One of the economic curiosities of our time is the great wealth that celebrities -- athletes, actors, musicians -- accumulate while producing nothing of practical utility. We all hear the question from time to time: Is this pitcher or that actress really worth all those millions of dollars?
Every now and then -- usually when Mrs. Galt has the remote control -- I end up catching something on the Biography Channel. Most recently, the subject was actor Will Smith. And even though I didn't know anything about Will Smith except for the movies and TV shows I'd seen him in, there was one part I already knew would be in there: an unstoppable work ethic.
Not because Will Smith just happens to be particularly driven, but because unfathomable drive is what defines someone like Will Smith. If you watch a few features on Biography, you will see this recurring theme in all of their subjects. They always treat it like trivia -- "Oh, by the way, this person is a really hard worker." And while I'm sure it adds to the excitement to show what each of their subjects has had to endure to reach the top, I wonder how many Biography viewers ever connect the dots: This is the kind of sacrifice it takes to achieve.
And I'm not just talking about performers -- they're just convenient because their celebrity and success seem so disproportionate compared to what we individuals pay for their services. This is about what it takes to rise to the very pinnacle of anything worthwhile. Think Bill Gates and Howard Hughes. And it's not even about wealth -- look at George Patton, Roger Bannister, Amelia Earhardt.
We're talking about people who will not be held back. They do whatever is necessary, seize every opportunity, knock on every door. It's about focus. And it's not just a matter of understanding the secret -- it takes a phenomenal effort to apply it, and to stay with it as long as it takes to break out of the pack. Even knowing what I will find behind every success story, it's still not in me -- and not in 99.99% of you, either -- to pull it off ourselves. It is greatness.
By definition, most of us cannot be in the uppermost fractions of the top one percent. But there's no reason we can't all appreciate the effort, and at least respect the sacrifice that goes into it. If anything, achievers are role models -- not predators. They are treasures.
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