Don’t Let Success Fool You into False Security | Cedric The Entertainer EP 500

0:00Hi, my name is Lewis Howes and welcome to the Daily Motivation Show.

0:11What has fame taught you? And what do you think people don't understand about fame who want to be famous? I mean, for me, probably is the false sense of finance fame gives you. Fame makes you think you're rich. You're not, you know, like you can be famous and don't have the money to back it up. Be broke. Yes. And I saw that kind of early on with people I thought was famous when I first started to kind of get into the business. And you thought, you knew that you knew that you were famous. But then you saw the financial side and you realize like, oh, I believe that you were all of these things. Not realizing that your fame can get you caught up because you think that that is enough to be famous is enough to take care of everything else.

1:01And so you do have to understand that inside the fame, you got to go to work. You got to be humble. You got to have connections. You got to stay busy. You got to stay aggressive. You got to still strategize about who you are. And you can't give your fame over to the machine. What does that mean? This is most people, they kind of work very hard to build their careers. You know, as a stand-up, you build your stand-up. You travel. You do what I did. You go to all these clubs. You puzzle. You grind. and then I get one TV show and I believe that the agents, the managers, the lawyers in the town know me better than I know me.

1:42And I give it up. I give it over to the machine. Don't get me started on this. Right. Yes. This is like, you trust them because you believe. Oh, you guys are the experts. They know. You've been doing this for so long. And if you add any little pop and they were a part of it in any way, then they make you think it was because of them. And now you kind of like, you don't do your part anymore. You, you show up as the commodity, not as this thing that's there to do the work, to build it up, to shape it. So only, you know, great creators and people who really grind, you know, you'll see people that, you know, that, that's able to do a number of things.

2:21And that comes from their hustle. That's what I would say for me. I, you know, I'm, I'm stand up on movies, I'm television. I did Broadway. I write books. I'm not going to be in your box, bro. I'm not in none of those boxes. I can do it all. I do side businesses. I'm an entrepreneur. I'm not sitting around counting on that I'm famous. And even just saying, okay, I only do TV and that TV is going to be around forever for me. We're always going to get a show. I think a lot of people can get stuck in that if they're not willing to, not diversify, but have other projects going on as well, the main thing also.

3:04Yeah, no, for sure. And I think that that's important. And you put family on top of all of that, too. Like, I got a great family. I've been married. I'm coming about 24 years. Got kids. Wonderful. Good house. Good life. Good wife. All of those things. Good friends. All those things are important to the ecosystem. And so fame can oftentimes make you feel like all those people owe to be a part of that. Really? Yeah. You know, it's kind of a very telltale Hollywood story. When people get extra famous, they started to kind of believe it's all them. But that's what kind of fame will lead you to. The friends and family or the person?

3:43Both. Yeah. The person usually believes it's all them. And then the friends and family have to fit into that. And, you know, and if they don't, then that's why divorce is big. And that's why, you know, you know, kids are, you know, all separated and don't know your dads. It's a very Hollywood tale. How have you navigated that? Obviously, being from the Midwest, I think might have might have helped support you with those roots and the values that you grew up with. But how have you stayed happily married, have kids that are grown and still want to be in your life and like you? Yeah. And also navigated, I'm assuming, that for 30 years there have been people and friends and family who said, I want money, I need this, give me this, I deserve this now.

4:31How have you navigated those elements of friends and family maybe wanting something from you at different times and you just being okay with all of it or navigating that? Again, it's a combination of being honestly true to who you are. You know, people got to earn and they got to earn their space around me. So, you know, you want them to, you know, learn to be self-sufficient and independent. And if they're going to be a part of this, they got to come truly come in and contribute. And so find the space for that. Earn it. Show me something. Add value. Add value. And if you can add value, then, you know, good.

5:08We'll figure out how to make that work. And I think that that kind of goes on all around. Again, you kind of say that to your kids. Y 'all wake up every day. Y 'all got this beautiful home. You got all these things. what do y 'all bring to the table? Really? Which I do. Y 'all just keep. So good grades is a part of your thing. Doing the chores. Being a kind person and a good, that's a part of what you offer to the family.

5:35Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of The Daily Motivation. And I hope you have an amazing rest of your day. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to click the link in the description. That will take you to the full episode of our main podcast on the School of Greatness. And if you are loving the daily motivation, please follow us over on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want more exclusive content and ad-free listening experience, make sure to subscribe to our Greatness Plus channel on Apple Podcasts right now. And if you want to get even more inspiration from our world-class guests and learn how to improve your life and take it to the next level, then make sure to sign up for the Greatness newsletter and get it delivered right to your inbox over at greatness.com slash newsletter.

6:30Again, have an amazing day, and I'll see you tomorrow with another episode of the Daily Motivation Show.