I grew up just down the road from James Dean
Small town kids from Indiana, we grew up in the same scene
And I watched every one of his movies from Rebel to East of Eden
And I wished so bad I could go back somehow and meet him
And I've read about how small minds used to treat him
And I get it 'cause I've lived it
I've been mocked and made fun of
And ridicule for being a creative, I've received a ton of
But that never kept me from breaking loose from the place I grew up in
And when religious people tried to stop me, I didn't listen because I knew enough sin
It's funny when people throw rocks but live in glass houses
I chased my dream and ended up speaking to masses of thousands
And I never forget where I came from, and they never forgot me
And I'll never forget preaching in Mississippi when cops stopped me
They said a man there woulda shot me
But I've never stopped living [?], a quitter, that's not me
I kept marching to the drum in one beat
And people who misunderstood me tried to shun me
But I sit back and laugh 'cause religious people are funny
Self-righteous and pious stuck with their heads neck-deep in Titus
Like, "How many verses can I memorize?"
I grew up in a church and found out it's all been a lie
Not the Jesus I fell in love with but the people in the seats
Sometimes I lose my hope in people until I hit my next meet-n-greet
And that's when I get to meet all of my Tell the World family
And suddenly, I forget about the voices of the haters who can't stand me
Because I have a million of people who back me
So forget the naysayers that trashed me
People who jump online need clicks so they "@" me
Get off your computers and come see me
Half the haters I have are just mad they can't be me
But you couldn't last a day in my shoes
It's the fourth quarter, baby, and I refuse to lose
I came up in the middle of central Indiana watching Indiana Jones from the beginning
And you wonder why I wear these hats, just call me Indiana Jennings
I'm not afraid to go where the rest of the world is
And I'm not afraid to take what the rest of the world gives
Their negativity and jealousy doesn't phase me
And it never goes to my head when my fans continue to praise me
I'm a middle American with a west coast swag
Lemme hear you so I know where you're at
I wanna reach the world
Every boy and every girl
I wanna reach the prostitutes and drug addicts and bullies, too
And I promise the only thing I've ever bullied is this booth
And I don't need you to tell me I'm the best poet alive
I knew I was the moment I arrived
I knew I was when I took my first stage
Poetry is a release for me to temper my rage
These are confessions of a poet from the 'burbs who has an inner-city mind
And I told myself every winter I'd be fine
That's when the depression used to splinter my mind
Every creative has a time in their life they'd wish they'd die
Because everything we create takes a piece of us
And I'll never forget the cities east of us
Shoutout to Dayton and Cinci and Philly, too
Some people talk about full speed living, but this is something I really do
I wake up and write, and I shoot, and I edit
I was the first to bring controversy to Christianity through creativity, yeah, I said it
And they sent haters would stop me, but I never let it
I have a beast inside of me, and I was a kid when I first fed it
And the diet looks like motivation and confidence
I had no help with this movement when I was launching this
I had me, myself, and I, and nobody wanted to take a chance on me
Until randomly, Josh and Paul became fans of me
But more importantly, they were friends to me
I felt like I couldn't finish the climb with a discouraged injury
But they picked me up and put me on
They gave me a platform and stood me on
And I can't thank them enough for taking a shot on this kid
I'll never forget the things that they did
So to every kid out there with dreams of making it
I came from nowhere, walked up to the wall, and started breaking it
And I hope I've been able to inspire you to chase you dreams and live sold out
I used to sleep with no furniture on a fold-out couch
And they turned off my heat one day when it was cold out
But I just kept chasing this dream of reaching the nations
Now they play my messages on TV stations
And now wherever I go, people say hey and know my name
With God, all things are possible, and you could do the same
It starts today
Get up and get after it
And live every second pumped up and passionate