Mr. Murphy, who recently received the Mark Twain Award for American Humor, had more than a dream; he possessed a belief in his talent and a deadline for his success, which he repeated to himself and others while working towards it with rigor.
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There are some people in our society who achieve fame without a true desire for it. In others words, their high profile is a matter of happenstance, ever-changing consumer behaviors, but certainly not pursuit.
But then there are those among us, like Mr. Eddie Murphy, who not only pursued the spotlight but reminded himself and others that fame was his to own.
Mr. Murphy, according to a splendid profile in the Washington Post, at the age of 12 began declaring his desire for fame and set a target to achieve it: 18 years of age.
Though it was at 19 years of age when Mr. Murphy landed a spot on Saturday Night Live – a year passed the deadline – the most important things had been established: a made up mind and an unparalleled work ethic.
Too often, I’ve witnessed those with a dream remain asleep and in awe at the vision in their head instead of being awoke and chasing it.
Though many stories have done so, Mr. Murphy’s is the latest to reminder us that thoughts become things, but only if hard work and rigor is applied. I, like Mr. Murphy, have made many affirmations in my life and followed them up with hard work, to which I achieved what I set out to accomplish.
For example, on New Year’s Day of 2008, I stood in the water at Atlantic City and declared that by age 25 I wanted to be in business for myself.
On my 23rd birthday, Techbook Online was incorporated and the work done with the company has catapulted me onto many stages and platforms, including the first-ever Microsoft YouthSpark forum in the United States.
And just this year, after reading a book about Philadelphia’s legendary Uptown Theater – where I first played drums in the early 90s and where many black artist got their break in the late 60’s and early 70’s – I repeated to myself and others that I would one day interview Stevie Wonder about what it was like to spend his 16th birthday performing at the North Philadelphia theater that now sits in ruin.
Less than two months after stating my goal out loud, reaffirming my status as someone who deserves it, and working towards my vision, I not only interviewed Mr. Wonder – I was among only five Philadelphia journalist who did so during a special pop-up concert in Center City – but prompted him to perform the two songs he played that night in 1966.
If you’re chasing a dream or a goal, understand these two things: overnight successes are rare thus patience is required in the pursuit of happiness, and in the midst of dreaming, spend plenty time awoke doing the work for the dream to materialize.
* Tune into 900amWURD or 900amWURD.com every Friday evening at 6:30pm to hear me relive #TheWeekThatWas*
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
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Photo: Getty Images