I'm not much of a celebrity-watcher. I don't read tabloids and I couldn't care less who's dating whom in Hollywoodland.
But I'm still pleased to see that so many celebrities have chosen to use Twitter.
I'm pleased because those celebrities are bringing lots of regular folk like you and me with them. Those people might have come to chat with Oprah or Ashton Kutcher but they'll hang around and talk with the rest of us. That can only be good for everyone.
I'm also pleased because it's democratic. Now anyone can speak to a celebrity and stars can speak to the public directly, without having to sit through interviews or see reporters take their words out of context. The mainstream media is going to have to work a little harder for our attention.
But mostly I'm pleased because you can learn something very valuable reading celebrity time-lines.
I'm not talking about what some star had for lunch or even what movie they're appearing in next.
I'm talking about the secret to their success. You can see it in every celebrity's time-line and just about every one of their tweets.
Have you spotted it?
It's that they love what they're doing.
Their tweets are happy. They're generous with their praise and their encouragement. They're upbeat, positive and optimistic.
You'll have to look pretty hard to find a message in a celebrity's time-line that's rude about someone else.
Sure, it's easy to be happy when you're rich, famous and successful. But that's not how it works. Those people are successful, rich and famous because they discovered something they love to do it, and they're doing it.
That's a lesson for all of us.
If you want to succeed at anything, the first - and most important -- step is to identify what you're passionate about. It doesn't have to be acting or singing or writing thrillers. It could be cooking vegetables, racing cars or knitting sweaters. If you love doing it, when you write about it in a blog, in e-books or on Twitter what you say will be informative, enthusiastic and fun. People will want to read and listen. You'll have a ball telling them.
And when you build an audience that way, the revenue won't be far beyond... and you'll be a star too.
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
May 17, 2009 10:12 AM
I totally agree: passion fuels the vehicle that will get you where you wanna go. It's the juice that keeps the engine running even while driving up hill!
Don't know if I wanna be a star so much, but doing what I love is one of the biggest fulfillment in my life ;o)
May 17, 2009 01:14 PM
You hit the nail on the head. Passion is definately the key. John
May 17, 2009 03:49 PM
Great article Joel, but you also need a little talent to become at least good at something or to be above average by investing practise time or just be talented since the beginning.
http://shetoldme.com/Lifestyle/How-To-Be-A-Star-Joel-Comm
Blogging about what you do will also improve your chances of becoming better at it.
Cheers,
James
May 17, 2009 06:48 PM
well said. success is nothing without passion. and thats what the successful celebs have.
May 17, 2009 07:49 PM
Absolutely. Twitter has been such a big hit and it is definitly a great way to reach out to the mass population. For marketing, or socialising purposes, a great tool to adopt.
May 17, 2009 07:58 PM
I have been preaching this same exact concept to everyone who will listen lately...it is deathly important if you wish to have happiness with your success.
Lastly, think about this...is it really success if you're not happy? No matter how much money I ever made, if I wasn't happy I would burn it if burning it meant me being happy! Money has nothing to do with how I measure my success.
May 18, 2009 09:50 AM
If you are a celebrity, wealthy, and famous of course you are going to be generally happy.
I wonder how many @replies a celeb gets everyday...hundreds? thousands?
May 18, 2009 04:12 PM
I'm also very happy to see not only celebrities but experts in many different fields who take a few moments to tweet. It's so refreshing and I love seeing the links that they pass along and the things they find interesting and funny. We're all just people, after all. The open minded and smart humans realize there's always something to learn from someone else - if you only connect.
Twitter is amazing!
:> earthmom
May 18, 2009 09:48 PM
This was a pretty upbeat and positive post here. You must like or love what you are doing. I think you are right, if you love what you are doing you have a certain aura that you give off and that energy attracts people to you and makes them want to hang around and absorb some of the energy or learn how to create their own.
Simple, basic and to the point! Thanks for pointing out to us that we can be good in anything and it doesn't have to be glamorous. :) Cheers
May 18, 2009 10:24 PM
When I read updates of Shaquille O' Neal or even the rock singer Chris Cornell, I feel like they are more human than larger-than-life people. So that's the power of Twitter - if you have a more esteemed reputation, you can have a greater influencing power.
May 19, 2009 04:18 AM
Yes it doesn't take time to be a star if one is passionate about what he or she does. It could be making jokes,swimming,dancing or writing stories. People will come to know you by what you do. This is how the stars are known..
Joel you are always an inspirational to me.
Thank you.
May 21, 2009 12:14 AM
yeah very true twitter is becoming very popular and effective source.
May 21, 2009 06:56 PM
bring passion and strive to be the best at what we do. That is the great secret
June 30, 2009 10:14 AM
This is very true. They seem very happy with their lives. Even with the huge stresses of stardom they are still cheerful. I guess with money and fame comes happiness.