– I just always knew.
I just always knew, one day, that I’m going to be doing this.
I knew.
And, eventually, I just went up to one of the managers,
and I was like, “I have to have this song.”
Doing what you want means moving forward
with the way you feel.
I’m 21, so I’m going to live my life
like I’m a 21-year-old.
I’m going to dress like I’m a 21-year-old.
– She’s a Barbadian singer and songwriter.
With sales exceeding 200 million records worldwide,
she’s one of the best-selling artists of all time.
She has an estimated net worth of $230 million.
She is Rihanna, and here is my take
on her top 10 rules for success.
Clip number one is my favorite,
and make sure to stick around all the way
till the end for some special bonus clips.
– I always loved music.
I always loved it.
Then, I would start singing along,
and, before you knew it,
I wanted to be that person so bad
that I would lip sync or dance or look in the mirror
or perform for my friends or cousins,
and I just always knew.
I just always knew, one day,
that I’m going to be doing this.
I knew.
Well, the first time I heard “Umbrella,”
I just knew how much I loved the song.
I thought it had one of the most original songs
of any song that I’ve ever heard thus far,
and I just …
Especially the ones that I’ve recording,
and I just …
I was like, “I have to have this one.
I have to have it.”
– But everybody wanted it, right?
– Well, I didn’t know that at the time.
At the time, they were like,
“Okay, you can have this song,” whatever.
I was like, “I have to have it.”
That’s when we started finding,
“Okay, hold on a second,” ’cause this person is listening,
that person’s listening.
Eventually, I just went up to one of the managers,
and I was like,
“I have to have this song.
This song is mine.”
I basically was like,
“I’m going to fight you if I don’t have this song.”
(laughing)
– How social media affects the way that you make music?
Do you consider feedback from fans?
– Absolutely, big time.
My fans definitely have an impact on the way I make music,
what I do.
It still comes from me, and I still like
to show them new things,
but I always want to make sure that …
I have to pay attention.
They say things that you need to hear.
They’re out there in the world.
They’re not in the little box here.
They know what’s going on,
and you would be stupid to be so oblivious
to what they’re saying.
You have to pay attention.
Every album, for me, has been a natural step
in my growth.
It has displayed that the different steps
in my career,
and every one happens to be better than the previous one.
For me, that’s the most important thing,
just making sure that every time you do something,
you do it better than you did it before.
Even when I listen to my music or watch my videos,
for instance, from “Pon de Replay” to “Russian Roulette,”
it’s not even the same person.
It’s not even the same person,
but I don’t know anyone who has been the same person
at 17 that they were at 21.
I think a lot of people think that them doing
what they want means doing what everybody else doesn’t want,
and it’s not that.
Doing what you want means moving forward
with the way you feel and living your truth,
and, a lot of the times,
you’ll find common ground with people,
and, sometimes, there are a lot of people you won’t find
that agree with you, but it has to be your truth,
because that’s the only way.
Well, it’s definitely the ultimate dream for me,
because I always dreamt of doing it,
so, yeah, it could be the ultimate dream,
but know that there’s a lot of hard work
that people don’t see,
a lot of toiling at night,
a lot of sleepless nights,
a lot of traveling, and some stuff, you don’t want to do,
but you just do it for the love of it,
so if you want to do it for fame or money, forget it.
Stop now.
But if you want to do it for the love of it,
keep on going.
Everyone has their own definition of a role model.
For me, I’m 21, so I’m going to live my life
like I’m a 21-year-old.
I’m going to dress like I’m a 21-year-old.
I know I have a five-year-old fan at home,
but I can’t live my life like a five-year-old,
because I’m not five,
but, at 21, for a 21-year-old to see the way I act
and see the way I dress, that’s fine,
and I can only be a Rihanna model,
because that’s who I am.
I can’t please everybody.
It’s too hard.
(laughs)
– [Host] Raquel wants to know if it’s hard to remain you
with all the success at such a young age.
– No, I would say it can be very easy
to be led astray or caught up
and sucked into the fame and the bright lights
and everything being grit.
It can be easy to do that,
but I have great people around me,
and a lot of people that I’ve known since my childhood,
a lot of people I trust, my big brothers,
Jay-Z, Jay Brown, and Tata.
They’re my backbone, and, at this point,
I’m in super good hands with them,
and they keep me grounded.
They keep me in check.
My mother is still my mother,
(laughing)
and she also checks me on the reg.
– [Host] Yeah?
– Yeah.
– [Host] On the reg.
– I just had a dream.
I had an idea.
I knew what I wanted to do,
and this is what I was going to do.
All I wanted to do was make music internationally.
In Barbados, it’s an unrealistic goal, you know?
You’re a small little island away from the United States.
– What has been Jay’s best advice to you?
– In the beginning of my career,
I remember “Pon de Replay” started doing really well,
and he came up to me at a showcase, and he said,
“You must be a really great person,
because great things keep happening for you.
Don’t ever change who you are.
Always remain humble, the same.”
It kind of rings in my ear that, every day,
I hear that, and it’s stuck with me.
I have a lot to be grateful for.
– Thank you so much for watching.
I made this video because Kristina Swagger asked me to,
so if there’s a famous entrepreneur that you want me
to profile next, leave it in the comments below,
and I’ll see what I can do.
I’d also love to know which of Rihanna’s top 10 rules
had the biggest impact on you and why.
Leave it in the comments, and I will join in the discussion.
I also want to give a quick shout-out to Tashana.
Thank you so much, Tashana, for buying my book.
For those of you who want a chance at a shout-out
in a future video, make sure to pick up a copy of the book,
and then, email in your receipt, so we can keep track.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Continue to believe or whatever your one word is,
and I’ll see you soon.
– I can’t tell you where I see myself in five years,
but I can tell you that I will work my best
to be the most successful artist that I can be
in five years.
– [Matt] What do you want to be remembered for?
When you’re an older lady and you’re about to retire,
what is the thing you want to be remembered for?
– Remembered as Rihanna, remembered as being the artist
from the Caribbean who came here
and made it internationally,
just remembered as me,
’cause I am true to my music,
and I just want people to realize that
and appreciate me for that.
Okay, Jim, if you could name a planet,
what would it be called?
– Okay, this is the most ridiculous question
I’ve ever heard.
– I know.
– But, if I could name a planet,
I would call it Jim’s Planet,
because I don’t see any reason to mess around
and be unclear with what’s going on.
I was allowed to name a planet,
and so, I’m going to call it Jim’s Planet.
– I would probably name it Jhat.
It’s become a language of sorts between my assistant
and I, her name is Jen,
which turned into Jhat.
– And how do you spell that?
– J-H-A-T, that’s how it is in my phone.
– See?
Oh, my God, I would have gone S-H-A,
without a doubt.
– (laughs) Everybody does that.
– I like that.
It has meaning, Jhat.
Rihanna, on your planet, what would the main rules be?
– Free shoes for everyone.
– That’s a good plan.
– Always, any kind, and ice cream, tons of ice cream.
You can only eat ice cream.
That’s the only food I’m going to have.
– You all going to need a good healthcare plan on that planet,
but you will have good feet.
– Tons of ice cream!
And no diabetes.
– That’s not logical, now.
– Oh, and no …
Yeah, you can’t … – Well, there’s more.
No what?
You can’t what?
– You can’t gain weight. (laughs)
– Criticize?
You can’t gain weight? (laughing)
I don’t know about this.
I don’t have to move there.
I have my own planet.
– What three things would you take with you from earth
to your planet?
– I would take Todd, my partner.
I would take Otis, my white dog,
and I would take Rufus, my Shih Tzu.
(Rihanna laughs)
And the rest of you can piss off.
What three things would you take?
– Jhat, ’cause she can pretty much facilitate
every other thing that I need,
my iPod, my iPod speakers.
– What skill or talent would you like to learn?
– To whistle.
– I can’t either.
– Really?
– I can’t. – You see?
– I’m very surprised a musician can’t.
– I feel so much bet …
What?
– I’m sorry.
You know what?
I don’t even mean that,
because I consider myself my own level of musician
in what I do.
– I’ve been trying to learn how to whistle for decades.
– What do you think the problem is?
– I just don’t know.
I think you either can or you can’t.
It’s one of those things. (laughs)
– Have you tried hard?
– Yes, and it sounds just like that.
– So you won’t even do it.
– Nope.
– That’s probably wise.
– What secret talent could you teach the Boov?
– I get the impression they don’t know …
Like, they would not know what a piano was
if they saw it.
Like, they’d be like,
“What is this used for?”
And so, I want to say I could teach them
to play the piano, ’cause I do play piano.
– Oh, you do?
– I do.
– Speaking of musicians.
– I know, and I can’t whistle.
– Uh-huh.
– I took it back as soon as I said it.
I was just surprised!
I always felt like …
Do you know how often a script calls for an actor
to whistle? (Rihanna laughs)
It’s frequent.
– That is really good to know.
I would have never guess that.
– That I played?
– Yeah.
– ‘Cause you don’t think I have an ounce of rhythm?
What?
What’s the judgment you’ve made?
– That is really mean.
– No. No! – That’s not what I said.
– No, you’re right.
I put words in your mouth. But …
– But you’re so great at acting.
– Yeah? That …
– That I couldn’t picture you having any room
for another skill. – Having time for anything …
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Thank you.
– See how I changed that?
– That’s really sweet. – See what I did? (laughs)
I just always knew, one day, that I’m going to be doing this.
I knew.
And, eventually, I just went up to one of the managers,
and I was like, “I have to have this song.”
Doing what you want means moving forward
with the way you feel.
I’m 21, so I’m going to live my life
like I’m a 21-year-old.
I’m going to dress like I’m a 21-year-old.
– She’s a Barbadian singer and songwriter.
With sales exceeding 200 million records worldwide,
she’s one of the best-selling artists of all time.
She has an estimated net worth of $230 million.
She is Rihanna, and here is my take
on her top 10 rules for success.
Clip number one is my favorite,
and make sure to stick around all the way
till the end for some special bonus clips.
– I always loved music.
I always loved it.
Then, I would start singing along,
and, before you knew it,
I wanted to be that person so bad
that I would lip sync or dance or look in the mirror
or perform for my friends or cousins,
and I just always knew.
I just always knew, one day,
that I’m going to be doing this.
I knew.
Well, the first time I heard “Umbrella,”
I just knew how much I loved the song.
I thought it had one of the most original songs
of any song that I’ve ever heard thus far,
and I just …
Especially the ones that I’ve recording,
and I just …
I was like, “I have to have this one.
I have to have it.”
– But everybody wanted it, right?
– Well, I didn’t know that at the time.
At the time, they were like,
“Okay, you can have this song,” whatever.
I was like, “I have to have it.”
That’s when we started finding,
“Okay, hold on a second,” ’cause this person is listening,
that person’s listening.
Eventually, I just went up to one of the managers,
and I was like,
“I have to have this song.
This song is mine.”
I basically was like,
“I’m going to fight you if I don’t have this song.”
(laughing)
– How social media affects the way that you make music?
Do you consider feedback from fans?
– Absolutely, big time.
My fans definitely have an impact on the way I make music,
what I do.
It still comes from me, and I still like
to show them new things,
but I always want to make sure that …
I have to pay attention.
They say things that you need to hear.
They’re out there in the world.
They’re not in the little box here.
They know what’s going on,
and you would be stupid to be so oblivious
to what they’re saying.
You have to pay attention.
Every album, for me, has been a natural step
in my growth.
It has displayed that the different steps
in my career,
and every one happens to be better than the previous one.
For me, that’s the most important thing,
just making sure that every time you do something,
you do it better than you did it before.
Even when I listen to my music or watch my videos,
for instance, from “Pon de Replay” to “Russian Roulette,”
it’s not even the same person.
It’s not even the same person,
but I don’t know anyone who has been the same person
at 17 that they were at 21.
I think a lot of people think that them doing
what they want means doing what everybody else doesn’t want,
and it’s not that.
Doing what you want means moving forward
with the way you feel and living your truth,
and, a lot of the times,
you’ll find common ground with people,
and, sometimes, there are a lot of people you won’t find
that agree with you, but it has to be your truth,
because that’s the only way.
Well, it’s definitely the ultimate dream for me,
because I always dreamt of doing it,
so, yeah, it could be the ultimate dream,
but know that there’s a lot of hard work
that people don’t see,
a lot of toiling at night,
a lot of sleepless nights,
a lot of traveling, and some stuff, you don’t want to do,
but you just do it for the love of it,
so if you want to do it for fame or money, forget it.
Stop now.
But if you want to do it for the love of it,
keep on going.
Everyone has their own definition of a role model.
For me, I’m 21, so I’m going to live my life
like I’m a 21-year-old.
I’m going to dress like I’m a 21-year-old.
I know I have a five-year-old fan at home,
but I can’t live my life like a five-year-old,
because I’m not five,
but, at 21, for a 21-year-old to see the way I act
and see the way I dress, that’s fine,
and I can only be a Rihanna model,
because that’s who I am.
I can’t please everybody.
It’s too hard.
(laughs)
– [Host] Raquel wants to know if it’s hard to remain you
with all the success at such a young age.
– No, I would say it can be very easy
to be led astray or caught up
and sucked into the fame and the bright lights
and everything being grit.
It can be easy to do that,
but I have great people around me,
and a lot of people that I’ve known since my childhood,
a lot of people I trust, my big brothers,
Jay-Z, Jay Brown, and Tata.
They’re my backbone, and, at this point,
I’m in super good hands with them,
and they keep me grounded.
They keep me in check.
My mother is still my mother,
(laughing)
and she also checks me on the reg.
– [Host] Yeah?
– Yeah.
– [Host] On the reg.
– I just had a dream.
I had an idea.
I knew what I wanted to do,
and this is what I was going to do.
All I wanted to do was make music internationally.
In Barbados, it’s an unrealistic goal, you know?
You’re a small little island away from the United States.
– What has been Jay’s best advice to you?
– In the beginning of my career,
I remember “Pon de Replay” started doing really well,
and he came up to me at a showcase, and he said,
“You must be a really great person,
because great things keep happening for you.
Don’t ever change who you are.
Always remain humble, the same.”
It kind of rings in my ear that, every day,
I hear that, and it’s stuck with me.
I have a lot to be grateful for.
– Thank you so much for watching.
I made this video because Kristina Swagger asked me to,
so if there’s a famous entrepreneur that you want me
to profile next, leave it in the comments below,
and I’ll see what I can do.
I’d also love to know which of Rihanna’s top 10 rules
had the biggest impact on you and why.
Leave it in the comments, and I will join in the discussion.
I also want to give a quick shout-out to Tashana.
Thank you so much, Tashana, for buying my book.
For those of you who want a chance at a shout-out
in a future video, make sure to pick up a copy of the book,
and then, email in your receipt, so we can keep track.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Continue to believe or whatever your one word is,
and I’ll see you soon.
– I can’t tell you where I see myself in five years,
but I can tell you that I will work my best
to be the most successful artist that I can be
in five years.
– [Matt] What do you want to be remembered for?
When you’re an older lady and you’re about to retire,
what is the thing you want to be remembered for?
– Remembered as Rihanna, remembered as being the artist
from the Caribbean who came here
and made it internationally,
just remembered as me,
’cause I am true to my music,
and I just want people to realize that
and appreciate me for that.
Okay, Jim, if you could name a planet,
what would it be called?
– Okay, this is the most ridiculous question
I’ve ever heard.
– I know.
– But, if I could name a planet,
I would call it Jim’s Planet,
because I don’t see any reason to mess around
and be unclear with what’s going on.
I was allowed to name a planet,
and so, I’m going to call it Jim’s Planet.
– I would probably name it Jhat.
It’s become a language of sorts between my assistant
and I, her name is Jen,
which turned into Jhat.
– And how do you spell that?
– J-H-A-T, that’s how it is in my phone.
– See?
Oh, my God, I would have gone S-H-A,
without a doubt.
– (laughs) Everybody does that.
– I like that.
It has meaning, Jhat.
Rihanna, on your planet, what would the main rules be?
– Free shoes for everyone.
– That’s a good plan.
– Always, any kind, and ice cream, tons of ice cream.
You can only eat ice cream.
That’s the only food I’m going to have.
– You all going to need a good healthcare plan on that planet,
but you will have good feet.
– Tons of ice cream!
And no diabetes.
– That’s not logical, now.
– Oh, and no …
Yeah, you can’t … – Well, there’s more.
No what?
You can’t what?
– You can’t gain weight. (laughs)
– Criticize?
You can’t gain weight? (laughing)
I don’t know about this.
I don’t have to move there.
I have my own planet.
– What three things would you take with you from earth
to your planet?
– I would take Todd, my partner.
I would take Otis, my white dog,
and I would take Rufus, my Shih Tzu.
(Rihanna laughs)
And the rest of you can piss off.
What three things would you take?
– Jhat, ’cause she can pretty much facilitate
every other thing that I need,
my iPod, my iPod speakers.
– What skill or talent would you like to learn?
– To whistle.
– I can’t either.
– Really?
– I can’t. – You see?
– I’m very surprised a musician can’t.
– I feel so much bet …
What?
– I’m sorry.
You know what?
I don’t even mean that,
because I consider myself my own level of musician
in what I do.
– I’ve been trying to learn how to whistle for decades.
– What do you think the problem is?
– I just don’t know.
I think you either can or you can’t.
It’s one of those things. (laughs)
– Have you tried hard?
– Yes, and it sounds just like that.
– So you won’t even do it.
– Nope.
– That’s probably wise.
– What secret talent could you teach the Boov?
– I get the impression they don’t know …
Like, they would not know what a piano was
if they saw it.
Like, they’d be like,
“What is this used for?”
And so, I want to say I could teach them
to play the piano, ’cause I do play piano.
– Oh, you do?
– I do.
– Speaking of musicians.
– I know, and I can’t whistle.
– Uh-huh.
– I took it back as soon as I said it.
I was just surprised!
I always felt like …
Do you know how often a script calls for an actor
to whistle? (Rihanna laughs)
It’s frequent.
– That is really good to know.
I would have never guess that.
– That I played?
– Yeah.
– ‘Cause you don’t think I have an ounce of rhythm?
What?
What’s the judgment you’ve made?
– That is really mean.
– No. No! – That’s not what I said.
– No, you’re right.
I put words in your mouth. But …
– But you’re so great at acting.
– Yeah? That …
– That I couldn’t picture you having any room
for another skill. – Having time for anything …
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Thank you.
– See how I changed that?
– That’s really sweet. – See what I did? (laughs)
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