Yo.
I like to welcome everybody back to a brand new episode of the
Cognitive Collage podcast.
I am your host, Quentin Gold.
My friends and family call me QG for short.
I think I want to start this week's episode off with
what is the greatest individual attribute you could have in
life? What do you think is the most useful in life? I should
say, like, when I say that, I mean things like honesty,
loyalty, respect. Like, what what what attribute do you think
is most beneficial to life?
If you ask me, I would have to say adaptability. Adaptability
is so key to everything in life from a professional
standpoint to a personal standpoint, because having
the ability to adapt to a situation or adapt to a person
in general. Now you might be around somebody you realize
like they're hypersensitive. You know what I mean? So you
have that ability to go, okay, I can take a step back. You
know what I mean? Or you have like the individual is
confrontational. I mean, having the ability to match their
energy or diffuse their energy.
And I think having adaptability has never been more important
in life than this current day and age. So I say this, like, I'm
not a political podcast, which I state a lot, you know, I have
my opinions on shit, but I usually don't discuss
religion or politics, at least not in a like debatable slash
like definitive type of manner. Like, I know this to be true. I
know this to be fact like who the fuck am I? So I don't do that.
So if you're not living under a rock, and even if you are,
lose travels. So down Trump is one election. And man, it's like,
it is what it is. Honestly, what's kind of bring me full
circle on this adaptability thing. Because right now, it's
a lot of fear, mongering going on on social media. And media in
general. Man down at Trump's back office, like, you know,
Project 25 gonna make the slaves again. First of all, this
ain't Mississippi. No disrespect to Mississippi. This ain't the
17 or 1800s or the early 1900s. Niggas got guns and niggas
ain't going to that. I mean, now the economy, I believe is
gonna be super fucked. And they're they're really hard
nose on pushing, you know, this deportation chip. But I don't
know this to be true, but at least based off of the statistics
that I read, the people who's most at risk of being deported
there was that demographic, according to, you know, graphs
and charts and research that kind of push, push Trump over the
edge to win. So Frankenstein third, you create the monster
that eventually destroys. But it's crazy because America is
supposed to be like considered like in the solemn type of
country where, you know, if things are rough, wherever you're
from, this is supposed to be the land of opportunity to land
it free. Come get a fresh start here. You know, and some people
argue, well, that's legal channels to go through that. But
if the danger is imminent, I can't wait to three, four, five,
ten years to be, you know, but at the same time, if you bypass
that process, you are exposed to, you know, legal ramifications
and at this point, basically federal ramifications. So
sad times. But again, it speaks to like adaptability. You
know what I mean? Like, even if you send like one family member
over here, and you allow them to get established and then
reach back to get somebody else, I know it's long and it's
drawn out and you want your family to be separated, but
it's not what you do is how you do, I guess. Honestly, I'm not
even qualified to speak on this shit if I'm being honest. But
it's been dominating like my timeline so much is like
unavoidable at this point. So
but off of that batch of this adaptability shit, like
I think adaptability and having the ability to read the room.
That's important. I've been noticing a lot of that lately too.
Like people would the lack of with the lack of the skill set
to be able to read the room. I see it when like, you know, I
might see it from a far away like a nigga might be certain
with a female and she's clearly not interested. The fake laughs
at the jokes to all that's crazy over and over and I'm
niggas just sitting there like, yeah, that is crazy. Like a
fucking goof. Like read the room or you know, everybody
chilling and having a good time. Niggas talking about like some,
you know, retro vintage 90s shit having fun and then out of
the blue, some random ass nigga like, yeah, I kill anybody
because you know niggas know not to play with me like, where's
that energy coming from? That ain't even the vibe of the room.
I agree to room my nigga and then have the ability to adapt.
And you know, sometimes if you don't know what to say, saying
nothing usually says the most. Like I'm that person. I can get
in the room for anybody and I can engage in any type of
conversation, but I'm cognitive enough. No pun intended to
recognize when okay, this is outside of my wheelhouse. So I'll
just sit back and I'll just observe and just listen. And if
something does speak my interest, I'll even make like a
middle note of it. I'll literally pull out my phone and just
jot it in my notes. Like I'm gonna look that up later. So if I'm
ever in this, you know, arena again with these particular
people and similar topics come up, I now feel confident to
engage in those conversations because I'm a bit more woke
red on what they're discussing. But you know, a lot of people
don't have that like wear though, they'll just jump in the
midst of it and start talking about some other shit. That's
not, you know, and lying or conducive with the current
conversation. They talk for the sake of speaking. I mean, like
most people like listen, but they don't hear you. Oh, flip
that they'll hear you, but they ain't really listening. And
I mean, I've never been that guy. I'm I'm in or tennis, like I
pay attention to like the most my new details, because they
say, you know, the devil's in the details. Like if I get an
application, if I get an update for like one of my apps or
some shit like that, I actually read all that shit before
accepted. And that was the point in time where I didn't. And
you know, my phone, I got an update once and one of the
functions of my phone that like I use on the regular basis
along with this new update, it removed that function. And then
you know, I just accept my phone updates. And then about a day
or so later, I go to use that functionality that I'm used to
and it's no longer acceptable. And now I'm confused. Like
why the fuck. So then you know, I do a quick Google Google
search. Yo, why doesn't such and such work on this particular
phone brand? And then it goes, Hey, at the recent update, this
is removed. If you agree to it, there's no reverse. And I'm
like, fuck, I should write it. So after that, moving forward,
I was just like, yeah, I'm just gonna read whatever the fuck
pop my phone because shit, we ain't got nothing but time. Or
do it. Well, time to tell. Or will it. I don't know why I'm
doing that. But I think it's a lures. Lately, I've been
watching like a lot of videos on social media. So there's this
lady. And she has like to disable. I want to say they like
her niece. I don't believe they're like her daughters, but
one name is like Brea. And I can't remember the other one's
name. But like, I don't know. I watched the video and I get
it like, you know, they're mentally disabled and I'm not
laughing at them having a disability. I don't laugh at
people who have certain senses that's outside of their control.
And I've always been that way. Like even like growing up, you
know, school, like, I might have on like a decent pair of
sneakers. And if the kid in the class had on some ran down
shit, like even then, like I had the mindset, at least I was
evolved enough to recognize that he doesn't purchase his own
tennis shoes. And this might be the only thing his parents
can afford. So why would I tease him for that?
I mean, I've never been that guy. So even speaking to this
like viral video that's been going around of these two young
ladies in there, I believe it's that aunt or that grandma,
I think it's the aunt. But I'm laughing because the video is
funny. I'm not laughing because they have a disability.
The disability isn't what makes it funny. But you know, so the
one girl, it's like, when the video start, like she's shown
like the sleeve of her t shirt and she go, look what she did
to my Ariana Grande shirt. And then on it's like, what did she
turn? Like that ax in the straight. And then the girl
Brea, I thought she was nonverbal, but then I saw another
video where like she said, like, thank you and like God
bless your sister. So she can speak. But she's sitting there
with her. She's typically quiet. And the girl, Ariana Grande
shirt, she take like her palm of her hand and like pushes her
in the shoulder with it. And then like the sister who so the
girls are the girls like kind of stand up. So the sister hit
like sit down and like hit with her like palm of her hand.
And the girl falls into the chair and she puts her two arms
above her head and start waving them side to side like in
a rabbit's succession. And for some reason, anytime it comes
across my timeline, I can't help but watch it and I laugh
every time. But what I do take from that video that most
people probably don't take into account when they watch it is
that these girls look clean. They look well fed. And they
look to have like a decent home. And the aunt of mom or
whoever this woman is, she's taking very good care of these
two girls. And that takes like an immense amount of like
patience and understanding. And so as much as I laugh at the
video, it kind of warms my heart at the same time that these
girls are being taken care of like they could be in a hospital
somewhere, you know, being mistreated or like, you know,
ignored. So I don't know why I just started talking about that
but like that video like popped in my head. I like obscure
shit. You know what I'm saying? Like whatever's like trendy
and I'm not trying to like avoid trendy shit for the sake of
being like, I'm different from y'all. It ain't that. It's just
like, well, most people find human like I do sometimes but
for the most part I'd be like, they don't get me wrong. Like,
I love like, like a sitcom like like Martin. It's like
universally loved. And don't get me wrong. I love Martin as
well. But I've always been more of a curvy enthusiasm type of
guy or a phraser. I might have said this before but like, I'm
a very, very big fan of like draw human. You know what I
mean? Like I like, I like Senokoo shit. I like, I just like
clever, clever shit. But on the, you know, on the opposite
side of that spectrum, like I'll still live like a fart joke.
Me and my best friend, we talked about this maybe about like
a week ago about, you know, entering like that phase of
like a second childhood type of shit. Because, you know, when
you're a kid, you can't wait to get older. But you never
stop to think in the process of rushing to get older. Everything
else around you gets older as well. Parents, pets, you know,
things that you think is just always going to be there. You
know what I mean? So you're like, man, I can't waste me to
get older. But you rushing everything else around you too.
If I had any regrets in life, it would be not appreciating my
youth as much as I should have. So like I said, me and my best
friend and shit, like we've been talking about this recently
and it's like, all right, nigga, fuck it. We're going to start
our second childhood, fuck it. What's niggas already kind of
in the midst of? I mean, yeah, granted, we got bills to pay,
we got jobs, we got card notes, we got all that type of shit. But
yeah, this nigga watch anime, I watch anime, I watch old
cartoons. So do he. He's like up to date with like comic books
and mongers and shit. So we might talk about like some real
life shit, like, you know, some past emotional trauma or some
shit, like talk our way through that shit, like drawing the
similarities that we probably both experienced in our lives.
And in the midst of that shit, you remember that episode of
Godfield and Friends when, you know, and then we'll just laugh
about Godfield and Friends, or we'll have like debates about
what's better, Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. So I'm a
Nickelodeon guy through and through. He's a Cartoon Network
guy. But I can recognize that Cartoon Network has some fucking
heavy hitters. Wrackless show, heavy hitter. Adventure time,
heavy hitter. There's a show called Craig of the Creek, which
might be one of my favorite, like newer shows. I think because
I don't know. I think it embraces like it's age group, like
the jokes on like adult jokes that's like underlined or covered
up with like child humor. Like it's the kids in the, they go to
the creek, they still play pretend and, you know, like, I
think that's what the youth is missing. Like these kids never
know what life was like pre-internet. Imagine right now as
a fucking full grown adult. You leave out for work and get in
your car and you're about to publicity a job and you realize,
oh shit, I forgot my cell phone. You'll probably go into
work, punch in, tell your boss that you got some kind of family
emergency. You'll probably go back home and get that fucking
phone. If not just banger you turn and like say the days are
washed and then call them and you know, they may have my
tires got flat. I've been trying to reach out with my phone
died. You'll do anything to not have that feeling of not having
shit. Even more, even more simple than that. Yo, let's say
you got to use the bathroom and you get up and you rush to
the bathroom and once you get in the bathroom and realize like,
oh fuck, I left my phone on the nightstand. You would be blown.
You're like, damn, you're just an angel, you know, taking
the shit. Nothing to research, nothing to look up, no funny
videos to watch. You're just sitting there, shitting with
your thoughts. If for some people that's like unbearable, I
think that's one of the good things and one of the bad
things about social media. Like it supply you with like a
constant dose of distractions. You know what I mean? What's
kind of keeping you from, you know, dealing with shit that
you need to face you go, you know what, fuck it, I'm going to
watch this viral cat video. You're like, there's some real
shit going on. Like you probably should look into why you're
not in case not, you know, performing well, you know, hey,
you guys fucking small lump on the back of your arm, like
maybe you should go to the doctors. Nah, I'm going to watch
this video of niggas getting pranked in Walmart instead. So
the beauty of that is that it can help like, you know, more
or less like reboot your computer, give you like a first
sense of, I'm going to just, you know, take my mind off of
shit. But the bad side of that is that like, yo, this shit
could have you like ignore what's important. And most people
in life, including myself, depending on what it is, but
I try not to do it. It's like most of the time people
rather go around the problem than go through the problem.
And when you take that route, you typically end up back in
the place where you started. Because instead of you
actually getting through what you needed to get through,
you just, you know, circumvented around this shit and came
right back around to it. And then in your head, you're like
why do I keep going through this? No, that's the thing,
you never did. You never went through it. You went around it.
So I tend not to avoid like uncomfortable conversations.
You know, I'm not opposed to that shit. And I'm not opposed
to like being wrong. I'm not just going to give you that.
But I ain't going to argue you down even about where you stand
in that shit. It's just like, we can have a discussion.
And if we don't, shit, no harm, no fail, man.
You know, not to be grim or, you know, standoffish, but,
you know, I'm from the school of going alone, dialing on.
And, you know, if you can happen to have some company in
between those two points, great. If not, they're great.
If this not affecting like my livelihood and any capacity,
it's not affecting where I lay my head, the vehicle I drive,
the check that get deposited into my account every few weeks.
At that point, it's just emotion. And I'm not a real emotional
nigga. Like I had my moments, but for the most part,
like I'm more logical for emotion. You know what I mean?
I think for most, most niggas I know, I would say two of the
most important attributes to have, not even attributes, but
having these two, like in your arsenal of sorts, adapting to
situations can save you a trip to prison. It can save you from
heartbreak. It can save you from a lot of different, like,
you know, negative things in life. Having the ability to
control your emotion and having the ability to control your
horny. And most niggas can't do those things. Somebody you're
fending, you slob to fucking handle, you lose yourself in the
moment. And then when you come back down from ego, oh, fuck
what did I do? But at that point, it's consequences. And then
on the flip side of that shit, it's like, you know, not having
the ability to control your horny or have you putting on your
freshest fit jewelry and all, shoot down to the projects one in
the morning to go see a bitch who could kill us if you die.
It's like shit, man. See you're there, little boy. I'ma crash
how shit. It's stupid. But, you know, if you if you gain the
ability or adaptability to control those two things, like I
think you can go so much further in life. I've been able to
control mine like years ago. And I've like, I've exceeded in
life and like leaps and bounds. You know what I'm saying?
Like, from feeling like I'm going nowhere to like, I can go
as I want. And it was being able to control my emotion. And,
you know, not falling fucking victim for every fat ass face
that smile at me. It's just like, all right. As you were
fed. All yours. Probably not. I don't know, man. If if life
did have like a checklist. I'm I can say this. I say this
truthfully and not from a certain space. I'm checking every
box. At least from my standard to my standpoint, like the
things that I deemed to be important or essential, or, you
know, as goals. You know, yo, my house check, get a car
check. Excuse me, get a career check. You know what I mean?
Like, in all the other essential, like, you know, checkpoints,
I'm checking the boxes, man. And I think it all starts with
my ability to adapt. You know, you date somebody and y'all might
not click initially, or maybe I'll do but then you realize
that, all right, we have some differences in personality. And
it's like, all right, you got a choice. You stand on your, you
know, stand on your square and fight this shit too for now,
or have the ability to adapt or compromise or whatever
euphemism you want to use for finding some level common ground.
You know what I mean? It took me a while to figure that shit out
too, but I'm thankful that I did. You know what I mean? Like,
with any relationship, whether it's like a friendship or, you
know, a more intimate relationship with your partner,
whatever the case may be, I feel like, you know, any relationship,
even like one from a professional standpoint, I think
everything in life is about wars and battles. A battle I'm willing
to lose. A war I'll fight to the death. Just for me, wars like
principle based shit. Battles is just like, it means a lot to
you, not to me. All right, I ain't really, I ain't tripping
about it. You know what I mean? Like, you never want to make the
mistake of like trying to find somebody for you if you got to
lose who you are in the process. It's not worth it. And you'll
build resentment over time and then you'll start blaming this
person for the decision that you made. Because when it comes to
relationships, for the most part, like, ain't nobody a hostage.
You know what I mean? You can leave at any point, but I think
a lot of times people are confused, love with
comfortability. And that's vastly different. Where, you know,
you'll finally build up enough confidence to expose what you
deem to be a flaw with you personally to this person that's
not you, and they accept that flaw and you'll confuse that
with them loving you. No? It might just have a little
bit of a difference between being comfortable and being
complacent. You know what I mean? Like, when do you know when
it's good enough? And when do you know that, you know what,
I'm just going to settle for this. Like, what's the difference
between comfortability and
complacent? Hmm. I don't know. I want you all to do that this
week. Think about any situation that you are in, whether it's
jobs, relationships, whatever. Stop and ask yourself, am I doing
this because I don't think I can do any better than this? Or
am I doing this because I feel like it's just good enough?
Because sometimes good enough is better than better.
That grass ain't always greener. But then sometimes it's the
greenest shit you ever saw in your life. And it's really up to
you to make those decisions on do I stay put or do I pursue
more? Talking surface is shit. This is episode nine, by the
way. Like, I've been doing this shit for nine weeks. This is
crazy. And I still haven't got bored of it yet. I still enjoy
it.
Yeah.
Well, I'm not gonna hold up too much of your time. You know,
I'm here for a good time, not a long time.
So, with that being said, whoever's hearing us, whatever
goal you're currently chasing, I hope you get one step closer
to achieving that goal. If not a comment from that goal all
together. I want everybody to be safe. I want everybody to be
productive. I want everybody to be positive. You know what I'm
saying? Walk away from the bullshit if you got the ability
to. Or stand on your square if you feel your backs against the
wall and there's no else for you to go before. Whatever
decision you make, stand firm and approach with confidence.
And out of everything I said to death, if there's any of it
that you don't agree with, my Instagram is QG music.
That's QG M. U. S. I. C.
at instagram.com.
Peace.