13 Pieces Of Career Advice From Celebs

Not every celeb has the most important job on the planet, but you can't argue that they're pretty visible. Being famous and in the public eye makes celebs highly inspirational to a lot of people, and maybe to you, too, no matter what your career goals are. In one way or another, celebs were once like everyone else with a dream, but they followed it to the top. They "made it" as we like to say. We want to know how, of course. Here are 13 pieces of career advice from celebs who truly know the secret to success.

13 Madonna

Madonna is extremely famous, but she doesn't think that should be anyone's aim. Her advice after many years of remaining a relevant pop-star is to do work that people want to see. She once said, "Fame is a by-product. Fame is something that should happen because you do work that speaks to people and people want to know about your work."

12 Vin Diesel

At 21, the actor moved to California expecting to be an overnight success, and went back to NYC a short year later after that didn't exactly happen. So he knows from personal experience that following your dreams isn't always easy, but you have to figure out how to do it correctly. He's said, "If you're the type of person who has to fulfill your dreams, you've gotta be resourceful to make sure you can do it."

11 Harrison Ford

He's a pretty big deal: he not only played Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise but he's also Indiana Jones. He's got a six-decade career under his belt and was even ranked number one on Empire's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time." He's actually the number one box office earner in the U.S. His personal approach to success is all about with knowing his worth: "I'm in it for the money. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. This is my job. Acting is my craft. I've spent my whole life working on it and I want to get paid well to do it, because otherwise I'm being irresponsible, not valuing what I do for a living."

10 Richard Branson

Richard knows in order to reach the top, you have to do what you want and never take no for an answer. He started a magazine at the ripe old age of 15 and never listened when people said no to him: "I got Jean-Paul Sartre's home phone number and asked him to contribute. If I'd been 30, he might have said no, but I was a 15-year-old with passion and he was charmed."

9 Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The actor's advice is a great reminder that we have to evaluate what we're currently doing to move towards success, not just turn towards our ideal future. As he says, “Why am I doing the work I'm doing? Why am I friends with this person? Am I living the best life I possibly can?"

8 Dax Shepard

The Parenthood star's advice is perfect if you don't feel like you're the "best" out there at something but you have a dream. News flash: you don't have to be the best. At least not when you start. But you need to be dedicated, hard-working, interested in finding new ways to improve, and put yourself out there. Dax's definition of success: "a war of attrition. Sure, there's an element of talent you should probably possess. But if you just stick around long enough, eventually something is going to happen.” Here that? Hang in there.

7 Mary J. Blige

The singer is a great reminder that how you handle your success is just as important (if not more) than how you got there. She thinks you should be humble all the time. It's always awesome and inspiring to hear from celebs who are pretty down-to-earth.

6 Robert DeNiro

Acting advice isn't always directly applicable to other jobs, but in this case, Robert DeNiro's advice about embracing flexibility sure is… especially when it comes to our own habits of overthinking. He's said, "The most important thing for actors - and not just actors, but everybody - is to feel loose enough to create what you want to create, and be free to try anything. To have choices.”

5 Raven Symone

Raven's advice is straightforward and applicable for anyone looking for success or happiness of any kind. She basically believes that if you're always professional and polite to no matter who you're dealing with, you'll go far. That's pretty awesome and helpful advice when you think about it, because it's pretty easy to be nice to people.

4 Ellen DeGeneres

The funny girl thinks our overall purpose comes from the big picture in life, not our little thoughts about what is good for us in the moment. You should make sure that you want something for a good reason. She's got some awesome advice: “I believe we're all put on this planet for a purpose, and we all have a different purpose… When you connect with that love and that compassion, that's when everything unfolds.”

3 William Shatner

The actor is pretty successful by most of our standards, but he believes accomplishments don't last forever. He's got a pretty philosophical view on the subject: “What have I done? I've blundered my way through life. So I have my picture on the wall. The minute I die, that picture will start to yellow and fade and eventually be gone. Blown in the wind and become part of the molecular structure of something else. These things we see as “success,” they're non-accomplishments.”

2 Stan Lee

He's considered the Godfather of all Superheroes, but he's worn a lot of different hats: comic book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor, and he was even the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. What we can learn from him is go to work and sometimes really rad things happen. He says he's been "lucky" and was most interested in paying rent (us too… ) but soon his characters started getting popular. He enjoys the work itself, which is good advice.

1 Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most successful entrepreneurs out there, and she's worked hard. Naturally, she has about 100 million super inspirational quotes about success and life in general, but we narrowed it down to two biggies. The first one: “Make the right decision even when nobody's looking and you will always turn out okay.” True. That means you shouldn't be stealing your roommate's food. The second one: "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." That woman knows everything.