Sekou Andrews

5-Minute Friday With Sekou Andrews

TSOG – Ep597 – The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes

Lewis Howes:              This is 5-Minute Friday!!

Sekou Andrews is an actor, a musician and a National Poetry Slam Champion, an entrepreneur, and now, award winning poetic voice. And on any given day you may find Sekou presenting an original talk for international marketing executives, giving a keynote speech at a leadership conference, or performing pieces for Obama or Oprah.

His work has been featured on ABC World News, MSNBC, HBO, Good Morning America, Showtime, MTV and BET, and he has performed privately for people like Maya Angelou, Larry King, Hillary Clinton and so much more.

Sekou Andrews:           This is a piece, I keep debating on which one to do. I think I’ll do this piece, Be Voiceful, which is, when I last saw you at the XM Events, that was the piece that I shared in it’s more extended twenty minute keynote form. And that’s actually a 45-60minute keynote that I do, all about finding your voice. The power of finding your voice. But it’s sort of based on this self-contained piece.

Lewis Howes:               Cool!

Sekou Andrews:

Be Voiceful. Alright.

It is, quite simply, a magical place

A universal womb that births each of our days

With an act shared across

This planet’s face.

From the moment the nylon curtain is raised

And you step, butt naked

Onto your porcelain stage

 

Your hot and cold background singers engage

You lift that soapy, loofah microphone to your face

And let your mighty bellow set this world ablaze

With “And I-I-I-I will always love yoooooooooou”

 

And every single human on the planet

Each shares a singular, universal truth

“I sound freakin’ amazing in here! Right?”

 

There is a science to why we all sound good in the shower

It’s in the echo

Something about the compact quarters

Of porcelain, metal and wood

That reverberate

 

Sound waves erupting from our throats

Transpose them into major chords

From minor notes

As if the walls themselves join in on your song

Like the bathroom just agrees with you

And sings along

“I sound freakin’ amazing in here, sound freakin’ amazing in here

Sound freakin’ amazing

 

And with your talent now affirmed

Beyond all reasonable doubt, you settle down

Toss towel off and suit up into this, huhhhh

Buzz kill of a world

And it’s comments on your skills

Something about nails on a chalk board

Whatever

And a cat being killed

Whatever

And you not quitting your day job

And so you don’t

 

Instead you quit your daydreams

You abort your purpose

You divorce your passion

You call off the search for your power

You quit believing you sound good outside of the shower

And that is not actually to say, Lewis

That you can’t sing

 

Okay, let’s just be clear

It is entirely possible that you, my friend

Are never, ever supposed to be singing in the shower

Ever

But rather

Dancing

Or drawing

Or designing

Maybe you’re supposed to be designing an event

That will shower your community

With leadership

Right?

Or creating a new product to bathe your company

In liquid gain

Or crafting a new strategy to wash away

Your greatest fears

Or creating a new magic trick for your kids

Using bath beads

Finishing the final chapter of your book

On clean water, right?

Designing and inventing a new, cutting edge tile

That can heat an entire room

With clean, sustainable energy, converted from

The bold sound waves of bathroom singers worldwide!

 

Maybe what you are supposed to be doing

In your daily sound booth

Is reaching down into your throat for the sound of your truth

And pulling out the proof

In the echoes

Of a story

A post

A blog

A pure wet post

A strategy

A slogan

A vote that so many viral building blocks

That drive the building blocks

Of a voice

 

Create a voice

Try to enrol the world into your vision

Or a catalytic voice

That accelerates your mission

An authentic voice that grants your future access

A poetic voice that narrates your passage

In the lexicon of your life

Helping you to say you

How you want to be heard

When you don’t have the clarity

When you can’t find the words

When the cacophony in your head

Drowns out the symphony of your heart

With a bed of white noise

Saying

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

It’s not that you can’t hear you voice

It’s not that you can’t hear your thoughts

It’s that none of them

Sound like you

You don’t recognise the sound

Of your own voice

You can’t believe your words

So you bathe your throat in silence

Waiting for your throat to clear

Ugh-ugh

Like a shotgun cocked

Ugh-ugh

A door unlocked

Ugh-ugh

A needle dropped onto a whirlwind of thoughts

Ugh-ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh-gh, ugh-ugh-ugh

 

This way!

This is the full expression of

What you were born to do

This is the how-to to do it

That is uniquely you

This is the how-to-say-it with

This voice

These words

This is the how-to-live-it

To be joined by those you serve as the

Voice  of your customers

Your community

Your cause

But you are still your most important audience member

Of all

If your truth calls in the middle of life’s forest

And you ain’t even there to

Hear it

It will not make

A sound

A mark

Or a difference

 

 

So what is the point of showing up

To life

If you don’t announce you’re there

What’s the point of having a story if it never

Get’s shared

‘Cause you’re too scared

To talk your walk

Own what you do different

The first step to having, to finding

Your true voice

Is to listen to voices other than your own

Then print your edition

Let the similarities help you define

Your divisions

Then say you to the world

And when met with resistance

When they tell you

Talk is cheap

You tell ’em

Silence is unaffordable

 

Be voiceful

Because you are what you say

So don’t say what you do

Until you do what you are

Only when your actions move with your words

Will your words move others to action

Maybe it’s time to hit the showers

Like vocal booth

And climb back in until your future

Recognises your voice

And it unlocks your doors wide

Your fate’s GPS speaks in your voice

And announces

You have arrived

And you step outside into life’s voice booth

Of earth

And seas

And skies

And prove your voice sounds just as

Freakin’ amazing

As it did inside

As you announce to this world

 

I am here

Right here

And I’m finally the right me

And it echoes off everyone around you

Till the universe responds

I agree

And your future

Uhg-ugh

Clears its throat for good

And joins in

On your song

And your voice becomes an anthem

And the whole world

Sings along

Lewis Howes:               Hey, guys! If you enjoyed this inspirational clip from a past episode of the show, then you’ll love the free book I’m giving away right now. It’s called The Millionaire Morning. It includes some of my best tips for starting off your day with a millionaire mindset. Get your free copy at themillionairemorning.com and just pay shipping.

Again, check it out right now, themillionairemorning.com.