Happy d’Effoulan and Tenor are two young Cameroonian artists who achieved success and fame at a young age with their catchy songs and energetic performances. However, they also faced challenges and controversies in their careers, such as legal troubles, accidents, scandals, and conflicts with their producers or collaborators.
As is often the case with showbiz disputes, many are quick to pick sides and throw shots or make fun of the situations. But in the end, the real questions hardly ever get asked – what lessons can be drawn from the mishaps of others?
These are three lessons for those who achieve success and fame quickly, and how they cope with the pressure and expectations that come with it. You may not fall within this category but of course it never hurts to know.
- Get a lawyer
Many in entertainment would tell you getting a lawyer is costly. They follow this up with the argument that lawyers only add bureaucratic inertia to their projects and goals. These two arguments scream more of ignorance and reticence to learn than they do time management. Lawyers are not for when disaster strikes only. They help you save more money than you think. This, as they review your contracts, gig agreements and even endorsement deals.
Being by them too is educative enough, as it gives you the legal perspective to practically every aspect of your job. As a person shot into the spotlight young and naïve, the use of a lawyer in your life cannot be undermined. Dedicate some of those bank notes to constant consultation with a lawyer.
We social media lawyers are free and always available. But we won’t pull you from behind the docks when trouble comes knocking. And trust me, it will come. You are young. You are meant for trouble.
- Get an education
Many youngsters today seek the entertainment industry first as a way to quick cash and fame, and then as a way to skip school. It is a dream that has for ages been sold to us. Get then bag and then everyone else will be at your feet. When the fame does come, (and it rarely does by the way), you soon realize that a lot more matters. And maintaining the fame, requires an education.
Even if you think you will never need all that information, think about this: a high academic qualification makes you look cute. Like the bold marker tattoos on your wrist.
The streets won’t teach you everything.
- Get an investment
Forget music videos and flashy ads. Entertainment is not a lifetime cash out gig. If you begin to earn early, it is to your advantage to diversify your income stream by investing elsewhere. It takes a split second to lose all that fame and relevance and then the endorsements and show bookings all stop coming. Ask Tenor.
Also, the entertainment life is one hard to maintain without the bank notes and even a slight moment of financial lack once you have started climbing the ladder can leave you scarred for life. Again, this relates to the need to have an education. It not only gives you the much needed mental capacity to handle certain complex mental and social procedures, but also widens your scope on money and other important aspects of life.
P.S Get you a partner and stick to them. It is way easier producing better results over a long period of time with one partner. Having multiple and often unsteady relationships disrupts your creative process as well as the ability to make and attain strategic long-term goals.
If you are into music, the heartbreaks might inspire you to produce amazing hits but they won’t guide you to live an amazing life.