What We Can All Learn From Nico & Vinz

One of the songs of the summer has been “Am I Wrong” by Nico & Vinz. It has been ubiquitous; whether you were on your way to work, sitting in a cafe or just hanging out with friends, you heard it everywhere. The catchy tune by these two Norwegian artists not only makes you want to dance but it is really inspirational. I’ll get to how inspirational it is in a few but before I dive into that, i’ll give you a glimpse of who these two gentlemen are.

Nico Sereba and Vincent Dery come from Norway- a country that has welcomed immigrants with open arms- Nico Sereba is of Ivorian origin and Vincent Dery is of Ghanaian descent. Nico was initially interested in soccer while Vinz wanted to be a rapper. However, somewhere along the line they discovered their calling was to sing and decided to team up. Once they started working together they decided to use their artistry to inspire people all over the world.

Their mega hit “Am I Wrong” speaks to chasing our dreams and being willing to do what it takes. As an untraditional visionary, this spoke volumes to me. I find that too many people are often scared to chase their dreams for fear of not achieving them.

Am I wrong

For thinking out the box from where I stay?

Am I wrong

For saying that I choose another way?

I ain’t trying to do what everybody else doin’

Just ’cause everybody doin’ what they all do

Here Vincent Dery AKA Vinz asks himself if he is wrong for wanting to do something outside the box. He doesn’t want to do something just because everyone else is doing it. He wants to go his own way but he questions himself because he finds it strange that people are content with being complacent and not willing to dare to dream. Remember when we were kids and we all thought we could be heroes, different makers and fascinating individuals? What happened? We grew up? Nope We got scared!

If one thing I know, I’ll fall but I’ll grow

I’m walking down this road of mine, this road that I call home

So what if we fail. We’ll learn. Whoever said experience is the best teacher certainly wasn’t lying. You learn and grow. Even the great Edison failed 1000 times when he was trying to build the lightbulb but when he was questioned about it, he replied by saying “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

That’s perspective! Confucius once said “he who says he can and he who says he can’t are both usually right.”

Edison learned from his mistakes and those “failures” eventually lit a lightbulb in his head (See what I did there?)

Failure can guide you down your path or “home”

If being a doctor, lawyer or businessman is your path then by all means go for it but don’t do something because someone expects you to do it. Do something because you WANT to do it.

So am I wrong?

For thinking that we could be something for real?

Now am I wrong?

For trying to reach the things that I can’t see?

But that’s just how I feel,

That’s just how I feel

That’s just how I feel

Trying to reach the things that I can’t see (see, see, see)

But what about the great unknown? Isn’t it stupid to chase things that you can’t see? Well no. This is where faith comes in to play. Once you have tapped into that passion, it’s time to work, work, work and wait for it WORK. While you are working be sure to take the time to believe in yourself because if you don’t, no one will. Your Passion should drive your confidence which will drive your hard work and ultimately yield results.

Am I tripping

For having a vision?

My prediction

I’ma be on the top of the world

Walk your walk and don’t look back,

Always do what you decide

Don’t let them control your life, that’s just how I feel oh whoa

Fight for yours and don’t let go,

Don’t let them compare you, no

Don’t worry, you’re not alone, that’s just how we feel

Nico Sereba builds off of my self confidence point from earlier in this banging verse. He talks about his supreme confidence in himself. Remember ego is not a bad thing. Ego is simply self love. It’s when we start thinking we are better than others that it becomes a problem. There is always opportunity out there. We just have to go out there and seize it. Don’t believe me? Listen to them yourself.

You didn’t think I was gonna write all this without actually letting you hear the song! It’s below! As you listen though, I want you all to remember that whether you come from a culture where you’re expected to act a certain way or you just don’t think you can amount to anything, remember that we are all uniquely different and there is nothing wrong withemphasizing our differences to make a difference. Leave comments with what your goals and dreams are. I want to hear from you! Enjoy the song!

Comments

comments

About

Tayo Rockson

Tayo Rockson is the CEO and President of UYD Media, a media company that encourages people all over the world to use their difference to make a difference while celebrating diversity and educating others. He is an avid writer whose work can be seen on the Huffington Post, Among Worlds Magazine as well as Global Living Magazine. He is an authority on Third Culture Kids and assimilation into new cultures. He is the author of The Ultimate Guide To TCK Living and through his podcast and blog, he is heard and read by thousands of people in over 100 countries. He grew up in four different continents so he considers himself a citizen of the world. He has lived in Sweden, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Vietnam and the United States and his goal is to ultimately leave the world a better place than it was before he came into it. Once he discovered that he was a Third Culture Kid (TCK) or someone who spent the formative part of his childhood years (0-18) outside of his parents' culture, he vowed to use his global identity to make an impact in the world. Feel free to connect with him on Twitter @TayoRockson where he is actively making new friends every day.