Month: February 2019

Here’s What John Legend and Iyanla Vanzant Reveal About Being ‘Hired for Looks or Wired for Success’

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Well Spike Lee finally won at the Oscars and it was celebrated by one of his homeboys. When Samuel L. Jackson realized he’d be announcing Lee as the winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, he gave out a big shout. It wasn’t Lee’s first Academy nomination, but it took almost 30 years before he’d finally won one.

John Legend is also looking for his first, not Oscar but Voice winner. He’s the newest coach on NBCs singing reality show. Speaking of reality shows, how about Fix My Life, with the no-nonsense queen herself. Legend and Iyanla Vanzant reveal more about being ‘hired for looks or wired for success.’

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For Legend it’s been one of going the traditional route in earning his college degree from an Ivy League University. No one might know since he’s so down to earth and easy going. He’s been strongly influenced by the musical background of his family which helps explain why he feels at home belting tunes.

Vanzant works with folks who’re trying to get a handle on some facet of their life. Sometimes it’s personal, relational or even professional. Each week she shares bits and pieces of her story along the way on her OWN Network show. She’s even taken steps to bring her message to fans on her Get Over It tour.

Legend’s one of the few who’s an EGOT, for winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards. For Vanzant, her show recently received two NAACP Image Awards nominations. But what we see on the outside doesn’t tell the full story of the journey. Before the success, they were on the R.O.A.D. of:

  1. Rejection

Legend says he learned a lot about music from his grandmother who was a church organist. Over the years he’s worked with many music artists who’re Grammy winners themselves. But Legend remembers those times when he was rejected by every major record label before getting his first music contract.

  1. Omen

Maybe the rejections helped him work harder. Maybe the setback on her first Talk Show helped Vanzant become wiser about showbiz. They, like others who’ve been on the R.O.A.D. might point to a certain time or situation that proved to be like an omen. It was a kind of prophetic tell-tale sign of things to come.

  1. Advice

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Vanzant’s become a sought-after personality for advice and counsel. She embraced advice she received in her own life when things weren’t ‘in order’ as they are now. She knows that there’s advice people give that might discourage or tear you down, while others give advice to encourage and build you up.

  1. Destiny

Now that Legend is a coach on the Voice he’s helping emerging artists live their dreams. He’s walked the walk in the music business. Vanzant is offering folks some ‘reality check’ advice because as she like to say ‘she’s done the work’ as well. They’re fulfilling their destiny as they help others do the same.

Whether or not they were hired for goods looks, they have personal experience of what it means to be wired for success. Vanzant might say when you do the work on your inner self, you’ll achieve the worth of your best self. Legend knows rejection paves the way for your selection and also saying ‘hello happiness.’

Tip: The road that success travels is one that might take folks from rejection to selection and also saying ‘hello happiness.’

Talkback: Since they’re so good, what can Legend not do as an artist or Vanzant not fix in life?

Tracks: Chaka Khan – Hello Happiness – https://youtu.be/JG6D59k9U8Q

Khalid – Talk – https://youtu.be/Y1QZOprK7PQ

Steve Harvey & Gabrielle Union Tell a Few Secrets on How to Keep Your Performance Level Up and Your Favorability Ratings High

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So who thinks the Grammy Awards was a hit? Well it depends on what group you ask. There’re some who feel the Grammy’s got a problem with Hip-Hop. But there’re others who feel that women were well represented across award categories and show performances. That Alicia Keys is something else.

Even with the star power on stage and in the building, the showbiz talkers say it still wasn’t up to par with fan support. Yea Cardi B did her thing along with some of the other special honors, but the show didn’t get the traction it once had. Maybe they’ll go for new blood in the main office or production team.

It’s what Steve Harvey and Gabrielle Union are constantly working on. They tell a few secrets on keeping your performance level up and your favorability ratings high. Sometimes it’s finding new ways for getting your work to be seen as valuable. Because when familiarity sets in things can get stale, stagnant or stuck.

For example, social experts say by February that 80% of new year resolutions fall apart. Plus, as folks think about their work goals for the new year, they’ll be looking for something to set themselves apart in job performance. So what will it take to level-up the passion in your game this year?

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Well Harvey and Union keep finding new ways to flex their muscle while keeping the clients happy. He recently hosted the NFL Honors which took him back to his stand-up comedy days. Union is set to join the Judges panel on America’s Got Talent (AGT). Giving it their best means being ‘new and improved’ in:

  1. Hustle

Harvey shared his stand-up comedy formula for telling jokes. When you hear him break it down you get a sense for what works for him on stage. With other hosting gigs and projects he’s able to turn that formula into new moments of energy and smarts. That’s how hustle-love helps him keep his performance level up.

  1. Flava

Ever notice how fast-food chains keep their menu ‘new & improved’? Sometimes it’s by adding a new topping to the burger. Other times it’s in adding a new ‘special sauce’ for flavor. Well Harvey and Union seem to get that. It’s how they add a new ‘topping’ to their skill set or ‘special sauce’ for more flava.

  1. Vibe

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Now that Union will be sitting in the Judges chair, she and the other newbies on the set are sure to bring a new vibe to the show. It’s as if vibe is a higher form of flava that comes with teamwork. It’s the chemistry of the collaboration from working together. Vibe is another way to make yourself a sought-after player.

  1. Buzz

When bad things happen in careers or showbiz there’s a kind of ‘dark buzz.’ The news makes it to the tabloid section of social media. But when good things happen there’s a kind of ‘light buzz’ where you’re in the spotlight. They’ve seen both, having to go from dark to light and light to bright for more market appeal.

Harvey’s well on his way to turning his mojo into more jokes. Sounds like he’s thinking about returning to the stand-up stage. Union will be working hard on being a treat in her new AGT seat. They know keeping performance level up and favorability ratings high takes new rounds of hustle-love to make it rain.

Tip: Being ‘new and improved’ at work means keeping your performance level up and your favorability ratings high with new rounds of hustle-love in the game.

Talkback: What’s it gonna take for the Grammys to step things up next year?

Tracks: Travis Porter – Make it Rain – https://youtu.be/CEsaGwCWIkQ

H.E.R. – Make it Rain – https://youtu.be/ybGX43zYVAM

Taraji P. Henson & Terry Crews Reveal Why Nothing Compares to the High They Feel in Their Careers These Days

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The hype is over! With another Superbowl in the books, some in biz are counting their wins and maybe even losses. Whether it was the low-scoring game or the low-lights from the halftime show, the game saw a dip in viewership. The crowd-favorites were the pre-event concerts and post-game after-parties.

As the cross-talk in sports circles about the game and the culture gets heated, folks wonder if there’s a message for the NFL brand. As a former NFL player, Terry Crews might have something to say from a sports point of view. While Taraji P. Henson might let ‘Cookie’ say her piece as an ‘Empire’ cultural icon.

But beyond that, they might reveal why nothing compares to the high they feel in their careers these days. He’s the newest host of America’s Got Talent World Edition while she just got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They both remember a time when they had to flip the script in their careers.

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Henson says she started out doing sitcoms in the early days, thinking that comedy would be her thing. Crews shares how he had to turn his playing days into stage plays as a new form of ‘hustle-love.’ Now it feels like with major roles coming in that they could share tips on being a ‘go-to’ person in the workplace.

If there’s one good reason why they’re doing their best work or getting the best assignments it might be in how they traveled the road to excellence. They developed their craft, project by project. It’s like the ‘got milk’ campaign for building strong bones, their career might have its own 4-part slogan for strong game:

  1. Got Made?

When you think about how milk ‘got made’ there’s a process of going from raw grass to pure milk. For Crews & Henson the journey has been a process of going from raw talent to pure gold. How they got made hasn’t been about getting there fast, even-though their careers now seem to be on a fast-track.

  1. Got Trade?

They spent time learning the ropes as they played the roles. There was a time when having a skill meant applying it to a certain trade. This way folks often made a living with their hands. But these days ‘got trade’ might also be about developing your brand as a trade and making a living with all ‘hands on deck.’

  1. Got Paid?

Henson finds herself doing Empire on the small screen and breakout movies on the big-screen. Crews is also wearing many hats in a similar way. They use their skills and build their brand to create ‘got paid’ money moves. That means they turn their off-season in one area into their on-season in another area.

  1. Got Praised?

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Crews tells the story of hosting a talent show back in high school. It was his way of getting his mom to support his early showbiz dreams. Now things have come full-circle in hosting AGT as a worldwide TV franchise. Maybe the way he ‘got praised’ back then was a sign of how he’d rise to doing big things today.

Henson shared how she got more serious roles after early days in sitcoms. She adjusted her ‘flow and style’ to land those gigs. The same is true for Crews in going from the football field to a different field of dreams. Some say watching them ‘hustle-love’ in their career lanes gives us a certain kind of high.

Tip: When it comes to being one of the ‘go-to’ persons at work, it takes developing your craft project by project to the point where you bring a certain kind of high to the marketplace.

Talkback: What kind of high do you get watching Henson and Crews do their thing?

Tracks: India Arie & Musiq Soulchild – Chocolate High – https://youtu.be/3F8R-vBB4O4

Ledesi – High – https://youtu.be/MEiM2iokvFs