DJ Khaled - The Keys

This is a story about how you can be self-made. As long as you stay out of trouble, learn the business, and dedicate yourself to your hustle, you can accomplish anything. Seriously. When I look at the last year, I almost cant believe the blessings. God is great, and He has truly helped me realize so many of my goals. The pathway of more success hasnt been easy. No one ever said it was going to be easy. I had to weather storms and break through barriers, especially since they hid the keys from me, and when I say they, I mean the people who want you to fail. The keys are guiding principles to prosperity. Think of them as commandments that will lead you to success and then more success.

Ive said it to you before and Ill say it again: They dont want you to have the keys. So I made sure I got the keys. People always ask me how many keys there are. There are many keysan infinite number of keysthat will help you formulate a vision for your life and let you know that youre on the right path. And now, in this book, Im sharing the major keys (and some bonus keys) with you. I love my fans. Fan Luv is everything to me, and without you I know I would be less motivated. Its a special connectiona vibe. And once you get to know me and hear my real story, it will inspire you to go through your own journey and not only succeed but achieve joy. Success can be defined any number of ways, but true joy can be a goal for everyone.

My phrases and my beliefs are real. They are the keys that will help you because they helped me. Theyre forged from personal experiences all from my perspective, from life lessons that everyone can relate to. Like most of you I didnt grow up rich. I come from a family of immigrants, like so many people in this beautiful country. My parents arrived from Palestine with nothing, and they worked hardlike so many of our parentsto make sure their kids had a better life. So I worked hard. Man, I worked hard. If my story tells you anything, its that with hard work you can be Steve Jobs, you can be Oprah, you can be Barack Obama, you can be whoever you want to be, but you got to get there by being yourself.

And the key to more success is that the work never ends. Im just going to be real with you about that. Success and prosperity dont come fast. Becoming the best is not a product of luck or magic. And getting lucky once doesnt change the rest of your life. It takes dedication, blood, sweat, tears, and some serious hardship. Just dont give up. Never surrender. I may have been up and down over the years but each time the stakes got higher and I made sure to gain a little more ground with each win. The keys will also keep you focused, no matter how many days or weeks in a row you feel down-and-out.

Now, I know that sometimes at the beginning or when the bag is low you have to chase money to survive. This is a time that will truly test your character. You might even have to take a hiatus from your goals to get the bag up and get your finances right, but you have to keep fighting if you want to keep your dreams alive.

I know it looks easy for me to say this. The young world, meaning as in, the next generation, knows Im having a legendary run. The deals are colossal. The collaborations are epic. But I know exactly where I came from and the hard work it took. Its been ten years of We The Best, ten years since I started my own company. Im blessed, but a decade is a long time, and Ive been in the game for even longer. What Im saying is that Im forty and Im just now on my way. I will never stop.

The other thing I cant stress enough is that the keys are applicable to everyones lives. Not just artists or music industry people. Everything you see me do and say can be interpreted for any job, any age, and any aspiration. Fan Luv, were in this together, and together I truly believe we can be great.

I put my best into this book.Its going to get deep.Its going to get very exclusive.Im going to tell you things that they dont want you to know.

But the real first step to walking the pathway to more success is to give thanks to God and give thanks to life, because without Gods love and without His blessings, there would be nothing. Were blessed to have our health, our family, hip-hop, and each other. Be thankful every minute of every day for what you have; dont complain. Keep your energy and vibe clean so that other good people want to be around you.

Whats so dope about this last year is that Im making a connection with people who didnt know me before. And even if people did know my music, these same people didnt know anything about my life. Fan Luv has always been amazing, but this new energy is crazy.

The world is showing me love, and the epic thing is that I am just being me. Being able to do what you love without any pretense or filters is a giftit makes you feel like you have the greatest job in the world. I need you to overstand this the way I overstand this. Notice how I didnt say understand, because I need you to more than understandI need you to overstand. And listen, Im not done. Were still grinding. We just getting started. I promise you. And We The Best.

We The Best means exactly what it says. I didnt say Im the best. Thats an important distinction; I said