Justin Bieber
Still Harping on Justin Bieber
“Luck is what happens when Opportunity meets Preparation.” -Seneca (Roman dramatist)
I heard this quote today, and it really resonated with me. It’s so easy to attribute a person’s success to Luck. And perhaps it’s true. But that doesn’t mean there was no work or effort involved.
Take Stephanie Meyers. I’ve heard it said that her success is merely luck. And perhaps that’s true about the fact that she hit on the next teen craze. But the craze didn’t just find her. . . . She spent hours writing a novel and editing it. Then she took the time to write a query and put herself out there. She was prepared when opportunity came knocking.
Another prime example: Justin Bieber. His rise to fame is astounding, and it would be easy to dismiss him as the luckiest kid in the world. But fame didn’t just show up on his doorstep one day. He was learning to play the drums when he was two. He was entering contests and putting his performances online for others to view by the time he was ten. Sounds simple, but it takes guts. And work. Opportunity came knocking BECAUSE of his preparation.
So when I heard this quote, my mind translated it into this: “Don’t sit around hoping to get published or worry that you’ll never be lucky enough. Go out and write. And write. And write. Then don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.”
Because you never know when Opportunity will come knocking. And if you aren’t prepared, it might just pass you by.
What are you doing to be prepared?
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Justin Bieber, luck, Opportunity, Preparation, Seneca, Stephanie MeyersMary Pickford: The Justin Bieber of Her Day?
After quoting Mary Pickford last week, I had a couple of people ask about her. Of course I didn’t know anything, but that is easily rectified in the computer age. So today I present Mary Pickford, a.k.a. Gladys Smith (1892-1979):
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It turns out that Mary Pickford was a giant in the film industry. Not only was her fame as a silent actress akin to that of Charlie Chaplin (i.e. THE biggest starlet of her day, and considered at the time to be the most famous woman to have ever lived), but she also helped reshape Hollywood. She is the reason that movies are not simply reproductions of plays on film.
On a funny note, one might also call her the Justin Bieber of her day because she was originally identified by her hair. When she first gained popularity, they didn’t put actors’ names in the credits, so she was simply known as “The Girl with the Golden Curls” or “Blondilocks.” And when she finally did cut it in 1928, it was front page news. Sound familiar?
Anyway, I don’t want to bore you with too many details, but I will mention two facts that make me like her (and make me think of writing):
- First, she attributes her popularity to the fact that in the beginning she took as many roles as she could, no matter how small. She understood that if she became known, there would be a demand for her work.
- Second, once she had made it, she used her fame to benefit many charitable causes and she convinced others to do the same.
Unfortunately, the advent of “talkies” became her undoing. Though a pioneer of the film industry, she, ironically, underestimated the power that sound combined with film would have (that, and she cut her hair). In the end, she retired as an actress in 1933.
So I ask you . . . what would you do if your chosen career suddenly ended for whatever reason? And are e-books today the equivalent of “talkies” back then?