Hello all,

Today’s motivation comes from one of my favorite actresses from the Golden Era of Hollywood, Bette Davis:

“To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy.”

Bette Davis

So many times in our journey to success, we tend to forget about the journey itself. We don’t recall the work, the labor, and all it takes to create our success. Instead, we focus on the prize. While the prize is important, we must also realize that in our journey towards succeeding in our goals, that in the process, we create a love of labor. We must realize that that labor is a part of our success! I use Bette Davis’ quote because she is a perfect example of this concept. In her lifetime, Ms. Davis had so many goals. Among those goals were to carve out a successful career as a film actress, make great films, and be the first actress to win three Oscars.

While Davis never succeeded in the third goal ( she is one of the few Hollywood actresses to win two Oscars and has an unprecedented five Oscar Nominations, a record she shares with Greer Garson), she certainly succeeded in her first two. As a result, cinema fans like me collect her films and learn what great cinema is really all about. Yes, in her lifetime she was known to be difficult to work with but she justified her negative image by stating she wanted to make good films and knew how to do just that. For her, making good films was so important that when her studio, Warner Bros., sued her over a contract dispute and won, she left the United States and went into exile willingly and refused to re-enter the country until the studio gave her what she wanted: better parts. Even though Warner Bros. won the lawsuit, Davis won the war and she ended up getting the parts SHE wanted. Her love of her work showed and a result, Davis not only became an icon in American Cinema, during her lifetime, she became a wealthy woman. At the height of her fame, she was one of Hollywood’s highest paid actresses.

Davis could have stopped making films when she became wealthy but she wouldn’t stop acting. The only thing that took her away from the craft she loved so much was death. As she was dying of cancer in the year of her death, 1989, she was working on a project. She certainly did sweat over her lonely labor. In the end, it wasn’t about the money that she toiled…it was really all about being allowed to make films. If it were just about the money, Davis would have foregone great film making and settle on the bit parts she was offered in the early years of her career.

As we embark on the ultimate journey towards success, we mustn’t forget what the real prize is…the opportunity to work towards our goals. As you toil and invest your sweat equity, are you getting the meat and potatoes of your pursuits? While the money is important, don’t forget that being able to toil to create that lonely labor is the prize, as Davis puts it, and that’s the real meat and potatoes. Therefore, when the money, the prizes, the recognition and all the positives that come with success arrive, its all really…just gravy.