overnight success.
by Melly on April 7, 2010
in audacious living, delicious quotes
i’ve been thinking about this concept for the past few days.
the idea of overnight success.
they try to sell it in the biz i am in.
hollywood would have you believe Brad Pitt
or Johnny Depp was found in the blink of an eye &
success came instantly. not so, in fact, Brad in his OWN WORDS
has said, ” i had a 10 yr overnight success story.”
peeps, he worked for 10 yrs before he hit it huge.
that meant 10 yrs of small movies, 10 yrs of auditoning,
10 yrs of maybe having a second job, 10 yrs of doubting,
10 yrs of having to persist, 10 yrs of not taking “NO” for an
answer…
it has dawned on me that i had this story in my heart that people
around me achieved this kind of success where i floundered
and had to really work at where i am. guess what?
that’s bullshit. it’s an illusion. i’m not saying it isn’t possible.
i’m sure there are a few stories out there where it truly is a miracle.
for most of us though, it isn’t, and it does a great disservice to everyone
when it is packaged like it is. not because i wouldn’t cheer someone
on if it did. i would and do.
more so, because others need to know just what it takes (behind the scenes) to
achieve their dreams.
that is isn’t for the feint of heart.
it takes guts.
it takes passion.
it takes being ok with asking for help.
it takes having days of “the blah’s” and eating ice cream instead of working/networking/etc.
it takes hanging in.
it takes gentleness.
it takes vision.
it takes staying true.
it takes knowing that no matter what you know that you matter (outside of what you do).
A while back , I asked an actor buddy how he dealt with all the rejection…he said something really great to me.
“For me, the stuff worth really having requires me to persist. It’s about staying true. The chips are going to fall where they fall. I can’t help that. I do my best and then release the result.”
Find out about Me! 
Subscribe to my RSS feed
Well said!
I think what you just detailed might be why I tend to get my back up when I see articles on “It Lists” and “Hot Lists”…since so many of today’s biggest stars feel like they’ve been decreed ‘A-Lists’ by people who want to generate buzz, and meanwhile the decreed A-Lister inevitably flames out in two years or less.
I’ll gladly wait for the Depps & Jolies to make their bones over years of hard work. At least when I see them on ‘It Lists’, I’ll feel like they’ve truly earned it.