“He is an icon. There’s no other way to describe Russell Simmons and his 25 plus year career as an entrepreneur that has included the founding of Def Jam Records, Phat Farm clothing, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, and numerous philanthropic organizations. Simmons released his latest book, Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success, this week, and I sat down with him to talk about the book, as well as his thoughts on the 2008 election, and why he sees rappers as being more charitable than a lot of politicians.

“Adam Bernard: You just came out with another book, Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success, talk to me about it.

“Russell Simmons: Yeah, I’m excited. Oprah Winfrey told me to change the title to Do You a month ago and I told the publisher. He went home from the golf course and burned all the books. I’m serious. It was a good title she gave us, though, Do You. It was called 12 Laws of Success, but then she liked the third chapter so much and I said you know it really is about your inner voice so Do You is really the theme of the book. I think there’s nothing in the book new, it’s the same s*** from The Bible, The Koran, The Torah, the Buddhist scripture. I’m talking about the same stuff. I got it from the Yoga Sutras for the most part, or from the Bhagavad Gita, but it’s the same. A Christian reverend, he says the same s*** as me every day. So I think when you understand scripture translated properly the laws are unbreakable and are exactly the same.

“Adam Bernard: So you’re basically rewording things so people can understand them a little better.

“Russell Simmons: Here’s the thing, if you don’t know what I’m talking about then I made it up, but nothing in this book comes from me, it all comes from God. The laws are unbreakable, it’s common sense. People have to learn to have faith and resilience and to put their head down and value the work more than they value the prize because the prize is not the toy, the prize is the work itself. You could use these laws and acquire junk, but the real secret is how do you become happy and that comes only when you have an intention to acquire things that inspire others or lift people up, and not for a minute but for a long time. Stable lasting happiness is what you want to give people. This obvious s*** is said over and over and over again by everybody and heard by everybody, but not adhered to by most people.

“Adam Bernard: Why do you feel more people don’t get it?

“Russell Simmons: Because they don’t have faith. God realization comes from clarity, complete focus. Complete concentration slows the world down to a standstill where you can see God’s work everywhere, but instead of doing all the things that promote that clarity you get high. What does getting high do? It makes you feel euphoric, like as if you were some realized or enlightened being, the world slows down, only it’s not from clarity it’s from a dull perception. The Yoga, they say Christ consciousness, or Nirvana, comes from stopping the mind from the noise. The noise is all the shortcuts and stuff that separates, it’s the rethinking of what you already know. That’s why you gotta slow the noise down so you can see it.

“Adam Bernard: What are your hopes for the book?

“Russell Simmons: I hope that people get something out of it. They say “what about a revolution?” I say all the revolution in the world will never amount to anything unless there is revolution in the state of consciousness amongst people, so if I can promote a little bit of consciousness and lift people up one degree then I did something…”

continue