Steve Harvey Rewinds His Fame and Replays His Dream From a “Common Man’s” View

How do mega-stars see their Hollywood rise? Well, for some it might be “1 for the money, 2 for the show, 3 for the setbacks and 4 to grow.” They, including Harvey, might point to their struggles personally and professionally. In his book, Harvey rewinds his fame and replays his dream from a “common man’s” view.

The book talks about catching “dream transfers.” It’s like getting off the bus and using the transfer stub for the next bus. The full dream trip is not always on the same vehicle you got started. It can be direct, have detours, transfers or zig-zags. Harvey faced his fears going from stand-up to sitcom, to radio, to TV host.

The experts say most of our fears are learned. In moving beyond the fears Harvey says take bold actions. This begins by getting past any nervousness even if we have to confess them. Bold doesn’t necessarily mean brash. We can be bold about our dreams without having to tear down another person’s dream.

Harvey was bold in leaving his job for the comedy circuit. He shares advice on how someone might make a move today. Taking the next step towards our dreams requires bravery. But we need not be blind. A free-fall jump from a plane is brave. A free-fall jump without a parachute is blind (or even worse).

During vacation a few years ago I did the parachute ride on the beach. My family was surprised I had the courage to do it. Taking this ride was a bucket-list-stretch in my book. But for others a stretch might be doing a parachute jump from a plane. Both situations involve some amount of bravery and excitement.

When the going got tough Harvey focused on the grind. If the bills are due but the opportunities are few it comes down to the bottom-line. In one sense that means putting more dough in our cashflow. But in another sense it might mean putting more hustle in our game or else we just might bottom-out.

Harvey talks about the wake-up moment when he felt “sick and tired” of himself. Whether it’s because of excuses we make or feeling like we’re not handling our business, we have a choice to make. We have to take action on change. The challenge is to not dwell in the moment but to rise above the moment.

So someone asks, what are your dreams? The heights our dreams take us are not about comparison. It’s really about personal growth and fulfillment. The benefits and rewards are great (who wouldn’t want to enjoy the finer things in life). Plus the bonus memories will be etched in our own hall-of-fame timeline.

Footnote: Let our gifting do the lifting just as helium keeps a balloon rising.