Living life in the limelight has to be difficult. Unfortunately, for the rich and famous this is the price that they have to pay. Fortunately for the rest of society many people choose to do this everyday and we get to learn from them.
Oftentimes it is their failures and shortcomings giving lessons of what not to do. However, every now and then we can garner something positive and profound from the headlines.
This was the case in the recent media blast of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith separating. They are not new to having their lives and marriage scrutinized or questioned. Each and every time they operate in what could be described as dignified. Never being upset or short, simply understanding that this is what they signed up for and respond in a short and sweet fashion.
The recent headlines of yet another alleged issue/split of their marriage caused the resurfacing of some old interviews and articles. One interview that can be learned from and thus should not be forgotten is Will's 2008 interview with Ellen. When asked about his marriage he stated, "What I found is divorce just can't be an option. It's really that simple. And I think that's the problem with L. A. - there are so many options. So a huge part of the success for [Jada] and I is that we just removed the other options".
This is an important lesson . Regardless of the situation a huge part of succeeding is removing the other options. The option to fail, the option to go in another direction, the option to change course, the option to change one's mind, the option to quit. Instead make a choice and commit to stick with that option.
It is unrealistic to think things will always go as planned, success will be packaged as desired or that there won't be difficult roads to travel. It is more like the reported response of Thomas Edison to a New York Times reporter when asked about his hundreds or thousands of failures in making a light bulb. He responded, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb". Or so the story goes.
In that instance he removed failure as an option. It was the tenacity and outlook that helped him to be successful. This is not promoting a blind perusal of a goal it's more a reminder to stay faithful to success and you will succeed.
