Professional athletes have god-given talents.
Movie stars have big breaks.
Musicians get discovered.
Executives have connections; uncles or fathers or friends who got them into the business.
These are all variations on the same excuse we use to justify someone’s success.
Of course we would be just as successful if we had Manning’s Arm or Peterson’s speed.
Of course we could be stars if we had Pitt’s bone structure, or got cast in that early Scorsese movie.
Of course we could be rock stars if Weintraub had seen us at that gig.
Of course we would be billionaires if our dad’s had been into real estate.
In reality, these are all bullshit excuses. Do you know how many people have god-given ability? People who can run 4.4 40’s or sing like Adele? Who look like Johnny Depp? Just watch American Idol, or X-Factor, or America’s Got Talent, or any of their hundreds of international spin-offs: there’s thousands and thousands and thousands of people with this level of talent. Walk around Los Angeles or New York for a day. There are much better looking people than Johnny Depp waiting tables and selling shoes. For every rock star, there’s hundreds of session musicians with more talent and ability in their little toes than the guy they’re backing up. For every session musician, there’s thousands of amateur Joe’s who could blow those rock stars away with their talent. These guys never reached the next level not for a lack of talent, but a lack of effort.
You think Miley Cyrus is worth 9 figures because she has some great talent? Or because her dad was a hack who made one horrifically bad but sarcastically popular song 20 years ago? She doesn’t have the talent to even make the cut to get on a season of American Idol, let alone past the first round. She’s been successful because she busts her ass. She spent a decade doing nothing but working. Showing up early, staying late, hitting her marks, being competent.
Tom Brady was picked 199th in the 2000 draft. 198 teams didn’t miss this future Hall of Fame quarterback’s god-given talent. He’s a future Hall of Famer because instead of hanging out in bed with Gisele every morning, he gets up at 5am and hits the gym. He studies game film on the way home after a game. Tom Brady is successful because he fucking hustles his ass off, not because Zeus hit him with a lightning bolt.
Stop deluding yourself. Stop using your lack of god-given whatever as an excuse.
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