I wake up each and every day with a smile on my face knowing I

In the words of the artist Two Chainz, we hear the music of gratitude and purpose: “I wake up each and every day with a smile on my face knowing I get to do something musically.” This is not merely a confession of a man who has found success, but a timeless teaching: joy comes not from wealth or acclaim, but from rising each morning with the knowledge that one’s life is tied to a calling. The smile upon waking is the crown of those who labor in love, who find their craft to be more than a task, but a gift.

The ancients would call this eudaimonia—the flourishing of the soul when one’s life aligns with its true purpose. Two Chainz does not smile because each day is easy, but because each day offers him a chance to fulfill his nature through music. Just as the blacksmith in the old villages awoke with joy at the chance to shape iron, or the shepherd rose with peace at the sight of his flock, so too does the artist awaken with gratitude to shape melodies. The smile is the sign of a man at harmony with his path.

The origin of such wisdom lies in the eternal bond between art and the spirit. From the dawn of humanity, music has been more than sound—it has been prayer, memory, and identity. The ancients beat drums to call the tribe together, sang hymns to call the gods, and composed verses to remember the fallen. To awaken each day with the chance to create music is to step into a river as old as time, to take one’s place in a tradition that transcends generations. Two Chainz’s words echo this legacy, for he knows that every day lived in music is a day lived in communion with something larger than himself.

History gives us shining examples. Think of Ludwig van Beethoven, deaf and broken in body, yet still rising each morning to create symphonies that would outlive him. He could not hear the notes with his ears, yet he smiled inwardly at the miracle of placing them upon the page. Or think of the enslaved Africans in America who, though bound in chains, sang spirituals that carried both sorrow and hope. They smiled, not because life was easy, but because music gave them strength to endure. These are the ancestors of the truth Two Chainz declares: that to wake with music in the heart is to carry joy, no matter the weight of the world.

The wisdom here is clear: a life without purpose is a burden, but a life with calling—even if filled with struggle—is a blessing. The smile of Two Chainz is not the product of chance, but of alignment. He has found what makes his spirit sing, and because of this, each dawn is not a curse but a gift. The lesson is that we too must seek out the work, the art, the service, that gives our lives meaning, and once we find it, we must cherish it above gold.

For us, the practical path is this: begin each day with gratitude. Even if your calling is not yet fully realized, smile at the chance to take one step closer to it. If you have found what you love—whether it is music, teaching, building, or serving—rise with thanks and pursue it with vigor. And if your labor is heavy and joyless, then use that very dissatisfaction as fuel to seek a higher path, one that awakens the smile before the day even begins.

So, beloved seeker, carry this teaching: live so that when your eyes open each morning, you too may say, “I rise with a smile, for I am allowed to touch my calling today.” For in that smile is freedom, and in that freedom is the music of life itself. And when your days are many and your years complete, may others look upon your life and say: this was one who walked his path with joy, one who turned labor into song, one whose very waking was a hymn of gratitude.