Celebrity is an irksome word at the best of times, often associated with those who have made a name for themselves at an indecent speed simply by appearing in a reality show or by selling their tale of heartbreak to a trashy magazine/newspaper.
But celebrities still play a vital part in our society, they are often seen as the epitome of success and inspiration, they can have a powerful impact on our attitudes and behaviour. Thus, the influence of star power can never be underestimated.
First we must understand that life is not easy for any of us, one must have preseverance and confidence to get over the problematic circumstances. As when we choose to deal with life's challenges and difficulties, we have the opportunity to transform the ups and downs, the discomforts and inconveniences into genuine fulfilment.
Before these "stars" became household names, they struggled with lean bank balances, years of 6am starts, repetitive training and gruelling workouts. No one applauded them during those dark hours but they stuck to the guns in belief that one day they could thrill the world. These are stars - Stars who have shown young people that no matter what walk of life you are in, the only way to win a prize is to enter a game and never give up.
During difficult times, our aspirations become harder to attain and it's all too easy to give up hope of achieving a goal. These entertainers and their life stories might give you the will to keep pushing forward. As it is said - Reading is the best dress and make up for your mental health. Reading about these stars will give you the motivational boost to move forward.
So sit back, relax and take notes.
Here are 7 amazing entertainers you should look up to for inspiration.
In no particular order.... Let's get started -
1. J. K. Rowling
The writer of the famous Harry Potter series had a rough start too. She was divorced (victim of an abusive marriage), on government aid and could barely feed her baby. When she wrote her first book, she was so poor that she couldn't afford a computer or even the cost of photocopying her 90,000 word novel, so she manually typed out each version of the novel to send to publishers.
She was rejected 12 times before a small publishing house finally accepted her manuscript. She went from poverty to extreme wealth by following her passion, believing in her dream and refusing to give up. Her creativity led her to the zenith of success when she created a magical reading experience for people around the world which of course led to creation of blockbuster movies and theme parks.
2. Hritik Roshan
Hritik - the heart throb of the nation, born with a silver spoon faced severe stuttering issues. His childhood was traumatized as he was being bullied in school, facing the day trying miserably to talk and be mocked and ridiculed. Stammering is childhood problem which plagues him even today.
But what truly helped him was his will to practice to get better (he once practiced for 36 hours to be able to tell his cook what to make for dinner), he spends enormous amount of time infront of the mirror to get every intonation, every syllable of his speech right. His determination to improve has led to a very successful career with breathtaking performances in movies like "Koi Mil Gaya", "Lakshya", "Guzaarish", "Super 30", etc.
3. Demi Lovato
Demi is a singer, actress, songwriter, author and entrepreneur as well as is considered as one of the most empowering celebs. She has always been open about her personal struggle with substance addiction and mental health. She used to cut herself, has battled depression, developed extremely unhealthy eating behaviours. She started compulsively overeating at a very young age and stopped eating altogether at the age of 12 after being harrassed at school for being "fat".
She went to rehab, got the help she needed and used her past struggles with bipolar disorder to set up the 'Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program' to help people get the mental health treatment they need. She's now encouraging her fans and trying to spread the word about confronting one's issues, facing the problems and getting the aid needed to survive and be better.
A quote from her book - Staying Strong: 365 Days a year -
"Life is precious and it's what you do with it that keeps you alive from the inside. Each one of us has fears, the more we work to overcome them, the more we are able to enjoy our lives"
4. Sudha Chandran
Sudha began dancing at the age of 3, gave her first stage performance at the age of 8. At the age of 16, she was already a rising star with 75 stage performances under her belt. Four months before she turned 16, she met with an accident while traveling in a bus which led to a deep injury on her right leg, the result- doctors had to cut her leg by 7.5 inches below the knee to save her life.
She was shattered, negative thoughts enveloped her but she did not quit. It took her 4 months to walk straight again with the help of an artificial limb called the Jaipur foot. Dancing has always given her strength and fulfilment so she began practicing, she had to learn every step again, there were times when her leg bleed, yet she continued. Her determination did not falter even when she used to see blood at the end of every dance session.
Regular practice and physiotherapy gave her certainty to dance again, she got the opportunity to dance on stage again in 1984 where she mesmerised everyone with her performance, the hall echoed with the sound of claps. Presently she's a well established actress playing lead roles in movies, TV shows, running her own dancing school, judging various dance reality shows. Her story gives a very important message - a physical barrier cannot hamper our dreams and our way to success. Life will throw various hurdles at us but we must not sink into negativity.
5. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah seems to have it all, she is touted as an independent and influential entrepreneur but there was a time when she hid behind a veil of depression. Throughout her life she faced a lot of criticism about her weight, sexuality, colour. During her adolescence, she was sexually abused by a number of male relatives of her mother, later she gave birth to a child at the age of 14 who passed away just 2 weeks later.
Despite facing so much, her perseverance led to her finishing high school, earning a full scholarship to college, working her way up through the ranks of television from a local network anchor to an international superstar.
A quote from her book - The path made clear :
"The true meaning of courage is to be afraid - and then, with your knees knocking and your heart racing, take the leap anyway"
6. Rowan Atkinson
Rowan is a famous comedian and screenwriter, best known for his work in and as Mr. Bean. He had an interest in acting but couldn't perform well due to his speaking disorder, he got rejected a bunch of times which led him to start his own show - Mr. Bean which was a global success. His talent in facial expressions has made him capable of doing visual based comedy with little or no dialogue; he has sometimes even been called as "the man with the rubber face".
Today he is one of the most famous celebrities with the net worth of approx $130 million. He teaches us that to be successful, you don't need a beautiful face and heroic body. Passion and hard work can help you achieve all you want. He also inspires us to stay open minded, you never know - your fun hobbies may become your future career.
7. Jim Carrey
Jim - the over enthusiastic, high energy extraordinaire is a brilliant entertainer who was unable to complete school, faced with dire poverty, he was forced to fend for his family. At the age of 10, he took an 8 hours per day factory job after school to make ends meet. At one point, his family was even homeless and had to live in a van, he faced several rejections but he was able to overcome all these obstacles with positive affirmations.
He visualised that he was a great actor who people wanted to work with, these self proclamations helped him in staying determined, carrying out his dream to make it big in Hollywood. He practiced the art of self encouragement teaching us that we are good enough to push through dilemmas, hardships and setbacks, if we keep striving for what we want, if we don't give up - we cannot FAIL.
"Never Give Up" is probably the most cliche phrase of the century but this common phrase is something that these celebrities took to heart. There is a lot we can learn from these entertainers after all life is a journey of self discovery with inescapable obstacles that plague our path to stop us in our tracks. By reading about these people who found success through failure, we can learn why persistence is the key to start living your dream life.
Henceforth, life is unpredictable, when you crave for opportunities, they make you wait and when you least expect it, they shower like blissful droplets so don't lost hope and don't ever give up....
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