While it is certainly true these days that fame is often not correlated to talent, true success–in the entertainment industry as well as any other endeavor–is rarely the product of pure chance.

Success in this sense means making a living at a chosen vocation that is deeply fulfilling to an individual’s life, at a standard of living that is necessarily different for everyone according to his or her’s tastes and needs. I agree with part of the thrust of this article in that it is absolutely essential to have self-knowledge about one’s talents (or lack thereof), but to conclude that the best thing to do in these “scary times” is to hope for a job that will pay the mortgage is falling much too far into the other extreme.

No one, ever, escapes pain in their lifetimes; not physical, mental, spiritual, or economic. And, if we’re being truly honest with ourselves, we have to admit that the “bad times” in this country (and yes, I fully admit that they are the worst in many years) do not equal what most of the world goes through, and has gone through, on a daily basis. I myself am a writer in his early twenties who is attempting a career (not unbridled fame, but a real, lasting, rewarding career) in television, and, having lived at what is considered the poverty line in this country for a year, I have never once come close to starving, or lacking a place to sleep, or been in danger of not procuring safe drinking water. Poverty in this country is already above the standard of living of 90% of the world, and it would do all of us good to remember that.

Why? Because I strongly believe that a fear of poverty cannot be a motivating factor in determining how and at what to spend one’s life pursuing. You have to love what you do, and you have to be realistic about the fact that financial security is not ever truly possible. Even millions of dollars can be taken away, if not from something as drastic as a massive economic collapse, than simply the fact of getting divorced or unfortunate medical bills. Launching a successful career in accounting or law is just as challenging as a career in the entertainment industry (and it is an industry, just like any other, with hundreds of thousands of employees that work and exist behind the American Idols).

The American spirit that is emobodied in the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs was never one that promised security. It promised something much more: a life that is actually lived, not feared. This, I think, is the correct philosophy for happiness, whether you’re aiming to be the next President or a sucessful plumber.

On the other hand, if William Hung can make it…

If you want countless examples of undeserved wealth, you have to go no further than the political establishment in liberal Washington DC (i.e., “Kennedy”), truly dumb people with no obvious talents other than being the children of wealthy parents.

Conservative thinking encourages people to take responsibility for their circumstances instead of seeing assistance or the “right” not to suffer as an entitlement.

You’ve probably heard it all before TITOV, but it really does make a difference how you get up each day and live your if you beleive that God created you with an unimaginable amount of potential; potential that is often developed to it’s fullest through the experience of hardship.

I am fairly sure I was created to be an artist, and I continue to do all I can to acheive the dream of just making enough money producing my music so as to break even. But it’s not my day job, and you know what? I am happy! I don’t believe I’ve been shortchanged, and no one makes me stay where I am in the little town where I live. I live in THE greatest country on the planet, and I and my family are blessed with good health. Right on. Right ON!

Hal Davis