Celebrity Words of Wisdom Kevin Hart

St. Croix Times Staff

Kevin Hart is one of the richest comedians in the world. His accolades include the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. His films, where he has appeared as a leading actor or in a supporting role, have grossed close to $5 billion. But his road to success has been marked by a number of notable rejections.

He stated in a recent interview that his success is mainly due to his ability to learn from his failures and to embrace rejection.

“I can’t narrow it down to one,”Mr. Hart said. “Not getting into comedy clubs early on in my career; not getting chosen for comedy festivals early on; not getting movie roles that I thought were perfect for me; and certainly not getting SNL (Saturday Night Live) when I thought SNL was the biggest and best thing for me - there were so many things that, if they would have happened, my career wouldn’t have shaped up into what it is today.

“It can be difficult to see the big picture in those moments where you’re told “no,” but down the line, you later discover those moments were some of the best for you, that made you work harder for what you really want.”

Mr. Hart was the first U.S. comedian to sell over a million tickets within six months for his global “Irresponsible Tour,” which became the highest selling comedy tour of all time. 

“It is vital to believe rejection can be an asset, a tool to motivate you, but also to force you to adapt.” the Jumanji star stated. “Without it, you don’t have anything to learn from or anything to adjust to. If things were easy, it would be stupid. It’s supposed to be hard. You’re supposed to understand that the reason for hard work and putting 100% into a craft, or anything you love, is because of what you want to get out of it in the long run.”   

The comedy box-office smash buddy-cop actor, from the movies “Ride Along” and “Ride Along 2” believes that not getting everything you want will make you want those things even more.  

“As a person that has experienced rejection on so many levels, I embrace it,” Mr. Hart said. “To this day, everything doesn’t go the way I want. But just because one road map didn’t work, it doesn’t mean you can’t create another. And that’s where I find the most joy in the business that I’m operating in today.”