Diana Ross: Taking full responsibility for your happiness
You do not know your upper limits!
Hello ladies, sorry it has been a while. I had COVID and it made me a little bitch.
Anyway, I have been deeply fascinated by Diana Ross. She is simply fabulous. Regal. Audacious. She is a divine woman.
She left a successful girl group, The Supremes, to start her solo career that spanned 4 decades.
She was the queen of Motown and used Berry Gordy to advance her ambitions.
She then left Motown for RCA Records to reinvent her career.
She got married to music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein when she was pregnant with Rhonda Ross (who was her child with Berry Gordy)
She is also the mother of one of Hollywood's most fabulous women, Tracee Ellis Ross.
So what can we learn from her life?
1. In the beginning, “No” means nothing.
In the beginning, Berry Gordy did not want to sign another female group. Also, at that time, they were just teenagers. So, that made them too young.
Diana wanted to make music and used to clean his office. That way, she was always in his sight. Eventually, her girl group gets signed.
In the beginning, the band was called “the no-hit supremes” because they were not making hit records.
Moral: Do not abandon your dreams because of a simple “NO”.
2. Learn how to be a star
Motown had to train people to be stars. They essentially created a training school for their artists on how to walk, talk, hold a cigarette, etc. This school was led by Maxine Powell, a model and tv show host. Among her pupils were the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson.
This reminds me of when Serena Willam’s father used to do media training for his daughters when they were young and practicing in Compton.
Moral: If you want to be a star, start training like one.
3. Work with what you have.
Diana ross was not the best singer, dancer, or performer. There were artists in Motown that had better and more powerful voices. There were also more attractive artists in Motown.
However, Diana was the full package. Diana Ross knew how to use her cheekbones, her shoulder, her neck, and her legs. She knew how to charm the camera and stand out from her two other bandmates. The same can be said about Beyonce in Destiny’s child.
Moral: Stand Out and do so shamelessly.
4. Find Co-conspirators.
Beyonce had her dad.
Serena had her dad.
Diana had Berry Gordy.
Moral: Only keep men that are actively working to advance your career around.
5. Leave what no longer serves you.
At 37, Diana Ross started life all over again.
She left her husband of 7 years and father of 3 children.
She also left Motown, the company that guided her career for almost 2 decades.
In doing so, she was able to release arguably her greatest album, with hits like “I am coming out”, and “inside out”.
In life, your greatest fear is not going backward, it is stasis.
COME OUT AND SHOW THE WORLD ALL THAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER.
