There’s a post that’s been uber-popular on Facebook this week. I’m sure you’ve seen it:
“At age 23, Tina Fey was working at a YMCA.
At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.
…
Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first movie role until he was 46.
Morgan Freeman landed his first MAJOR movie role at age 52.
Kathryn Bigelow only reached international success when she made The Hurt Locker at age 57.”
Neat facts. Heartwarming at first if we’re, um, “older” and have dreams that haven’t come to fruition.
This post presumes that “international success” is what makes someone’s life.
Over and over and over, we are seeing this glorification and promotion of 6, 7+ figure incomes, this need for significance and to be “seen.” Fame for people who are good at marketing themselves (which can be anyone these days (equality!), thanks to the powers of the interwebs.)
When will we shift the conversation to celebrating heart over income?
Giving over goal posts?
Peace over hustle?
How we shared our riches and not how we made them?
I am ALL for empowerment and supporting people to make money doing what they love. For sure. I hear you. Hey, I like really really nice things. I pay way too much money to live in a neighborhood I adore. I live simply, but absolutely luxuriate on stuffs important to me. I have spent ridiculous amounts of money on exquisite meals because the value of that experience is something that lives with me and that I value in the core of my being.
I especially love women making more money because we are still stuck in an old paradigm where money is power and that power is what facilitates change and this can help to level that playing field, until our power paradigm shifts.
But I find we are constantly cheerleading for DREAMS. We’re addicted to future-tripping. For something OTHER than now. For doing over being.
For the perfect guy. The perfect purpose. The perfect blow out. We are championing for dreams over reality.
Having been adulting for a solid 20 or so years now, I’ve seen friends become both millionaires and TV, film and Broadway famous… And I don’t mean internet, 15-thousand-followers-and-you-get-a-book-deal-famous, but legit, like: you-can’t-walk-down-the-street-in-a-foreign-country-without-someone-asking-for-an-autograph-famous.
I can tell you with 100% accuracy: succeeding in your dreams doesn’t make you happy. Or generous. Or peaceful. Or loving. Or even fun to be around. Or a great parent, a great partner or a great friend.
And the MOST successful international superstars I know (the people who CAN’T walk down the street anywhere) who are incredibly kind, grateful, generous and selfless, were that way before they started. They were driven by a need to share a truth. Stardom was a by-product.
THIS is the true field of dreams. Build this field and all is coming.
And guess what, if you happen to be one of the 99.9999999905% people who don’t reach “international success”? This field of dreams will be there to remind you, “Oh yeah. You’re more than that.” You are infinite. And the materials of this world can easily reflect that for you. But they don’t need to. We are infinite, nevertheless.
