family at the time. That's the reason why I didn't, you know, get caught up in my vices as far as women at the time. And I was able to focus on getting out of my situation because I was willing to do something that people don't do today to make sure that my future is better. So when my friends were buying Ferraris and I was saving all my money, that was discipline. When I was taking money and putting my money into my music career, that was discipline. It was a million things I could have bought. But I'm like, I'm staying focused on this because if I do this right, I have my freedom at the end of it. So now, on the back, when you see me living my life, you have to know I made a lot of sacrifices there, and there was a lot of temptation that I could have went for. But my discipline kept me strong. And even now, to this day, my discipline keeps me active. It keeps me focused, it keeps me hunger. Hunger having hunger for. For knowledge and continuing to grow and continue to evolve, because it's the discipline I know if I don't have that, I don't have anything.

Your point about discipline, I'm big on, too, because I believe that discipline is destiny, right? So the habits you have around your life right now, that's just. That's foreshadowing your future. And if you want to change your future, change your habits, and there you go.

So bad habits equal bad life. Good habits equal great life. That's how it works, you know, and that's it. Success is habits. You got a bunch of great habits. You're gonna have some. Some type of success at the end of that. Like, it's not gonna go backwards. But if you got bad habits, you already know.

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And you mentioned earlier hitting rock bottom. As much as you feel comfortable, can you just explain what that was like and how you pulled yourself out? I mean, almost like whispering to yourself, you gotta believe. How did you believe there was a better way coming forward?

Rock bottom would be, you know, paranoid, out of my mind, drinking more than I ever drink in my life. The worst health I ever been in my life. My diet was crystal in the Waffle House. I was just low, depressed, not knowing that I was depressed. Unhappy, very unhappy. Trust issues, the trauma, everything. And I just remember being at my lowest point and I just remember there's a restaurant I used to go to that I used to hang out in. And I just remember being in the parking lot, sitting in the car one day and just being like, man, I just gotta get my life together, man. I just wasn't happy. Like there's nowhere I could go, nowhere I can be, no one I can be around that gave me any type of hope, right? Seemed like the walls was closing in. And I just remember praying and just praying and praying and praying and just telling God if he could just get me out of this place, that I could and would do better for myself. And what it really was, was it just all caught up with me, my past, you know, everything that I've been through, the pressures of what I was trying to do, which was music at the time, and get out of the streets, you know, you seeing your, your peers going to prison and getting real time, you know, just all the bad stuff you had done and you, like, it's karma and all these things and, and you Own a hope and a prayer and the thing that really dawned on me, here I am, you know, I'm. I'm. I. Thug motivation is out. I'm almost hit, you know, 1.5 million records, and I'm at the lowest point of my life, right? I should be happy. I should be a superstar. I should be all these things, but it's not happening. And it just really opened my eyes that I needed to do some work. Like, I needed to work on myself. I needed to fix things. I needed to. To pay attention to what my heart was telling. I needed to find a purpose. Basically, I was lost. And I just felt. I felt like that wasn't who my grandmother raised me to be. I feel like that ain't what I was born to do. And I felt like there was a bigger calling, and that was. Was those voices and. And those signs telling me, like, you know, just. Just work on yourself, right? But at the same time, keep your faith and keep your. Just dig yourself out of this hole. And it took a. It took a while. Like, it took a while. It took a while. And it would be times when I would get out and I would feel good, and then I would relapse. Something would happen, and that's that adversity. Again, something happened, and I'm just like, you know. And then you get to the point, you know, like. Like I said, like, you don't want to ask why? Why? You know, you got to keep pushing. And that's what I kept telling myself, man. Like, if you don't believe, nobody's gonna believe for you. And I just was like, I know my life should be better. I know I could be a better leader. I know I could be a better father. I know I could be a better brother. And I just kept going at that. And, you know, it was a lot of things that I had to face, you know, that I had to really, like, face that. That. That I had to understand that what used to serve me before didn't serve me now. And I just proceeded to walk and proceeded to walk and proceeded to walk, and it took some time, and just. Things just started happening, and I started to get more control over myself, you know what I'm saying? More control over my drinking, more control of my partying and my vices and started to work out, take care of myself, and I started to get mentors, and I started to, like, substitute all the dumb shit I was doing for, like, things that I really wanted in my life, like, sitting there having conversations with people and, like, starting to get Quality people around me and. And not people around me that. That didn't want the best for me, you know what I'm saying? Or that I could trust. And it took years and years and years. And when you see me like this right now, that's why I really wanted to share my. My, My. My. My story and my message. Because you can be all the way at the bottom of that barrel, man, but it's still a top, you know? It's still a way out, you know? But you gotta believe, though, because I'm telling you all the bottom of my barrel. I'm saying I'm bottom, my barrel, you know? And just think, if I didn't, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. How crazy is that?

Yeah, it's. No, it's. It's crazy because, like, I feel that in your music. Like, I was sitting in my car. My buddy John Galvin, he had this like. Like a green Mazda. We would just sit in his car listening to your music, like drinking 22s. Couldn't even afford 40s. We're drinking 22s slowly. Like these Old Englishes and listen to your music. And, like, now I get why it felt so impactful. Was real stuff. So welcome Back was.

That wasn't on the first album.

That was on the second album.

Right, because that feels like it was on a recession. It was on the third album because.

That feels like, all right, like, now I'm on top of my game. Like, I controlled my vices. Like, you just seemed like you were hitting it.

No, no, you're absolutely right, because it went Trap or Die. When Streets is watching. Trap or Die. Thug Motivation, which was the first album and the inspiration. So all that time, that's when I was going through everything I was going through Session was what welcome Back was on. And that's the first album that I recorded that I was. I was reading, I was journaling, I was working out. I was. I was fit. I was like. I was focused. I was clear. I was like, everything was there. Everything. Like, I went and read, I was studying. I was. Everything that I could do because I just. I just got fascinated by what was going on in the world. And I was out to dinner with these guys, but they were all concerned about this recession thing. And I'm just like, what the hell is a recession? So I Googled it and I'm like, whoa. You know what I mean? So I started asking questions and I'm like, how does this affect everybody? And it was telling me, and I was like, oh, like Where I'm from, they call this a drought, right? But it's not on money. It's something else. So I'm like, oh, man. So now I want to put it back in the music because now instead of just telling people what's going on in the hood, I'm understanding what's going on in the world. So you're absolutely right. Recession was the first time in my whole career that I felt like a superstar. It was the first time that I got up every day and I felt like I was on top of the world. And it was the first time that when I walked outside, I can feel the impact that that record had in a, in a, in a major way. Like, it was like, it was like, you know, you had my president as black. You know this before he won, you had put on, you got welcome back. And sonically, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with that project. Like, I like going into it when I was recording those records, I was intentional about everyone.

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E R R.com I wish you were there on election night here in New York City when Obama got elected. Because first I was at the 4040 Club and they're just bumping my president back to back. And then I went to Times Square and they were playing it there too. So your music was like just reverberating through Times Square on his first election night. So, yeah, it was like I hopped.

In my Lamborghini, the blue Lamborghini, and was driving down Peachtree Road through Buckhead, Atlanta with the doors up playing My President's back. Everybody's running up to the car.

We did.

Just like, yeah, we did. But in my mind I'm like, because you gotta think that song came out maybe four months before he won.

Yeah, because I remember you set the date. You're like, it's June 2nd. You know, whatever like, whatever day it was, I remember everything. Like, I'm not just a casual fan. You can probably tell by now. But. But, yeah, no, you're right. Yeah.

Yeah. So. But the whole thing was everybody's like, yo, why would you put that on the album? He's not gonna win. I'm like, oh, of course he's with it.

Yeah. You said, we congratulate you already. I remember.

Right. Already. And I stood on that. And, you know, it also made you look like a prophet. But I knew my heart that he had to win. And there's a lot of stuff that we did in the city, and it's crazy, because I know he know that that helped as well. Right. And they invited me to a correspondence dinner shortly after that. And I arrived, and the Secret Service told me I couldn't come in. So I got turned around in New York, came back to Atlanta, was, like, disappointed, angry, all the things. And about six months later, I'm on maybe, like, no. Well, maybe like, two years later, I'm on tour in Europe, and my mom calls me and she goes, hey, baby, did you hear when the president shouted you out? I was like, he shot me out. He wouldn't even let me in the dinner. She's like, I'm telling you shouted out. I said, well, tell my sister to send the clip. And she sent the clip. And he said, my first term, I went with Al Green. My second term, I'm going with Young Jeezy. Oh, wow. Oh. But that let me know two things. One thing is he had ice in his veins because he saw me. But the second was, it let me know that my past, unlike a lot of people who do what I do, it was real. And it was real enough for him to know we couldn't stand in the same place while he was in office. You see what I'm saying? And I had to respect that because I got friends that I know, that I love. But while I'm doing this right now, we can't stand in the same place.

Yeah.

Right.

I got relatives like that. Right.

So shout out to Obama, because I respect that. You know what I mean? I respect that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, Jeezy, this has been amazing. This is actually a dream come true to me. So for me, so I appreciate it, but I do want to let you go. So just parting thoughts that you might want to share with our audience before we. Before we part ways here.

Wow, man. Just that it's never too late. It's never too late. It's never too late to change. It's never too. Let me say, let me rephrase that. It's never too late to evolve and you should start by giving yourself permission to and I hope that in every one of these pages and every one of these words there's something in this book that can help you. Like it helped me and that you know, when in doubt, you just gotta believe. You gotta believe.

And that's our show for today. You can learn more from Jeezy by following him on Instagram at Jeezy. That's Jeezy. And I highly suggest checking out his new book, Adversity for Sale. You Gotta Believe. Available wherever books are sold. Lastly, if you got value from this episode, help us spread the word by sharing on social and leaving a review. Thanks again for listening and I'll catch up with you next time. Apply what you've learned on today's show. You'll find the show notes and more resources at TerryRice co. Podcast. Again, that's Terryrice Co Podcast and the best way to support this podcast is by subscribing, telling a friend and leaving a review. Also, you can get more tips by following me on Instagram at it terry rice or follow me on LinkedIn. This episode was produced by Josh Wilcox of Brooklyn Podcasting Studio and edited by Dan Lardy. Special thanks to my wife, Dominique, for keeping our kids relatively quiet as I recorded. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you next time.