Kevin Hart spells out his keys to success in memoir
Kevin Hart’s new memoir is “hustle” defined over 378 pages.
Written with journalist/ author Neil Strauss, I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons drops Tuesday, days after the opening of the animated Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, which features his distinctive voice.
It has been a long and jarring road for the 37- year- old, who despite growing up in Philadelphia with meager means, went on to dethrone Jerry Seinfeld on
Forbes’ list of highest- paid comedians in 2016. Throughout the peaks — a holding deal with NBC early in his career — and valleys — owing nearly $ 400,000 in back taxes — five things about his success story remain consistent.
HE RELIES ON THE ‘ SHOULDER SHRUG’
Early on in the memoir, readers are introduced to Hart’s superpower. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve had the ability to shoulder- shrug things — to just accept them, say ‘ OK,’ and get on with my life,” he writes. “The opposite of shoulder- shrugging would be to get depressed or angry and to hold on to those emotions for the rest ofmy life.”
It’s easy to scoff and think “easier said than done,” but Hart was able to shrug off his parents’ split, not landing a role on Saturday-Night Live and learning ABC had canceled The Big House while he was waiting to go on stage to promote the series at upfronts.
HE HAS THE CONFIDENCE TO TRY NEW THINGS
Though a brief stint of stripping to make extra cash wasn’t a successful venture and ended after an uncomfortable lesson at his house, his up- for- anything attitude served him well when a co- worker suggested he try stand- up.
“That’s when I said the word that changed my life: ‘ OK,’ ” he shares. “It was as nonchalant as every other ‘ OK’ I’d uttered. I basically shoulder- shrugged my way into comedy.”
HE FOLLOWS HIS INSTINCTS
Hart advises not to “invite ( doubters) into the conversation” when deciding to chase a dream. “You already know what you want to dedicate yourself to, so you don’t need to ask for their approval,” he shares. “There’s no need to seek external approval when you already have internal approval.”
He trusted his gut when turning down big- time talent manager Barry Katz’s offer to represent him after he says Katz compared his career to “a bucket of ( expletive).”
HE GAINS INSIGHT FROM HIS ISSUES
“It’s easy to complain about your life — how tough it is, how unfair it is, how stressful it is, how everyone else has it much better,” Hart writes. “But if you step into the life of someone you envy for just a day, you’ll discover that everyone has their own problems, and they’re usually worse than yours. Because your problems are designed specifically for you, with the specific purpose of helping you grow.”
Later, he says the “No’s he got when he asked to play with friends or go to a movie while growing up prepared him for rejection as an aspiring actor.
HE WORKS REALLY HARD
Reading about all that Hart has done over the course of his career can make one feel exhausted and lazy at the same time.
“I refuse to relax. I refuse to get comfortable,” he explains. “I’m on a quest to find the ceiling of what’s possible in this life and raise it ...”
Which explains his motivation during years of touring and the 30 hours a week he spent traveling between Philadelphia and New York for five minutes of stage time.
“The unsuccessful get halfway to the finish line, then turn around,” he says. “The successful get halfway, then keep going. Both run the same distance, but only one makes it to the finish line.”