Humble Ain't Hard
Perfect in Every Way
In the spring of 1980, country singer Mac Davis wrote and recorded the song, “It’s Hard to Be Humble”. When first released, the song was the “A” side of a 45 RPM record. Raise your hand if you remember those. Extra credit if you also remember the thirty-three and a third RPM and the seventy-eight RPM albums. Per Wikipedia, the song was “a light-hearted look at how popularity and good looks could go to one’s head.”
Allegedly, the song was never intended to be serious. That said, I suspect that some folks, both then and now, consider the song to be an anthem. An anthem written for, and about, them. Fortunately, I am not alone when I say that humble ain’t hard. Sorry, Mr. Basinger (my seventh-grade English teacher), sometimes the word ain’t just sounds better.
Humble Beginnings
I recently read an article about Lauren Keyana “Keke” Palmer. Actress, singer, author, television personality, producer, podcast host. Oh, and did I mention, Keke started acting at the age of nine, and she was a millionaire at the age of twelve?
In a CNBC interview, Keke said, “I live under my means. I think it is incredibly important.” In a Club Shay Shay podcast, Keke said, “My parents, at their best, made $40,000 a year.” As a child actor, she said, “I was making that a show.”
Despite her success, she has never forgotten the lessons her parents taught her when she was a child. She likewise has never forgotten the sacrifices they made so that she might pursue her dreams.
Keke also said that she didn’t need to own a large, sprawling mansion. Nor did she need to drive around in a Bentley. Many a celebrity and athlete could learn from that sentiment, from those words.
This morning, I read a similar article about Larry Bird, one of the NBA’s finest basketball superstars. Likewise, his humble beginnings have served him well. Beginnings he has never forgotten, despite his illustrious career. “I can’t see putting $50,000 or $60,000 into a car when our house growing up was worth $10,000,” he said.
Growing up with four brothers and a sister, Larry Bird knew all too well the rigors of living paycheck to paycheck. Throughout his career, these humble beginnings in the small town of French Lick, Indiana, kept him grounded. Especially whenever he found himself overwhelmed with all the extravagance of being one of the best of the best.
The Only Life I’ve Known
Granted, it might be easier to be humble when you are the daughter of a truck driver. Or the son of an auto mechanic. It might likewise be easier to be humble when you have never experienced the life of a millionaire. As they say, “ignorance is bliss.”
For me, being humble is about a lot more than the ratio of one’s lifestyle compared to one’s bank account. I am pretty sure we started, and will likely always be, somewhere near the middle of the middle class.
All my adult life, I have reported to people whose economic standard was better than mine. Except for one or two people, they never acted as if they were better than me. They never treated me as if I were inferior to them. Trust me, those were very humbling experiences.
Over the years, I have respected the ethics of many whom I worked for and alongside. All my adult life, I have tried to emulate their actions with similar gratitude and humility. I have tried hard to not to judge or speak down to anyone less fortunate than me. Similarly, I have tried to be respectful of all those with whom I interact. Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the differences.