Its the morning after the night before and social media is alive with the news of John Legend and Common’s Oscar win for the ‘Best original Song’ Glory. The win represents much more than an Oscar nod but also validates and prioritizes the sentiments behind the song and the movie itself Selma.
But as always here on TIS, we don’t focus on the ‘buzz’. We like to look deeper behind the story, and that’s when we stumbled on this video of John Legend. As interesting as people’s success stories are, sometimes it’s just as interesting and inspiring to find out how they became successful. In this video, John Legend, gives a brief overview of his journey towards success. He says ‘every successful person has failed at what they loved to do’…..I was trying to get a record deal for 6 years and I kept getting turned down’.
John Legend’s story teaches us two things
1. Don’t EVER give up
‘The great ones aren’t the ones who don’t fail but those who learn from their failure and are consistent and tenacious’- John Legend
No matter how many times he was told no, John legend kept moving forward. He got turned down by every major record company including the one he is currently signed to!
2. Don’t EVER stop growing
‘I realized there was a ceiling I couldn’t crack through unless I actually studied and worked under a coach to get better’- John Legend
Talent isn’t enough, it isn’t fixed. To be successful you must grow in on your craft, study and work hard.
So just in case you are eyeing an Oscar…or any other award…..remember success is a story of multiple failures, courage, hard work and growth!
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