There are those days…When my drive crashesWhen my self-worth stalls by the side of the road,My confidence’s “Check Engine” light comes on / mid-hustleAnd I find myself at my bathroom mirror / finger to glassScratching the word “Can’t” into the hardened steamBut / as I stare at my murky reflectionwith these broken down eyesMy reflection sees its refection in me from the other sideAnd thinks to itself:Ummmm, I don’t know what he thinks he sees,but he must not be looking at me, becauseI am AWESOOOOME!So, don’t go wasting my tearsI am more than enough to get through thisAnd I’ve got a scrapbook of “I can’t do it”s to prove itFor I maintain a level of awesomnity in everything I doSo my awesomation is not speculation, but irrefutable truthIn fact, the Census Bureau just released a report that 2out of every 3 people are awesome / And if that’s trueThen out of you, and you, and IThe question we must now ask ourselves is:Which of you two is the one who sucks? BecauseI am AWESOOOOME!Like finding money in dirty laundry / Awesome!Like parking at that one meter that’s broken / Awesome!Like that perfect person at that perfect timesaying that perfect thing / Awesome!Like making a living doing what you live forLike somewhere, rocking out in New York City, is a dudewhose resume actually reads National Air Guitar ChampionSomewhere, in the Ukraine, is womanwho boasts a trophy for National Sand Art ChampionHere before you, from Los Angeles, is a manwho has earned the title National Poetry Slam ChampionAnd to most of the working world…All three of these titles are equally freakin’ ridiculousBut the most awesomefied people on the planetare we who embrace our ridiculousnessWe live what we love / and we love incorrigiblyWhich is why I sleep quite well but I go to bed horriblyAlways hopped up on a triple shot of purposeJuggling my dreams like 13 flaming swordsAnd chasing my aspirations through graveyard shiftsSo the world can awake to my awesomnaciousness…(look it up)I’ll admit – I used to think “awesome”Was a word for surfers and smokers,skateboarders and valley girls,But I was, like, tooootally mistakenAwesome is gangsta!Awesome is stupid fresh!Awesome is the new “crunk” and the new “cool beans,”It’s the new “bombdiggity” and the new “bees knees,”My new mantra that helps me breathe into all I believeAnd see that within me is all the might I’ll ever need

Because there are those daysWhen I’m pushed to the edge where still waters meet earthAnd I fall to my knees to look upon the waters surfaceBut / as I stare at my reflection with these broken down eyesGod sees His reflection in me from the other sideAnd thinks to Herself: Ummmm, I don’t know what he thinks he seesBut he must not be looking at me, becauseI am AWESOME!!Like the science of miracles and the mathematics of purpose / Awesome!Like How the mind can always calculatethe What of Who and the When of WhereBut the soul must solve for Why / Awesome!Like the thought of God and Logichaving faith that we’ll figure ourselves out / Awesome!Like how the moment I truly discovered The Great I AMis the same moment I discovered how truly great I amAnd I am / not perfectBut I’m perfect as I amI’m not beautiful / like I used to beI’m beautiful / like I amLike the scar where a breast was onceLike survival where a death once wasLike the better where a best once wasEvery gray hair a trophyEvery wrinkled fold a storyEvery pound of fat a challengeReminding me / there is always something to pursueAnd always something to celebrate!That’s why I never smile for no reasonIt’s a concept I don’t believe inYou aint never without a reasonTo show off your teeth a bitspread out your cheeks a bitLet your gums breathe a bitIf you can learn to reach deep for itYou can take yourself a piece of blissAnd make yourself a feast of itLike when you go buy a smoothie!And they fill it too fullmaking more than your cup can hold / BUT…Instead of letting it spill overThey give you that little, extra cup / and youfeel like you just won the smoothie lottery! / Awesome!Like that perfect day …When the stretched limo driver picked me upfrom the 5 star hotelto transport me to my first class flightafter my sold out showAnd, curiously peering at me through the rearview mirror,He asked, “What do YOU for a living?”And with a pocket full of sand,and an air guitar in my handI replied “I am a FULL TIME POET!Now roll up the damn divider!”– (And I didn’t actually say “roll up the damn divider”But it would’ve been awesomer if I had, right?)Well… next timeAnd there will be no shortage of next timesYou don’t have to guess, just check my specs / I’mno longer afraid to double down ‘cause I tricked the deck / I’veAlready seen my future so I’m unfit to bet / S’whyWhenever failure challenges me to Russian roulette / Irock a waterproof poker face impervious to sweat / Cause Idon’t gamble with my life / I count the cardsSo my success is mathematics / So long as the dealer’s GodI can always even my oddsEven on the odd days I can’t get over itI go through it til it’s behind meOn the days I can’t levee the wavesI just learn to surf TsunamisOn the days I can’t slay the beast of despairwith a mighty sword of confidenceI can still tuck a razor blade beneath my tongueAnd paper cut it to deathOne positive affirmation at a timeAnd when I return from the wild rumpus of my awesome festI always vacuum with a smile as I clean up my awesome messFor there are bits of mountaintop buried in the groovesof the soles of my shoesEvery footprint tracked on my floor testifiesto the heights I’ve climbed / And provesI made it back home each timeSo I find / that on those days …When my weary soul can’t seemto do another single thing,When the 24th hour threatens to pop my day’s seams,When the cup of my ambitions begins to runneth over into screams…That perfect person, at that perfect time, says that perfect thingAnd I am handed an awesome little, extra cupBy my friend / who shows up at my doorWith a bottle of Don Julio,4 dirty jokes, and a scrapbook full of“We’ll laugh about this later”sA little, extra cupBy my lover / Sipping espresso in a fireproof suitWho takes over the juggling of my flaming swordsAnd says “You need to get some sleep tonight baby”A little, extra cupBy my colleagues, my team,my family, my fans,my community / That comes to see me inspire and amazeBut shows up to find me having one of those daysWhere I stand on this stage trying to guide someone homeYet can’t seem to believe the words of my own poemBut they do / They see, in my story, their truthThat they’re perfection in processThat they’re rapture en routeAnd I stare at my reflection in the audience’s eyesAnd they stare back at their reflection my pupils provideAnd we shout aloud to ourselves with fire and prideI don’t know what you think you see from your sideBut you must not be looking at me, becauseI am awesome!