I’m telling everyone I know to watch the new Joan Rivers documentary A Piece of Work on DVD. This movie totally blew me away. It’s a fantastic insider movie about show business – and it’s made me look at this comedian in a totally different light. I’m not crazy about all her jokes, and of course her plastic surgery is way overboard. But that’s not the point with this movie.
It’s her relentless work ethic that’s absolutely fascinating. Here is a woman, who at age 74 still gets out on stage to perform stand-up in small clubs, and is driven to challenge herself over and over and over. She is testament to the importance of constantly reinventing herself.
I’m not talking about the kind of reinvention that keeps Lady Gaga coming up with new costumes, or keeps Rihanna changing her hair color. True reinvention is converting every small setback into springboard for success because you simply refuse to give up.
The world is full of one-hit wonders. Remember Toni Basil, who sang “Oh Mickey You’re so Fine, You’re So Fine You Blow My Mind”. How about Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”, or A-Ha’s “Take on Me”.
All of us can become one-hit wonders. That’s the dark side of success. We catch a break and think that our luck has finally changed – an easy, open road lies ahead of us. Of course, that’s not how it works at all. You can never rest on your laurels without going stale. The world is full of people who are coasting, but the truly successful people never stop. They know that life is a long marathon – not an endless victory lap.
But how do you keep going, when things start getting tough? That’s why you need to watch this movie. It’s a portrait of the tough daily reality of chasing your dream and the tenacity needed to keep going.
I’ve got this friend who’s totally brilliant, and got hired as a professor at a big-name university three years ago. When he first got the job, he worked like crazy. He was always writing grants to get funding for his projects, and polishing his lectures or thinking about new research. Then he received his first bad review from a few students. They didn’t like his stiff lecture style, they wanted to more engagement during class. He was crushed, and something changed inside him. He decided that his students were the ones who were wrong – he was a professor at a prestigious university after all! For a solid two years we heard hilarious stories about his idiot undergrads. But we heard far less about new grant proposals or new ideas for research.
He didn’t realize that his failure was a sign. The world wasn’t there to roll out the red carpet – it was asking him to change, adapt and grow. It was showing him his next move. But my friend didn’t catch on until it was too late. Something inside him gave up and coasted. He decided the world just didn’t understand him. Two years later, he lost his shot at tenure and is now looking for a new job — not because of one bad review, but because he never really did anything great after that.
Compare that to Joan Rivers, who is still booking herself at dingy clubs, and keeping her comedy as fresh and feisty as ever. She knows that her audience is always ready to teach her something new. That’s why her true legacy will be her remarkable longevity as a comedian, and the genuine admiration of her fans and colleagues. Everyday, no matter what, she gives it everything she has. And that’s what creates success.
