Big Sean’s 13 Most Inspiring Quotes

“Spent my whole life trynna find the light that’s at the end of the tunnel / I should have realized it was inside,” Big Sean rapped on “Light.” Since making his label debut with a string of hits right out the gate — “My Last,” “Marvin & Chardonnay” and “Dance (A**)” — the Detroit rapper has sprinkled plenty of wisdom throughout his catalog, especially across projects like I Decided. and Detroit 2.

The Grammy-nominated rapper opened up about feeling the weight of the world on “Bigger Than Me,” tackled anxiety on the Nipsey Hussle-assisted “Deep Reverence,” and emphasized the importance of family on “On Up,” a track dedicated to his son, Noah. Even outside of music, the Better Me Than You artist has dropped countless gems as an author, with his debut book, “Go Higher,” exploring five practices for self-growth and acceptance. If anyone knows a thing or two about overcoming doubt and embracing change, it’s Big Sean.

With that in mind, Rap-Up rounded up 13 of Big Sean’s most inspirational quotes from his music and interviews. Check them out below.

1. “I used to let things not going my way dictate my happiness, and then I realized that those are two separate things, and you’re the source of it.”

Your happiness shouldn’t hinge on circumstance. According to the “Beware” hitmaker, that feeling is something you create, not chase. “You can’t look at these conditional things for an unconditional feeling,” he told “The Jennifer Hudson Show.”

2. “Just because things aren’t going my way doesn’t mean I can’t choose to be happy. When I started changing how I felt, everything else started changing.”

In an interview with Men’s Health, Big Sean dropped another gem about the power of perspective. As it turns out, once he quit waiting around for things to line up perfectly before letting himself feel good, life started playing along. Go figure.

3. “Letting go of grudges that I used to feel a way about / ‘Cause some emotions are too taxing to keep paying out.”

Of all the Detroit native’s collaborations with DJ Khaled, “Thank You” might just house the most motivational gems. He makes a case for letting go of grudges, not because forgiving others necessarily feels good, but because bitterness is exhausting. Besides, moving on is one of the best emotional investments any of us can make, whether it’s after betrayal or a bad relationship.

4. “I never want to look back on life and say I wish I did something, and I don’t want anybody else to do that.”

Regret is a hard pill to swallow, especially when it comes to looking back on missed opportunities. “I just want to be remembered for my story and as an example to always move on the impulse of your heart and not give a f**k what people think,” Big Sean stressed during his sit-down with Interview Magazine. If there’s a lesson here, it’s that regret hurts a hell of a lot more than risk.

5. “My favorite question I used to ask is ‘God, why me?’ / But God don’t give what you want, God give you what you need.”

Near the tail end of 2024’s Better Me Than You, the Emmy Award winner turned the familiar frustration of “why me?” and gave it a deeper meaning on “Boundaries.” Instead of indulging in self-pity, he argued that hard times are given to us by design. By no means is it comforting in the moment, but there’s truth in the idea that growth rarely happens without discomfort.

6. “You’re here for a reason. Sometimes what you want and what you need lines up, and sometimes it doesn’t line up.”

Though it may not always feel that way, everyone is here for a reason. Though our goals may not always align perfectly with what life throws your way. Sometimes, they’re just worlds apart, as Big Sean pointed out during Hoda Kotb’s “Making Space” podcast. In any case, coming to terms with that disconnect may be the key to staying sane when life insists on doing its own thing.

7. “And realized counting money never feels as good as counting blessings / And a loaded mind is more dangerous than a loaded weapon.”

You can chase cash forever, but real satisfaction comes from being thankful for what’s already yours: family, friends and even the simple comfort of having a roof over your head. In his loaded bars on “Light,” the former G.O.O.D Music signee also seems to emphasize how an anxious and cluttered mind can sabotage you more than any physical threat.

8. “When you’re walking on your faith, it’s like walking on an invisible bridge…You may not be able to see it, but you know it’s there.”

Putting your trust into something you can’t actually see — whether it’s your faith, intuition or whatever else — is challenging because, at times, it even defies logic. Much like Big Sean highlighted in his conversation with VicBlends, it’s like walking across a bridge that you can’t see, uncertain if you’ll actually cross safely. However, that’s the heart of true belief: moving ahead anyway. “If you keep yourself in that mindset/mentality, you [are going to] get your shot one way or another, for sure,” he said. “I guarantee it.”

9. “Last night took a L, but tonight I bounce back.”

Loss is inevitable and so is getting back up. As the title suggests, “Bounce Back” serves as a blueprint on how to handle failure without letting it define you. Take the hit, learn something from it, and keep moving like nothing ever stopped you. “If I lose 1, I bounce back like 2, 3 did with 4, 5,” he rapped on the Hitmaka-produced track.

10. “Everything is temporary, and when you try [to] hold on to something, that’s when it can destroy you.”

Nothing stays the same forever. In fact, the tighter you cling to the things you desperately want to keep — be it relationships, success or even certain moments — the quicker they seem to slip away. Holding on too tight is exactly how you lose sight of what mattered most in the first place, Big Sean explained on “Drink Champs.”

11. “When you feel something you can’t see / But you know it’s meant to be / You gon’ realize that this is bigger than me, yeah.”

On “Bigger Than Me,” the I Decided. creator once again tackled the topic of trusting in something you can’t see or quite explain. He acknowledges how uncomfortable it can feel when intuition pushes you toward something bigger, especially when there’s zero guarantee that it’ll work out.

12. “One of the biggest blessings is going through a time where you are feeling at your lowest or depressed…because that is just confirmation that you’re not in alignment and that you’re meant for something different.”

When you’re feeling stuck or depressed, conventional wisdom tells you to bury it or keep pushing forward. However, Big Sean challenged that notion completely during his talk with Jay Shetty, in which he described the low moments as warnings that you’re off track entirely. Considering life’s toughest wake-up calls often turn out to be exactly what you need to finally get your priorities in order, it makes sense.

13. “I realized there’s no dream that I can’t fill / I manifested all while I’m the man still.”

Big Sean raps about his ambitions pretty often (“Paradise” and “Sacrifices” being a couple of examples), but at least on “Voices In My Head/Stick To The Plan,” he was already living proof. It takes serious courage to publicly claim your goals, especially when you’re still hustling to get there. But as he reminded us on the track’s second half, that’s exactly what manifestation is all about: “Stick to the plan / Stay focused.”