Gerard Butler and Pursuing Your Dream In Spite of Difficulties

Recently Gerard Butler (Famous actor) did an interview on The Bonnie Hunt Show.

I don’t always put much stock in the musing of actors, but I happened to hear this interview and I felt what he was talking about is really relevant to entrepreneurs. Originally, Gerard has actually studied at law school and started a career in law. After he was established in his law career he realized that it was not his passion, not his “purpose” (his exact words in the interview). He said that growing up being an actor was something seemed rather unattainable because when he was young if he said he wanted to be an actor, people would scoff and suggest: “hey what about medical school or being a lawyer instead?” So he followed their advice and became a lawyer because he thought it was the path he was “supposed” to take, but once he got there he just felt unfulfilled. He admitted in the interview that while he knows that there are people for whom being a lawyer is great, it was not what he was meant to be. So one day he packed his bags and moved from Scotland to London and said “I’m going to be an actor”. When he did it, his family was not happy–they thought he was ruining his life, and he himself thought as he did it, “This is a disaster”. He said, “I knew this is what I wanted to do, [what I was passionate about and what I needed to be doing], but it didn’t feel like that at the time.” He talked about how even though he was pursuing his dream, it was hard at the beginning. And now, he has starred in several blockbuster films and is enjoying a career he always dreamed of doing.

I think a lot of people who are in corporate America hesitate to pursue their dreams because they are afraid of that initial hard time to reach their goals. But if Gerard Butler had never took those first steps, he would still be working miserably as a lawyer in Scotland instead of enjoying a hugely popular, and lucrative career doing what he loves to do everyday. So sometimes, taking those first hard steps are the crucial ones to living the life you dreamed of.

Watch the complete interview here.