“I’m blessed,” DJ Khaled told Arianna Huffington, when the two recently sat down for The Thrive Global Podcast, in partnership with iHeartRadio and Sleep Number. The world-renowned producer, musician, best-selling author, and DJ – who has become famous for his motivational social media content and philosophical messages, opened up to Huffington about all things music, stress, and fatherhood. As it turns out, the three are quite connected in the DJ’s daily life.
“My son [Asahd] has given me more life, and more blessings,” Khaled told Huffington, describing his fatherhood experience thus far. “It’s a feeling that is just unbelievable. It’s happiness.” The musician’s upcoming album, Father of Asahd, pays tribute to his one-year-old son, but the DJ also opened up to Huffington about a time when he let stress impact his personal life and well-being.
“I was stressed out on another level,” Khaled shared, remembering his mindset earlier in his career. “I’m never going back to that. I let things go.” Now that he is a father, the DJ prioritizes rest, family, and time well spent. “Instead of working hard, I started working smart,” he said.
Today, DJ Khaled takes pride in spending time with his family and managing his stress – but his unbelievably positive attitude didn’t always come as naturally. “The grass was turning brown,” Khaled explained. “This is when I was going through my meditation. I started gardening and watering the grass and taking care of it. And gradually, it started getting real green.”
DJ Khaled has used his personal growth to inspire his work, as displayed in his 2017 album, Grateful, which debuted at number one on the charts, and his best-selling book The Keys. But beyond his art, the Snapchat sensation’s viral motivation fuels his entire mindset. “We gotta take care of our bodies, our mind, our soul, our surroundings,” he told Huffington. “I am beautiful and I’m happy… I have to maintain what God has blessed me with.”
To find out more, listen to the full conversation on iHeartRadio, here. You can also listen to the Thrive Global podcast internationally for free on iTunes.
