Inspiring Quotes About Life from Celebrities We Know and Love

It is a rocky road to the Red Carpet. Nobody achieves greatness overnight (and if they do, it is usually temporary). Failures ARE the stepping stones to success.

And as my dearly beloved Prince says, " A strong spirit transcends rules "

I am a big fan of the School of Hard Knocks, having graduated from there, myself and so, admiring a cool infographic of inspiring quotes on life put together by my friend Tom Casano, (yeah, he who was my guest here talking about life coaching and do you need it?), I asked him if I could share it on my blog as the celebrities featured there are some of my favorites. And, I also happen to know how some of them struggled to get where they are today.

Not only did Tom say yes, but also offered to send me a post. Tom's fun. And you'll see why. Over to you, Tom!

Celebrity Success: The Rocky Road to the Red Carpet

by Tom Casano

Oh, the life of a celebrity. The red carpet, the bright lights, the paparazzi . . . that's what you see after they've made it. But Brad Pitt didn't make his way to international film star, activist, and Brangelina fame the minute he took off his costume as the El Pollo Loco chicken. He had a few lessons in the school of hard knocks to learn first. When, as a young college student, he left home for California's bright lights, he had $325 in his pocket and a lot of failed auditions ahead of him.

Believe it or not, a celebrity's graduation from the school of hard knocks can be a super role model for our own lives as we try to figure out how to achieve our dreams. But even the "has-it-all" A-list actor with the megawatt smile and Hollywood Walk of Fame star will tell you that success came after sacrifice, and the flash of the paparazzi cameras wasn't anywhere in sight when she left an audition rejected and dejected. But those are the lessons that teach. They aren't the final exam.

What does music's power couple Jay Z and Beyonce tell us about struggling for success? In the infographic below from Life Coach Spotter, Queen B tells us that if "everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow." Her husband continues that philosophy when he says:

"You learn more from failure than you ever do from success."

It's hard to believe that the glossy, golden people of fame and fortune are not only on a first-name basis with failure, but that they credit their hard times with making them who they are. Perfection sounds like the ideal, doesn't it?

But Beyonce's words hit the reality bulls-eye straight on. Are you the same as everyone else you know? Not likely; people don't fit well in a cookie-cutter mold, and coming to terms with what makes you an unique individual means following Ariana Grande's advice:

"Be happy with being you. Love your flaws. Own your quirks."

That's all part of the process of traveling down that bumpy road to fulfillment. You fail because you tried. You fail because you're figuring out what succeeds for you. Until, eventually, you don't fail. You succeed and you find out what makes you happy.

Did you think of success as fulfillment? You should.

As a life coach, I can promise you this: a successful life, whether it's a featured interview on Entertainment Tonight or whether you're a star sundae maker at an ice cream stand, is plugged into the peace that you find from matching up who you are with what you do. In order to find out what fulfills you, you need to find out what doesn't. And that means going a few rounds with failure until you're matched up with the right opponent, the one you master to discover what you did that brought you victory.

To use a different metaphor, you find out who you are when something goes wrong because then you go off script and improvise. Maybe the lines that were written just weren't right for you, and you need to ad lib. Life, and life coaching, are all about helping you to figure out YOU! So you tried one scene, or sang one song, or told one joke, but no one applauded or sang along or laughed. Now you know what doesn't work. Okay, now you have a path to follow. Those failures are your landmarks that lead you to the right destination. The next attempt might be the right one. You build your life portfolio piece by piece until success and the fulfillment that you achieve by being yourself are the ultimate result.

Listen to what Bruno Mars says about working for success.

"You can't knock on opportunity's door and not be ready."

Did you notice the difference in his version of the familiar phrase? Usually we hear people say that it's opportunity that knocks. But Bruno has it right. You're the one, through all your attempts, your failures, your baby steps, who has to do the knocking. Don't wait for your fate to come looking for you. You're the one who needs to be proactive in seeking your destiny. Be ready for it to happen.

Remember, it's your life and you get star billing!

Inspiring Quotes About Life

About Tom
Tom Casano is the founder of Life Coach Spotter where you can change your life and find yourself when you're feeling lost. Learn more about how to find your life purpose.

♥

The beautiful featured image is from Therese Borchard's post titled "Should you dare to be yourself"

Writer, editor, blogger, social media enthusiast. Love DIY, Coffee, Music, Reading, Photography, Family, Friends and Life. Mantra: Happiness is a DIY Project. In my free time I play with my dust bunnies and show my diabetes who's boss. Tweet as @vidyasury