Sunday Snippet: Bill Cosby

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

It wasn’t always about knit sweaters and Jell-o pudding pops, you know. Many of the top comics in the industry, like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, looked up to Bill Cosby as a mentor when they were first starting out as stand-up comedians. They admired Cosby’s dedication to his craft and they were inspired by his creativity.

There are many lessons that we can all learn from the man who played Heathcliff Huxtable. We can learn that not only can we overcome racial prejudice, but we can thrive and flourish through these obstacles. We learn that one of the keys to success is to focus on your strengths, continuing to do what you do best. Perfect your craft and the accolades will follow.

More important than all of this, Bill Cosby teaches us that you will never be able to please everyone all of the time. You are inevitably going to make mistakes and it’s very likely that you’re going to make some people upset along the way. I’m sure that Donald Trump and Ted Turner have their fair share of enemies, but look at the success that both of these men were able to achieve.

Don’t go around making people dislike you on purpose. That would be foolish. At the same time, you have to realize that, no matter how hard you try, you’re bound to make someone upset or angry at you with nearly everything that you do. The sooner you can accept that, the sooner you can continue down the path to success, even if it is paved with peril and unexpected challenges.