What Jennifer Lopez can teach us all

The positives:

• The book is a bit more “real” than we get to see in her very polished image
• She has fears like the rest of us
• She falls in love (too easily), gets her heartbroken like any other woman, and gets back on her bike without blinking an eyelid
• Jennifer owns her story: the good, the bad and the ugly 
• She plays a sickly sweet woman – and quite possibly, she mostly is.
• The moments that are most memorable to her include her children
• Holding strong is her defense mechanism and it has kept her in good stead

The negatives:

• Jennifer is super ambitious and I am sure she would stomp on anyone that got in her way. She didn’t get to where she is today by being a shrinking voilet.
• She is as insecure as the rest of us, and possibly more… which in some way is endearing.
• Fame and fortune is above all else
• Having Marc play with her on stage when they had broken up was a publicity stunt and about her career – nothing more.
• Jennifer is a narcissist – for sure

Inspiration:

• You will live. You will love. You will dance again…
• In the end, the truth finds a way to surface, even if you don’t want it to.
• Listen to yourself; listen to your gut. Because only you knw what’s right for you.”
• As an artist, you should be in competition with only one person – yourself.
• In the same way negative influences can bring you down, having positive people around can help lift you up.
• Passion is a pendulum that swings both ways. As beautiful as it can be, it can also get intense.
• Your friends mourn your losses with you, because they experience them too. The truth is, no matter how lonely you might feel, you’re never going through anything alone.

The realism:

• I wake up in bed alone. The silence in my room reminds me of the emptiness in my heard. I failed at love – again. Expect this time, it wasn’t just me. I am haunted by the inescapable thought that I let down my beautiful babies. Max and Emme. I wanted so badly for things to have turned out differently. As lonely as this bed feels, I can’t bring myself to get out of it.
• The truth about reality TV is that you can’t hide who you are.

Overall, it was a light read. The take home value to me from the book was:

• Never believe your own bullshit. If you wanted to be in the newspaper everyday, hire a publicist. They can make anyone famous.
• Being famous or being recognized is not important, and if it is, you will keep making the same mistakes.
• Everybody is the same: we all want to be loved.
• Everybody has a story that we all can learn from.
• Never let your insecurities or fears shape you.

Amazing what you can get from a commerically inspired book!