We all admire celebrities - people for whom things seem easy. The ZZ Top hit about two laborers who catch a glimpse of a musician on MTV would have us believing these people get their "money for nothing and their chicks (or whatever) for free."
The real story is not so easy. There is not much evidence to substantiate that long-term success is easy for anyone. Those truly great musicians and athletes, truth be told, work pretty dang hard.
After the ZZ Top song, the radio I was listening to on the way to work this morning played a Neil Diamond song from his new album. The DJ mentioned something I didn't know - at the age of 67, after more the 47 years in the music business and producing more than 37 albums, countless singles, concerts, tours, and show-biz appearances, no one can argue that Neil Diamond is a huge success. But the one thing that had always eluded him was a number-one-ranked album. Until now.
On May 15, 2008, the Billboard Hot 200 listed Diamond's album, Home Before Dark, at number one, marks the first chart-topping album of Diamond's storied career.
By the time I got to work, I was thinking, but what about younger artists and performers, like Tiger Woods? Surely he was born talented! I looked him up on Wikipedia.
According to most sources, Woods was a "child prodigy" In 1978, (at the age of three) he putted against comedian Bob Hope on a television appearance.
As it turns out, he'd been put in more hours on the driving range and the golf course than most hobbyists do in a lifetime by the time he was 14 years old. His famous dad sawed off a club for him at 9 months, and got him a professional coach when he was four.
At age 20 in 1996, Woods became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA golf championship.
Okay, so both of these guys were dang hard workers. I guess I'd better quit whining and get back to work! :-)
Have a great day!
-Paula
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