Barack Obama Is A Rock Star, And So Can You
When I was a little boy, probably around nine or ten, I wanted to be a rock star. Really. Bobby Sherman was my idol. I don’t know exactly why, but the first occupational desire I had was to be a rock star. And I’m pretty sure I wanted to be a good one.
Over the past few days, we’ve heard the political news about John McCain making fun of Barack Obama’s rock star “celebrity” status, comparing him to Paris Hilton (who, um, isn’t a rock star, by the way) and suggesting that Obama is “elite”. (Full disclosure at this point, yes, I am an Obama supporter and I have donated money to his campaign.)
Obama, smartly, has responded by simply noting that McCain isn’t saying anything positive about himself. I agree, and I want to take this opportunity to point out a few things:
• There is nothing wrong with being a “rock star”. There is nothing wrong with being a “celebrity”. Literally, it means you are talented and pretty damn good at what you do. Figuratively, it means you are talented and pretty damn good at what you do. Either way, it’s a win. Bobby Sherman would, no doubt, agree.
• There is nothing wrong with being elite. Now, I don’t really think Obama is “elitist”. Yes, he is more intelligent, better educated, and better spoken, than the “average American”. But that doesn’t make him elite. But even if it did, elite, by definition, means, “a group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category”.
Thanks for the compliments, Senator McCain. An elite celebrity rock star - well, that’s something I want to be - and so should you. We should all want to be talented and pretty damn good at what we do, and considered to be the best.
So, today, think about what you can do to become the best. Write down what that looks like to you. And then find a way to make it happen. Don’t you want that for your self? I do. And I’ve known that simple truth since I was nine.