Sure, the best actors are generally very successful at making large sums on money; however, whether or not they can retain those funds and keep their savings accounts in the black varies greatly. But, really I think I overlooked actors as businessmen and women because it often takes a team of managers and public affairs representatives to make an actor a lucrative business.
Sure, nary a member of the billionaires club did it all alone, but we've all heard so many times that actors didn't know they were broke until their manager told them they were. Since the attitude towards money varies so greatly in the acting profession - it just never occurred to me that actors could truly be gritty entrepreneurs. Shame on me!
So, where did all this love for Ashton Kutcher start? I found this amazing t-shirt with the quote, "Opportunity Looks a Lot like Hard Work" a few weeks ago at iwearyourshirt.com. I circled back around to it, considering finally purchasing it when I read the description of the shirt for the first time:
If you haven't heard Ashton Kutcher's speech at the Teen Choice Awards, you should watch it immediately. Not only is it surprising coming from him, it's also extremely poignant, and it hits home for so many entrepreneurs.Naturally, I followed the directions promptly and looked up Ashton Kutcher's speech. I was blown away. I'd always considered him to be as goofy and dim-witted as his doppelganger Kelso from That Seventies Show. Again, shame on me!
His acceptance speech was indeed poignant, meaningful and inspiring. I think it was so wonderful that he crafted a speech such as this for an audience of teens - those who, unfortunately are least likely to remember his words but have the most to gain from his experience and advice. Cut to 1:35 for the good stuff:
Here it is transcribed:
So, its really three things. The first thing is about opportunity, the second thing is about being sexy, and the third thing is about living life.
So, first thing - opportunity, I believe, looks a lot like hard work. When I was 13, I had my first job with my dad carrying shingles to the roof, and then I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant, and then I got a job in a grocery-store deli, and then I got a job in a factory sweeping Cheerio dust off the ground.
And I never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job. And every job I had was a stepping stone to my next job, and I never quit my job until I had my next job. And so opportunities look a lot like work.
Number two: being sexy. The sexiest thing in the entire world is being really smart, and being thoughtful and being generous. Everything else is crap. I promise you. Its just crap that people try to sell to you to make you feel like less. So don't buy it. Be smart, be thoughtful and be generous.
The third thing is something that I just re-learned when I was making this movie about Steve Jobs. And Steve Jobs said, when you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way that it is and that your life is to live your life inside the world and try not to get in too much trouble, and maybe get an education, and get a job and make some money and have a family. But life can be a lot broader than that when you realize one simple thing and that is that everything around us that we call life was made up by people that are no smarter than you. And you can build your own things. You can build your own life that other people can live in.
So build a life, don't live one. Build one. Find your opportunities and always be sexy.
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