At the top of the year, we’re all super preoccupied with figuring out how, in the next 12 months to come, we can do our best to maximise our time, achieve our goals and make sure we’re making the most beneficial decisions for our lives. And although a lot of the time they have a bit of an advantage with riches, attention and globally adoring fans, our favourite celebs have plenty of worthwhile, lived advice that’s helped them to reach the highs they’re at today. Here are some of the greatest life tips from famous folk to help you make 2018 the best year yet…
LOVE
Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States
‘You don’t want to be with a boy who’s too stupid to appreciate a smart young woman.’
No matter what age you are, or the status of your relationship, we feel that Mrs O’s word from a 2015 panel event ring true for all. If you’re other half/potential bae doesn’t realise and admire your intellect, there’s a high chance you shouldn’t be with him at all… let this be the year of dealing only with those who fully appreciate how fantastic you are!
Rihanna, singer and beauty mogul
‘Be with someone who loves you more than you love him.’
Now, this nugget of advice is actually one passed down from the Bajan star’s late grandmother Clara Braithwaite, affectionately called ‘Gran Gran Dolly’. Rihanna revealed that the quote is one of the last things her beloved gran told her before she passed, and although the ideal would be an equal love, perhaps being on the lesser side of a 51/49 romance split isn’t such a bad idea…
Eva Longoria, actress and producer
On breakups: ‘Love did not work with that person. But it can work with another.’
In a conversation with Vanity Fair Spain, the former Desperate Housewives star spoke out about not letting the sour endings of past relationships make her bitter for the future. If you’re entering 2018 newly single, hold on to this idea that the love lost is not the last one you’ll experience. The best is yet to come!
Erykah Badu, singer-songwriter:
On moving on from a relationship: ‘You gotta go all the way through it…When you get tired enough, you will evolve, I promise. But you gotta go all the way through it. You know, you gotta get your weave snatched out a couple more times. You gotta keep moving.’
The neo-soul superstar is no stranger to offering up pearls of wisdom from her own life via social media, and one of her most resonant tips is the concept of feeling your hurt feelings all the way before moving forward. It’ll hurt, but in the words of Kelly Clarkson (and, um, Nietzsche): what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Jennifer Lopez, singer, dancer and actress
‘You’ve got to love yourself first. You’ve got to be OK on your own before you’re OK with someone else.’
She may be all loved up with baseball player Aaron Rodriguez now, but our dear J-Lo has had her fair share of heartbreaks. However, she imparted some amazing advice in an interview with Glamour, by saying how important it is to love yourself first before seeking love in another. Sounds like a great concept for a new song, to be honest….
CAREER
Oprah Winfrey, broadcasting icon
‘When you’re doing the work you’re meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you’re getting paid.’
Work is work, and work is often tough ‒ yes. However, according to Oprah, we should at the very least like what we’re doing! It can’t feel like a party all the time, but you should be able to find the joy in your work, and it should feel like you’re in the right place. If not, it might be time to start hunting for something new…
Myleik Teele, Founder & CEO of CurlBOX
‘Be decisive and take action. Get in the habit of deciding quickly and moving forward more often. You might make mistakes but you’ll get more things right (and more things done) than if you sat around and pontificated all day.’
Entrepreneur and podcast queen Myleik Teele has a great point ‒ a lot of the time, action is the key, rather than sitting and thinking about all the ways that something can go wrong. Get moving on those plans, people ‒ we’re not here forever!
Roxane Gay, author
‘Take yourself and your ambitions seriously.’
This is simple, but effective advice from the writer of bestselling memoirs ‘Hunger’ and ‘Bad Feminist’, taken from her conversation with thelily.com. We tend to play down the things we want, or talk ourselves out of believing how capable we are at something. But there’s no time to do it any more. Here’s to committing to the goals we want to achieve, and treating them as they’re just as important as anyone else’s.
Halle Berry, actress
‘When you know that the work you’re providing is worth more than they’re willing to pay you, then you’ll ask for it. That’s when you’ll be willing to walk away from it if they say no. But you have to be willing to walk away…We have to own our worth and know our worth.’
Negotiating pay can be one of the most difficult things for people to do ‒ but there comes a time when you need to make sure that you are being properly remunerated for the work you do. If you’re not in the position to just walk away if you don’t get what you want (because, let’s face it, that’s most of us), make sure to go in with a contingency plan of other benefits that you’d be willing to accept instead. 2018 is not the time to be taken for granted.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
Tina Turner, singer
‘I believe that a lot of how you look is to do with how you feel about yourself and your life. Happiness is the greatest beauty secret.’
Well, would you look at that ‒ it seems that in order to look your best, the key is to make sure that the glow is coming from the inside out! So ladies, make this be the year you find true happiness, and watch your beauty levels peak!
Mary J Blige, singer and actress
‘Don’t go a full day or night without washing your face. You have to get all the dirt and makeup out of your pores.’
Simple, but very effective advice from Mary J, who has been glowing ever since she burst onto the music scene in the 1980s. Let’s step it up, ladies ‒ no more collapsing in bed after a night out without washing your face, with your hand in a box of KFC! (Oh… just us? Never mind…)
Iman, model and beauty mogul
‘Every woman ‒ even women of colour ‒ should wear a blush bronzer. Not a self-tanner bronzer!’
Who would we be to turn down advice from one of the most successful black models in history? Iman always looks incredible, and it seems a blush bronzer is one of the keys to her radiant look. We’re investing in that this year, for sure!
Jennifer Hudson, singer and actress
‘You cannot just work out and then eat poorly and expect to lose weight. It doesn’t work that way.’
Ouch ‒ we kind of feel personally attacked with this one! But J-Hud’s saying exactly what plenty of others who’ve managed to lose weight long-term have said: the key is to change what you eat. Something to keep in mind once we sign up for the gym (again) this January…
SELF
Tichina Arnold, actress
‘Always put your safety mask on first’
From playing Pam in classic sitcom Martin, to various other roles in Hollywood, Tichina Arnold has been a presence on our screens for over three decades. In that time, she’s gone through many life stages, such as becoming a mother, and getting divorced twice ‒ and something she’s maintained is by making sure she takes care of herself first, so that she can be of best use to others later. We like.
Beyoncé, singer, actress and multimedia star
‘The reality is, sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose, you’re never too big to lose, you’re never too smart to lose. It happens. And it happens when it needs to happen. And you have to embrace those things.’
What with all her incredible achievements, and the ease she seems to be able to reach and exceed her goals, many people might think that Beyoncé is constantly winning. But, as she says in her Eminem-fronted track ‘Walk on Water’, she’s ‘only human’. She too has lost rounds in the game of life ‒ but she encourages us to accept the failures, and learn from them.
Gabrielle Union, actress and author
‘If someone lacked decency or respect, I didn’t allow that person to stay in my world.’
If there’s one thing we urge you to buy for yourself this January, it’s to buy Gabrielle Union’s book of essays, ‘We’re Going to Need More Wine’ (better still, get the audiobook and actually hear her tell her own stories for yourself). As well as being genuinely hilarious in parts, it’s full of some truthful, exquisite advice for women of all ages; one example of Ms Union’s wisdom is this assertion that without giving respect, people have no place in your lives. 2018 is no time to keep negative people around!
Words by Nicole Vassell
