I can remember as a young child watching “The Jackson Five” on our 4 station television (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS) and from the beginning, everyone knew that Michael was the star. Later, when I was in high school and he began his solo career, his stardom rose to dizzying heights. When his album, Thriller, was released, MTV was just coming of age and Michael was able to ride that wave to super-stardom.
Looking back on his life, I’ve realized some of the immense differences between him and myself, and no, I’m not just talking the obvious differences in ability (dancing, singing, songwriting, etc.), I’m talking about the differences in how we chose to live our lives and how we viewed ourselves. Indeed, there were some stark differences and some rules to live by to avoid becoming a rich, detached soul.
Rule #1: Stay normal. Normal can mean a wide array of things, but no one can convince me that it’s normal to live with a chimpanzee, grab your crotch in public, or leak untruths to tabloids just for the publicity.
