Caught a little of the Elvis movie on TV. The kid from Dublin playing him was good; had the moves down.
It got me to thinking about fame and massive success and about how some people can handle it -- and how for others it can be the most destructive thing in the world.
It got me to thinking about Michael -- and how difficult it is to watch what’s going on with him now.
When we made “Thriller”, he was the most beautiful person in the world. Just a beautiful little brother. And you can’t help but wonder if things happened too fast, or does success of this magnitude become emotionally unmanageable?
All I know is that, on their own, human beings are not programmed to be able to handle that much fame, that much adulation, that much success. The only way to deal with something that overwhelming -- even overwhelming success -- is if you are spiritually centered.
If you believe that you deserve all that money and adulation, that’s a problem. If you believe you don’t deserve it, that’s also a problem. And if you don’t understand this, you’re in trouble.
I’ve been in the business 57 years and I’ve seen it over and over again. It’s all about trusting a higher power; believing in divinity. It’s about cause and manifestation. Cause being God’s job, manifestation clearly being our job. The moment success leads you to say, “I’ll take it from here, God,” God’s reply will be, “Be my guest.” And God will walk out of the room.
The only way to navigate that road is to have humility and grace.
Those are the two cardinal rules. You must approach creativity with humility and have grace when you’re blessed with success.
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