Anyone who is pursuing a career in the arts knows how crucial it is to have ambition and guts. Without either of those things, you might as well kiss your chances goodbye as nothing is ever going to be given to you. Rather, you have to take it. One astronomically successful individual who of course understands this is Dolly Parton.
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Parton has always been a charismatic and endearing personality, and it’s those traits that helped get where she is today. However, neither of those traits would have meant anything if it wasn’t for the two mentioned previously. Parton utilized all four of these characteristics when she first met Johnny Cash at the spry age of 13.
Dolly Parton Ambushes Johnny Cash
In her memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, Dolly Parton recollected the first time she met Johnny Cash in 1959 at the Ryman in Nashville. Parton wrote, “I had never seen a man with such a presence–tall, lanky, and sexy, with that trademark voice that cut through me like butter.”
“I was blown away. I was just a thirteen-year-old girl from the Smokies, but I would have gladly given it up for Mr. Cash right there in the parking lot,” added Parton. After Parton got a hold of herself, she would perform a career and life-defining act that most adults wouldn’t have the guts to do. But, leave it to Dolly Parton to cross the line and take a gamble.
After Parton and her uncle formally introduced themselves and conversed with Cash, Parton popped the career-changing statement. According to Parton, she stated, “Oh, Mr. Cash, I’ve just got to sing on the Grand Ole Opry.” In her memoir, Parton wrote about the moment, “He looked at me as if he was thinking, ‘You know, this kid is really serious.”
Well, he was, as Dolly Parton made her Grand Ole Opry Debut just months later. And, guess who introduced her to the crowd? Yes, it was of course her country music father and mentor, Johnny “The Man in Black” Cash. Again, if it wasn’t for Dolly’s determination, grit, and fearlessness it very well could have taken her 10 years to get on that stage.
So, if you’re looking to make it somewhere in this business, take a page out of Dolly Parton’s book. Seize every opportunity and take every calculated risk.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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