By Doing Hard Work

Yes, the simple and mostly unimaginative lyric in the title says it all folks: hard work is key. The only way to get what you want out of life is to work hard every single day of your life. That is how you find success.

Alright. We already know that's a lie don't we?

Look at all the people in the media who get fame and fortune from doing just about nothing - here's looking at you Paris Hilton. Reality T.V shows make already rich people even more successful (apparently Kim Kardashian makes around 14 million a year . . . wowza) and many people nowadays who are in the public eye really have very little substantial talent to their name. They do have a truckload of money though. Jealous much?

Of course there are people who work hard, find out they're insanely talented at something and reap the just rewards. Actors like Johnny Depp, Matt Damon; general genius's like Bill Gates and the lucky guy that invented Facebook. They work hard, I'm sure, and are rewarded for that. They're acknowledged with a couple of million here and there and live full, debt free lives.

The saddest thing here is that the bulk of the hard workers - the ones who work day in day out, pushing themselves, trying again and again - go unacknowledged for the most part. Not everyone makes it big. Not everyone finds the success that they may be promised they'll get if they put enough effort into it. it just doesn't work that way. Success is %30 talent %20 ambition and %50 luck.

Growing up in a family thoroughly tied up in the volatile career of performing arts has taught me one thing - that you can't expect drive and passion to get you success, you just can't. I've grown up knowing that a life in the media does not guarantee success, and that previous success does not guarantee stability. The career I'm picking - and the career I've grown up observing -relies so heavily on the opinion of others that sometimes, your own talent and hard work aren't even contributing factors. Sad thought, huh?

That being said, hard work is not irrelevant. It is still important. It would be stupid to accept that sometimes hard work doesn't mean success by quitting and waiting for some sort of opportunity to fall into your undeserving lap.

I'm working hard. I feel like I am anyway. I'm trying to better myself, and if I want to make a go of this career, there is a lot of myself to better.

But here's the thing that gets me. Hard work isn't about the result sometimes. Don't you ever put a lot of effort into something and just enjoy the fact that you're doing all you can?

Sometimes, as corny as it sounds, hard work is it's own reward.

Remind me that I said that at the end of the year, okay?