Conceit, selfish, self-centered, self-absorbed, cocky, and big egos. We have heard a lot from these personalities and most of us can’t stand someone who has these character traits. I don’t believe I was born with much of these boogers and up until a few years ago, I was happy about it. But then 2007 came…
In a matter of 6 months I lost 40 lbs from diet and exercise. I felt amazing (actually, that would be an understatement). I’m confessing right now: I spent a lot more time looking in the mirror. I spent more time doing my hair and makeup. I loved trying on different outfits. And if you ask my husband, he’ll likely vouch that I talked about myself a great deal during this time. I was still interested in other people…I just found a new love for myself that I hadn’t ever experienced. I quickly became paranoid that people would think I was full of myself. But looking back, I know I wasn’t only interested in myself…I was still interested in other people. I just wanted everyone to feel like I felt. I loved myself and I was happy.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my dreams, particularly relating to music. I want to be a singer. Who sings and performs. And writes music. I’ve been told many times over the passing months: what you focus on grows. If you believe you’re not good enough, you never will be. If you believe you can’t do it, you can’t do it. So, I’ve been looking at my self-talk. There’s a lot of negative in there and its no wonder I’m not doing more of what I love. Then thought came to me…perhaps sometimes people who seem conceited, self-absorbed or cocky are just overflowing with self-confidence? What if I looked at people in the music business or even Hollywood for example? I asked my Facebook friends today for some help on my “research” on this topic. I asked:
“Give me the name of an actor/actress or singer that you believe is conceited or even cocky”. Here are some responses:
Johnny Depp
John Mayer
Morrissey
Kanye West
Reggie Bush
Gene Simmons
(This example worked out exactly like I hoped it would!)
For those of you that participated, I couldn’t agree more! But here’s what I found when I dug a little deeper.
Johnny Depp“He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp has gained acclaim for his portrayals of numerous characters. Films featuring Depp have grossed over $3.1 billion at the United States box office and over $7.6 billion worldwide. He has been nominated for top awards many times, winning the Best Actor Awards from the Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild. He also has twice named as the Sexiest man alive by People magazine. He has been listed in the 2012 Guinness Book Of World Records as the Highest Paid Actor with $75 million.”
John Mayer“He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Has collaborated with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and 20 million albums worldwide.”
Morrissey“English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom until their break up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career, making the top ten of the UK Singles Chart on ten occasions. Widely regarded as an important innovator in indie music, Morrissey has been described by music magazine NME as “one of the most influential artists ever,” and The Independent has stated “most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status he has reached in his lifetime.” Pitchfork Media has called him “one of the most singular figures in Western popular culture from the last twenty years.”
Kanye West“West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2011, West has won a total of fourteen Grammy Awards. All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No.1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with “Gold Digger” selling 3,086,000, “Stronger” selling 4,402,000, “Heartless” selling 3,742,000, “E.T.” selling over 4,000,000 and “Love Lockdown” selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade . He has sold over 25 million digital songs in the United States placing him second for solo male artists on the list and sixth overall for best selling digital artists. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. About.com ranked Kanye West No.8 on their “Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers” list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year’s No.1 “Hottest MC in the Game.” On December 17, 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV. Billboard ranked Kanye West No. 3 on their list of Top 10 Producers of the decade. West has also been included in the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of Forbes’ annual lists.”
Reggie Bush“He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Bush won multiple collegiate awards, including the 2005 Heisman Trophy. With the Saints, Bush won a Super Bowl title in 2010.”
Gene Simmons“Vocalist and bassist for Kiss. Kiss has been awarded 24 gold albums to date, the most of any American rock band. The band has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States, of which 20 million have been certified by the RIAA, and their worldwide sales exceeds 100 million albums. The Kiss Alive/Worldwide/Lost Cities/Reunion Tour was the top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997. Kiss has been named to many “Top” lists. They include Number 10 on VH1’s ‘100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock’, 9th on ‘The Greatest Metal Bands’ list by MTV, #1 on Hit Paraders’s “Top 100 Live Bands”, 56th on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists Of All Time”, 2nd on Digital Dream Door’s “Best Hair Metal Bands”, and 26th on Gibson’s “50 Greatest American Rock Bands”. Kiss was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ten years after becoming eligible. “
First- let me clarify, I’m not praising people’s behaviors here. I’m just making an observation.
If Gene Simmons didn’t have a large ego, would have have gone on to lead Kiss into 24 gold albums? Would John Mayer have sold over 10 million albums in the US without being a little conceited? Would a self-conscious and under confident Johnny Depp be making a reported $75 million? Would Kanye West be the 3rd overall digital selling artist in the past decade if he didn’t believe in himself? Would Reggie Bush have won the Heisman Trophy and later lead the Saints into Superbowl Victory? And what about Morressey? Would he have been regarded as one of the most influencial and iconic artists ever? It makes you think.
If anything, it certainly makes me think about my own inner self-dialogue and how opposite I am from these people and how we all see them. I’m not suggesting I should develop some pop-diva monster Ego and demand 42 green skittles at my bedside in the morning…but maybe being my biggest fan and supporter would help me out a little bit. I don’t need to be considered sexiest woman alive, but to be mentioned in People Magazine would rock. And to be invited to the Grammy’s would be amazing, who needs the nods? Maybe I’d be able to attend the Super Bowl…or even sing at one. Perhaps Kanye would produce one of my singles. And maybe…just maybe…I’d get to attend the ceremony when Kiss finally gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…. all made possible by a little bit of ego.
And don’t worry. I won’t forget all you “little people” who knew me as Laura in 2011. ;)
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