charlamagne tha god

Wendy Williams & Charlamagne tha god Share Their Success Truth in Plain Speak

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They say don’t judge a book by its cover. That’s something that could be said about Wendy Williams and Charlamagne tha god. Williams returned to her nationally syndicated TV show this week after fainting on set. She’s been dealing with Graves’ disease since that scary moment. So she’s on a new health kick.

Those who’ve followed her career remember her days on NY radio. She would pull no punches when interviewing some guests. That seems to be a model that has worked well for Charlamagne. It’s something he might have learned from his days working with Williams. But then again he’s his own man.

Both seem to have moved beyond their initial ‘shock radio’ style. For Williams the change might have been driven by her shift to television. For Charlamagne, it might have been his desire to be seen as having more class than crass. Both have made their ‘hot topics’ chats a pop culture favorite.

How they ended up sitting pretty in their game may be part of their appeal. Their success truth is made real to those who don’t mind (as Charlamagne likes to say) ‘getting medicine in the candy.’ In other words, there’s usually a takeaway in what they have to say. Some see it as down and dirty life lessons.

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It’s easy to think that their dream journey was all smooth sailing. But the story is out on the career run-ins they had along the way. What they’ve both done is in one sense cutting-edge but in another sense meant to be. How they appear today is the sum total of setbacks that became comebacks by having to:

  1. Break the mold

Growing-up in a small southern town could have easily been all there was for Charlamagne. He had some trouble with the law and realized if things were to change he’d have to break the mold. This meant having a different lifestyle than what he had come to know. It meant being open to evolve has a person.

  1. Build their profile

One of the first things with a new social media account is the creation of a profile. This is where you list the things you want people to know about you. Williams and Charlamagne have been in and out of many professional situations. But over time they’ve also been able to build their pop culture profile.

  1. Sense the moment

Sensing the moment could mean hoping for the ‘luck of the Irish.’ It’s where things come together just like clockwork. But other times it could be about taking a step back in order to make a leap forward. In the case of Williams feeling weak or down, it could also mean knowing when to use instinct over impulse.

  1. Tweak their brand

Both have had ‘make or break’ life moments. Whether it’s in Williams’ recent health scare or in Charlamagne’s many job firings. He’d have others know a success truth for better career days is to tweak the brand from smart-ass (that’s smarts with an ego) to being witty (that’s smarts with an edge).

Whether folks tune in for ‘hot topics’ or the interview guests, something keeps them coming back for the next show. Charlamagne might say it’s his love for the culture. Williams might say it’s her take on ‘celeb dish.’ But maybe it’s in how their life dreams or passion for the game can make our hearts beat triple time.

Tip: The great ones ‘go get it’ by defining their life dreams, raising passion for the game and having hearts beat triple time.

Talkback: Is the ‘shock jock’ thing something Charlamagne got from Wendy?

Tracks: SWV – Weak – https://youtu.be/976b8TPPFJU

Mary Mary – Go Get It – https://youtu.be/ADGnIi9KrLQ

Flow Nation: The Secret Sauce for Love, Luck and Living Large That’s Got More Flava. Get Some Here!

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What do Kevin Hart and Steve Harvey have in common? They made their names in comedy. How about DJ Khaled and Charlamagne Tha God? They made early waves in radio. But there’s something else they all have in common: ‘finding flow.’ It’s the thing that gets us up in the morning even if we don’t know it.

Over the past year or so they all published books telling their story of love, luck and living large. They might have taken different roads to glory but seem to share a common theme of going from humble beginnings to becoming pop culture icons. In a sense, finding flow got turned into their awesome sauce.

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So what does this really mean in the regular world? Whether it takes an alarm clock (or not) to wake us up, the thing that gets us up and moving is the idea of powering our flow. This could be growing in areas of ambition, taking social action or experiencing life’s moments of adventure and pure satisfaction.

That’s certainly the case when you read the stories of Harvey, Hart, Khaled and Charlamagne. Plus they shared personal examples of getting a ‘heavenly assist’ from someone along their path. They got a break in a phone call that was unexpected, an opportunity that was unheralded or situation that was unscripted.

One of the lessons in their stories on powering flow starts by putting passion where your mouth is, purpose where your heart is and pain where the truth is. Things we give voice to most or face up to tell us who we are, what we love and care about. These become stronger from a place that’s close to the heart.

The way they handled setbacks as well as my own story are reminders that finding & powering flow can happen from a brush with failure or a stroke of faith. In my case it was from hosting a radio show on a college station. While I was on air someone decided to pull the plug which interrupted the broadcast.

At that moment I decided not to fight back but to go way back and apply a stroke of faith. This made me learn more about the ‘Joseph story.’ His dream helped me see my own gifting and calling. Sometimes finding/powering flow means appreciating the people, places, pitfalls or pathways that confirm your story.

In these major keys we realize how not to let mistakes or other people’s human faults be our halts. Each of the icons has a story to tell of how they changed their luck, made a buck or got a relationship unstuck. Through the ups and downs they were simply trying to turn flow into reaping the good they would sow.

We enjoy artists when they perform with flow-motion. This brings together ‘lyrics and groove’ in a way that rocks. It’s fun when athletes at work or play get to deliver flow-magic. We cheer them for how they inspire us towards greatness. That’s the feeling we can hope for each day from living large in a flow nation.

Imagine how a brook becomes a stream or a stream becomes a river that leads to the ocean by finding flow. Or as a car goes from zero to 60 on the highway it finds its flow with the rest of traffic. Powering our flow takes us from zero to 60 or from feeling less to feeling worthy in the low or high tides of life’s ocean.

Tip: “Powering your flow means putting passion where your mouth is, purpose where your heart is and making things pop where your genius is.”

Talkback: What person, place, pitfall or pathway has helped (or is helping) you go way back to walk that tightrope and power your flow?

Tracks: TLC – Way Back – https://youtu.be/ibR0rYNMJpI

Janelle Monáe – Tightrope – https://youtu.be/pwnefUaKCbc