Lucille Ball did a lot of things with her life. It appears that any ambition she had, she went out and made it real. She was an actor, comedian, model, film-studio executive, and producer. She and her husband Desi Arnaz created their own TV show, “I Love Lucy” and she continued to create her own TV series in the decades that followed with close friends and her second husband, Gary Morton.
That’s not to say, it was easy or automatic. She had to earn her right to do the things she wanted to do. But that doesn’t mean she was waiting to get someone’s approval for what she did!
When she was in drama school as a teenager back in the 1920s, her instructors felt that she would never amount to much in the entertainment business, and even said it to her face. This criticism must have stung. But it probably had the right effect.
Obviously she proved them wrong. She outlasted all the trials of being a young actor – taking bit parts, doing chorus lines, getting hired, getting fired. She moved to where the jobs were.
She definitely took risks.
Watch the video:
“I Love Lucy” was created while acting in a popular CBS radio show which featured a wacky wife. It was so successful that they asked her to develop the show for TV. This show was important because she wanted Desi Arnaz in it so the show featured a so-called All-American woman married to a Cuban. CBS executives weren’t thrilled with the idea at first because they didn’t know how audiences would react to that. But as it turned out, audiences loved the show.
Maybe it’s not a surprise that Gene Roddenberry would take his idea of Star Trek, with its multi-racial cast to Desilu to produce the show. It all makes sense now.
It’s all about taking risks and following through and having faith. After all you’ll never know unless you try. And that takes courage!
As the first woman to run a major Hollywood television studio, Desilu Productions, Lucille Ball would create other well known TV series, such as Our Miss Brooks, Mission Impossible, The Untouchables, The Andy Griffith Show, My Favorite Martian, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Make Room for Daddy. Lucille Ball didn’t back away from acting completely, appearing in film and television roles for the rest of her career until her death in April 1989 from an abdominal aortic dissection at age 77.
Her hometown in Jamestown, NY created a museum honour her and Desi Arnaz. They hold a comedy festival every year. They’ve got all their memorabilia.
Lucille Ball never listened to the critics. She never listened to those who said, “No.” She just kept going until she found the right people and the resources to get her where she wanted to go. You must be wary about so-called experts who don’t know what motivates you. Their opinion and it’s only an opinion don’t matter.
So strong people ignore the naysayers and they keep working towards their goals.
You can read more about her here at WikiPedia.
My work is all about possibility and possibility thinking. It changes the brain. It heals the brain. Neuroplasticity works both ways. You’re either shrinking the brain which is therefore a sick brain or you’re growing it. As you expand your life by WHAT you are THINKING, you are encouraging the birth and growth of new healthy brain cells and creating new healthy neural networks.
Because you’ve chosen to think constructively and positively and then taken those thoughts and put them into action to produce the results you want!
So, what about you?
Are you pouring your heart and soul into something that has a lot of meaning for you?
Are you ready to make tough decisions and go after what you want?
Success is not easy, not matter how you cut it. But the results are mighty fine. Stop living small. Dream big. Do big. Take a leap of faith. And be your own person all the way!
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD, RAc, P.Eng, International #1 Best Selling Author and founder of Extraordinary Sports Medicine, where we help athletes reverse injury, get back in the game they love and improve their quality of life.
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