9 Lessons from my favorite pop culture icons

Ft. Taylor Swift, Conan O'Brien, Pat Cummins, and others.

Contrary to the adage of "Don’t have heroes," I’m unabashedly old-school when it comes to fanboyism. While met with rolling eyes elsewhere, this label is actually fairly common and, in fact, proudly celebrated within the sporting community — a testament to the allure of larger-than-life characters in this part of town. There’s something deeply inspiring about individuals who faced life's challenges head-on, flaws and all, and still managed to leave an indelible dent in the universe.

So I decided to sit down and write about the heroes that make me dream. The ones whose messages lift me up when I am listless and down. But to keep it interesting for myself, I’ve stuck to *only quotes* from these icons, i.e from the horse’s mouth than say, derivative lessons from their stories; which I meant I had to begrudgingly leave out heroes like MS Dhoni, G, or RJ Balaji - individuals who have had profound impact on my life but do not have a specific quote per se that I resonate with.

I also went ahead and bucketed these life lessons into themes such as purpose, courage, and resilience so it’s easy for anyone reading to follow:

Life lessons from my favorite pop icons

#1 - On Purpose

Steve Jobs - “Don’t settle”

Full quote: You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

A line so clichéd that a Chinese company unironically decided to plaster it all over its smartphones, an imitation that would make the American roll over in his grave. Yet, such is the truth. Why do I like this so much? I know a lot of people who are working on things they don’t like, but don’t know anyone who is doing great work without loving what they do.

#2 - On Courage

Cody Rhodes - “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyways” (Originally John Wayne)

"I pity the fool who doesn't laugh." - Voice of Bugs Bunny. Sometimes I think about this quote when people dismiss WWE as child’s play, with a total disregard to the depth and The Elite storytelling it has to offer. Cody Rhodes is one of those master storytellers who will have inspired thousands of kids and perhaps even a few hundred adults even, with his eloquence by the time he is done with the business. I always rewatch this promo with CM Punk, whenever I want to take on a challenge that gets me excited and scared at the same time.

#3 - On Perseverance

Hasan Minhaj - “You gotta keep trying because it is worth it”

Hasan Minhaj is one of my favorite comedians, but I became an ardent fan after watching his commencement address at his alma mater where he talks about getting bullied in high school, missing out on the basketball team, and eventually finding his footing in stand-up comedy.

Full quote: “I decided to do stand up comedy. I did it every night, and I got my shoes peed on proverbially, night in and night out. I was not very good but I stuck with it. And on October 9th, 2014, my life changed forever. I was the last correspondant to be hired by Jon Stewart to be on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I had been doing stand up for 10 years, one month, and nine days. I was not the funniest, I was not the brightest, I was not the tallest and I’m not the best looking, all those things I’m not. But I never stopped fighting through the pick… the world does not care about your dreams, they do not care one bit. But, I will say this, you gotta keep trying, it’s worth it. And if you give yourself an opportunity to try and survive failure, you will eventually find what you were meant to do. I’m telling you right now from my own personal experience, never stop fighting through the pick. If you can’t get in through the front door, go in through the side. If you can’t get in the side door, go in through the backyard, and if you can’t get in through the backyard, go in through the window. No matter what, never stop wearing your Air Pennies, and never stop fighting through the pick. I promise you, I promise you, you’ll eventually find where you are supposed to be”

There is also a popular Lionel Messi attributed quote that I was super tempted to add that encapsulates the same message, but only held back because I couldn’t find an original clip:

The secret ingredient to success is just grind: The 10,000 hours.

On Resilience

Resilience is perhaps the single most important trait of survival - be it the crocodiles that survived the impact event millions of years ago, or the soldiers in the battle of Agincourt centuries later, history is littered with examples where even the weak prevailed over the mighty, simply because they were more resilient. It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, as long as you get up one more time. This is almost a non-negotiable, especially when you have big, hairy, audacious goals because the odds are always stacked against you.

#4 Taylor Swift - “Shake it Off”

Arguably, the one that require the least explanation xD

When things don’t go your way, remember it isn’t personal. Cause,

the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off (hoo-hoo-hoo)

#5 Lionel Messi - “That’s life. You stumble, get up. Fight for your dreams”

Full quote: “I would like to finish my career having won something with the Argentina national team or to try as many times as possible. I want to get up and try another time, it’s also the message for the kids that see me. That’s life. You stumble and you get back up and fight for your dreams.

“Do you realize how much joy you bring to people?” remarked with bemusement, a journalist, at Lionel Messi. A comment that was all about the magic Messi weaves on a football pitch. But off it? He might just be the most resilient athlete of all time.

For years, football’s biggest prizes eluded its greatest player; to a point where a series of heartbreaking losses in the finals even prompted Messi to retire from international cricket. A pain beyond imagination for most of us - to be the absolute best in the world at something, but still not have the accolades to show for the brilliance.

Eventually, his relentless shone, the universe relenting, with Messi become a world champion in his last ever world cup at 35 years. Respect.

#6 CM Punk - “Realistically, is this a problem?”

Full quote: “I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for him because, realistically, is this is a problem? I have a friend named Chad Gilbert who I think about a lot.. every day I think about this kid, because I love him to death.. and he has got cancer and he has had it real bad for a long time. I’ll go visit him, sit with him while he gets his chemotherapy. He is always in a good mood and he is never down about it and it is soul-crushing. That’s a fight! To me, this is just a flesh wound”

CM Punk’s story - his quest to main event WrestleMania (WWE’s version of a World Cup) is content for a book in itself. But long story short, after years of dreaming, he got an opportunity only to tear his triceps a few weeks before WrestleMania, ultimately missing out. So close, yet so far. Right after the injury, CM Punk would then come out and drop one of the best wrestling promos I have watched, addressing how at the end of the day, there are more important things in life than a missed wrestling match. Too real. I’ve since found myself asking the same question anytime I miss out on something I desperately wanted, “Realistically, is this a problem?” As much a clichéd, sombre, nihilistic outlook to problem-solving it is, taking a step back helps. Because when caught in the eye of the storm, sometimes it is easy to forget that it is not the end of the world. No matter how much something means to us.

#7 Conan O’Brien - “Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get”

Conan O’Brien is a legend and, again, deserves a blog post on his own. Thankfully, I have that one handy. Conan found himself in the highest echelons of the comedic universe only to have the rug pulled from under him in one of the most infamous mistreatments of an icon by the unforgiving media industry. But being the class act he is, he’d take it in stride, dropping this piece of wisdom:

Full quote: “Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard, and you're kind, amazing things will happen”

#8 Thalaivar Rajnikant - “Miracles do happen”

Full quote: "Miracles do happen. See an ordinary bus conductor sharing the dais with the greatest living legends is a miracle. Miracles do happen.”

There isn’t really anything that I can say to improve on what he had to say.

#9 Pat Cummins (Maria Cummins) - “It might as well be you”

Full quote: My mother told me that “Pat, go and take on the world. Someone's going to go and do these wonderful things, it might as well be you”

Steve Jobs once said, how everything around you was made up by people who were no smarter than you. Sam Altman says how successful people generally believe in themselves almost to the point of delusion. I don’t know anyone who internalized the message quite like Pat Cummins over the last two years, standing front and center, winning everything there is to win in cricket.

I am strong champion of the philosophy that you can be anything you want (h/t to my good friend OG, who reminds me this everyday). But long before you can get there, you have to believe that you are good enough to go onto do great things you set out to do.

Cheers, Kris