I keep hearing that phrase lately. Anytime I get frustrated with my writing, my husband keeps pointing out that if it were easy, than everyone would do it and be successful. Everything requires hard work to accomplish goals. It’s true. I keep pointing this out to my son, and it works since he already has his plan for how to get into college and pay for it. That’s the easy part. The hard part comes afterwards when you get yourself in a situation of sink or sail in the real world situations. Ashton Kutcher made headlines telling kids, “I washed dishes, and worked my way up.” It’s an important lesson. You can’t complain about your situation if you’re not doing anything to change it. No one feels sorry for the people who think that by staying the same, they’ll get a different outcome in life. They won’t, and it’s silly to think otherwise.

At first I shook my head at anything crazy that a celebrity does, and we sit back and talk about it for weeks afterwards. We think that Miley Cyrus or Lady Gaga are crazy people on drugs, but I think they are the smartest people in their business. They’re creating buzz. They’re being talked about like crazy, which in that line of work, any attention is positive. Kim Kardashian and her family have only come as far as they have because she had a raunchy sex tape. That wasn’t accidentally leaked; it was a purposeful ploy to exploit herself to make millions upon millions. And years later, we’re still talking about her as if she was a celebrity that has made it on talent and not smart business sense. Maybe I need to make enough controversy to get notoriety and then I can sell mass amounts of e-books until a publisher recognizes my talent and then I can go on book tours or watch my words on the big screen or on Broadway.  Miley Cyrus was slowing fading into the background because Hannah Montana wasn’t around, and she wasn’t more talented than any other country singer out there. She chops off her hair, twerks, and admits to being on drugs and now she’s back all over the place with a new album that people can’t stop talking about. She changed her image, and created a new one to make money on. How is that different from the likes of say, Madonna, before her? Madonna had many looks over the years, changing as a result of the era she was trying to succeed in, and she did it.

Change can do you good. You don’t like the path you’re following now? Change it. Get a new career you enjoy. Leave that partner that drags you down. Reinvent yourself and you can change the situation you find yourself in now. Work at it, and work at  your dreams. Eventually they’ll come true. I’m hoping my time comes soon, but until then I won’t give up trying. The cards might be against me, but I refuse to allow myself to be my own worse enemy.