None of Them Had it Easy. None.

Are you a fan of Biography? Here are a few of the profiles I’ve taken a gander at in the past two months:

• John Travolta
• The Rolling Stones
• Jamie Lee Curtis
• Eminem
• Jodie Foster
• Chelsea Handler
• Anthony Hopkins
• Jennifer Lopez
• Kelly Clarkson
And wait! Yes, I watched more!

It’s fascinating to see where these celebs came from, what got them there and what they had to go through to get there. If I may be frank, even though I’m really Jim, I was surprised.

I had this idea that most stars walked into their gifting/destiny with a few minor pebbles in the road, not a street where bombs had gone off and were still exploding.

ALL of the stories revealed serious setbacks before these stars achieved fame and fortune. All. (And they continued to have challenges.)

A repeating mantra when outsiders describe these people are statements like:

“They were so incredibly determined.”

“They worked harder than anyone else.”

“They knew what they wanted, fixed their eyes on it and refused to give up.”

“No one came to see them at first, but they didn’t care. They just kept at it.”

I suppose I could have made this post much shorter and simply said, “Hey, it’s tough on everyone who wants to reach a dream, you’re not alone.” But I think knowing others have been on and are on this path helps.

It comes down to this: You have to believe in yourself. When no one else does. There is no other choice.

There is no other road.


James L. Rubart is the best-selling author of ROOMS, BOOK OF DAYS, and THE CHAIR. During the day he runs Barefoot Marketing which helps businesses and authors make more coin of the realm. In his free time he dirt bikes, hikes, golfs, takes photos, and occasionally does sleight of hand. No, he doesn’t sleep much. He lives with his amazing wife and teenage sons in the Pacific Northwest and still thinks he’s young enough to water ski like a madman. More at www.jameslrubart.com