Snooki’s on the cover of this weeks Rolling Stone and people are pissed. Hell, I’m pissed. As a diehard music fan I seriously question their decision to slap millions of hard working starving artists in the face with this move. Young musicians grow up dreaming of one day making the cover of Rolling Stone and following in the footsteps of Lennon, Dylan, Hendrix, Jagger and … Snooki.
As a music fan I don’t see how you couldn’t be at least slightly offended by this move. But you don’t have to hate Snooki. The general perception is that this girl is nothing more than a drunken, over tanned, brainless, soulless, talentless putz. And that may very well be true.
That’s no reason to hate her, though. As the saying goes, “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.”
When you hate someone it just takes positive energy away from you; energy you could be using to make your own life better. If you want to hate someone hate Hitler or Qaddafi. Or maybe Usher or Beyonce for taking millions of dollars and playing shows for him.
Not Snooki, though. She’s only doing what any of us would do if given the opportunity. If MTV offered the majority of us a show we’d take it. And if colleges and night clubs wanted to give us $15,000-$25,000 just to make a two hour appearance we’d be there with a smile. And a fake tan.
Before hating on Snooki maybe the real question we should be asking ourselves is could we do what she’s doing if the opportunity was thrust upon us? She’s got jewelry, slippers and books coming out. Next on the agenda is her own show.
She may appear to do nothing more than drink but she’s also hustling.
While she may not be Mensa material she was smart enough to know how the game is played and capitalize on any and every opportunity she had.
“The first season, we definitely amped it up, because we didn’t know if the show was going to air, so we went all out,” she says in Rolling Stone. “But I kind of party a little too much, to where I don’t want to, but if I don’t, I know I’m not going to get airtime, that hurts you in the end.”
That doesn’t sound like too much of a dummy to me. Unless you’ve got your own show on MTV it would seem pointless to waste your own positive energy hating on someone who is taking an opportunity she was given and making the most of it. Many before her have tried and failed. Many after her will do the same.
Don’t get me wrong; Snooki’s the last person in the world I’d ever want to spend three seconds with. My point is that hate, which in this case is really just jealousy and envy, are traits of unsuccessful, unhappy people. When you’re hating on or jealous of someone else you’re just draining yourself of positive energy, happiness and productivity. Which is precisely why you don’t want to do it.
Another former MTV reality star is now the WWE world heavyweight champion. The Miz was hated by fans and wrestlers alike when he first started. To be honest, I thought it was a joke when I first saw him on WWE television. Then when I heard he became world champion I was sure someone was pulling my leg. But that simply wasn’t the case. The kid out hustled a lot of others and earned respect and his spot at the top.
He’ll never be The Rock or Stone Cold. If those guys were still around he might not even have a contract, never mind a main event spot. But he took his opportunity, busted his ass and capitalized on it. People still hate him because he’s “That kid from MTV who didn’t earn it.” The reality, I’d argue, is that he did earn it and if Vince decides he’s worthy of the strap he’s obviously doing something right.
Remember when everyone hated The Rock for becoming the youngest WWF champ ever? Too much too soon, they all said. Look at him now, haters.
It’s the same with pro athletes. Hang around with groups of less educated people and soon enough the topic of pro athletes being overpaid will come up. Why should basketball players make millions when teachers and cops make a small fraction of that?
The question is a fair one, no doubt, but asking it at this point in US history is ridiculous. That ship has sailed, my friends. Get over it. Hating Kobe Bryant for what he gets paid is about the most asinine thing I could ever think of. If anyone else in the world was offered that amount of money to play basketball, or for that matter, deliver mail, make doughnuts, wash windows, or dig ditches they’d damn sure take it.
When a pro athlete signs a multimillion dollar contract it’s not him being greedy or a bad person. It’s him being smart. What’s he going to do, turn it down and offer to play for thirty grand? The opportunity is there so you take it.
This is the world we live in. It may not be fair or even make one iota of sense. But it is what it is and you need to accept it, move on and let it have ZERO negative impact on your life whatsoever. Hatred is a very self destructive habit.
Besides, you know how much hustle it takes to become a pro athlete? Are you working that hard at whatever you do?
The most successful people I know have no jealousy and they hate no one. There’s no time in there lives for either of those emotions. That’s because they’re too busy making money, changing the world and living their dreams. You can’t be a jealous, hate filled complainer and still be successful. The two simply don’t go hand in hand.
Trust me; I know it can get frustrating sometimes. I’ll wake up occasionally and see a brand new trainer who’s only been in the business for a year selling an ebook. With Twitter, Facebook and blogs it’s too easy these days for someone to proclaim themselves an expert without actually being one.
“These guys didn’t come up the hard way and have to earn it over the last two decades in this industry like me and Alwyn Cosgrove and John Alvino did,” I might think to myself.
But then I realize there’s too little time to worry about that. It’s just more motivation for me to step up my game and get better. As of last week, this site is now one of the most widely read strength training blogs in the entire world. Because of that, in my mind I think I’ve earned my spot. I know, however, that there will always be someone coming up and gunning for me. So I’ll keep out hustling them.
I’d never want to deny someone the right to make a living. And besides, if social media was around 17 years ago when I got started I’m sure I would have used it.
Instead of hating or being jealous of someone start using it as motivation. If you think they don’t deserve to be where they’re at then you need to take it upon yourself to get to that level.
I heard “The Situation” from The Jersey Shore on the Howard Stern a few months back and listened to callers cursing out Howard for having him as a guest. They were infuriated that he let that” talentless hack” on the air. I only got motivated by it. This kid was sitting in his mom’s basement a year or two earlier and now he’s making millions and appearing as a guest on the most popular radio show of all time.
That tells me it’s time to start working a little harder.
Don’t hate. Just hustle.
