Is Potential Overrated?

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve will forever be one of the most intriguing conversations to have. From all walks of Life but especially in Sports and Music. Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve also represents different outlooks an I don’t know which one gets viewed as the saddest story. Let’s take Would’ve for example. Grant Hill Would’ve been a Hall Of Fame Lock. Ken Griffey Jr. Would’ve broke all the major baseball records. RG3 Would’ve Been 1 of the best QBs in the NFL. Penny Hardaway Would’ve been The Best Point Guard Ever to play in the NBA(I had to throw that in there for biased reasons lol) But you get the point. These world class athletes Would’ve gone down as consensus all time greats had it not been for tragic career altering injuries. And we can say that certainty because we saw them dominate their fields before the injuries.

But where the conversation takes a turn is the Could’ve Should’ve debate. Because a lot of us are walking around with so much Potential that we know we have but we don’t act on it. And some were so naturally gifted at a young age that we don’t know what we Could’ve did with the talent if we were disciplined. That’s why I ask is Potential overrated. Lamar Odom probably had the most Potential to be just as good if not better than Kevin Garnett who had a Hall Of Fame career. Odom was 6’10 with a point guard handle, ran like a gazelle and played the game like he knew what he was doing just came to him at birth. He never did max out that Potential and not due to a career changing injury. For whatever reason he was just good enough. And that’s something I want to dig deeper into about myself. The “Just Good Enough” conversation. Not going the extra mile to maximize my own Potential that I know is there. The Potential that people around me see and have to find themselves saying to me “Stop Bullsh*tting Blake”. The up until this point Unfulfilled Potential that led to my song “Coulda Been Kendrick”. That conversation is for a post on it’s own because it’s a back story to the song that can’t be glossed over. Potential is a very interesting thing that I don’t know if it’s Overrated or Underrated but it’s worth having a discussion about all the time.

I Am Ishmeel (continued)

I Am Ishmeel Blakewood

I Am Broadway Blake

I Am The Founder/CEO of Vibes In The City LLC in Newark,NJ. Vibes In The City LLC provides platforms for independent Talent and Creatives. We launched in January 2016 and produced over 150 shows and showcased close to 1000 artists since launching. Vibes In The City is my Passion Project. I would probably be miserable without it lol. Seriously.

I Am a long time Wrestling fan. Long long time. My earliest memory is Wrestlemania 4. That’s when Macho Man won the tournament for the Heavyweight Title. I was a big time Hulk Hogan fan back then so yes a part of my childhood was ripped away when the tapes of him going on a rant of racially provoked language was leaked. I’m not sure if I fully got over that yet but it doesn’t really bother me anymore. Mid 90’s Wrestling is my favorite era. Hollywood Hogan. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Four Horsemen(Arn Anderson is so underrated) Black and White Sting. As I got older I gained more appreciation for Bret Hart. I do believe he is the GOAT. I’m still a fan of Wrestling today but I’m not nearly as invested as I once was.

I Am a Long Time San Francisco 49ers fan (Montana final years before the Steve Young Transition)

I Am A Long Time Ohio State College Football Fan( Eddie George Days)

I Am A HUUUUGE PENNY HARDAWAY FAN which lead me to be a Die-Hard Orlando Magic Fan(Nick Anderson 4 missed Free Throws in the Finals against the Rockets still haunt me. I was a kid what do you expect)

I Am A Long Time Seattle Mariners Fan(The Kid. Ken Griffey Jr. Days. Can’t forget Young A-Rod. Buhner. Edgar. Big Unit.)

I Am So Jersey but for whatever reason as a kid. I didn’t connect with the local pro teams. But I did fall in love with that 2001 Seton Hall Basketball Team that was led by Shaheem Holloway. And Yes I do fell like they would’ve made a stronger push to the Final Four if he didn’t get hurt. Even though Ty Shine held it down. I also Love Jersey Highschool and Youth Sports. If we can find a way to keep the talent home our College Programs will start to get mentioned with Duke, Alabama, UCLA, Miami,Texas etc.

I Am a Big Barry Sanders Fan an I think he’s the best Football Player to EVER PLAY. Just my opinion lol.

I Am A Big Hip Hop Fan. 2Pac was the 1st Rapper I felt a emotional connection with. Biggie, Snoop and Bone Thugs were the 1st Rappers where I realized how important Flow was. But Ma$e was the 1st Rapper where I said that right there is my favorite and that’s who I wanna be. Only as a kid though lol. Not now. I only wanna be the best version of me now.

I am a HUUUUGE fan of local music scenes an its something that I have studied and researched since I decided to be a artist. It’s a really big reason that I started Vibes In The City.

These first few Posts on my blog is me pretty much introducing who I am to people who don’t know me and even the people who do know me but don’t know a lot about me. But I’m looking forward to tell more stories about why my Goal was to aim for Russell Simmons, Quincy Jones and Berry Gordy status instead of Jay-Z and Nas. Of course over time Jay and Nas…especially Jay have become much more than Rappers since then. But Def Jam. Motown and just about EVERYTHING Quincy was doing was my initial aim.

I’m also looking forward to just posting random thoughts and experiences. It might turn into a daily blog. It might not. But I have a story to tell an I have stories to create.

Broadway

I Am Ishmeel

I Am Ishmeel Blakewood

I Am Broadway Blake

I Am A Father. I Am A Son. I Am A Husband. I Am A Brother. I Am A Friend.

I Am A Leader. I Am A Visionary. I Am A Creative.

I Am A Rapper. I Am A Writer.

I Am giving myself Permission to Pursue My Dreams. My Passions. My Purpose. My Goals. My VISION. My WHY.

I Am Accepting Responsibility that If I don’t Pursue those things with Persistence. With Perseverance. With Faith. With A Sense Of Urgency. Then My Time Here Was Wasted.

I Have A Story To Tell. I Have Stories To Create.

I wanted this to be my first post to always give myself a reminder of when I DECIDED to LIVE.

“The Saddest Thing In Life Is Wasted Talent” – A Bronx Tale

 

 

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