3 ways to reach your goals: What I learned from Evelyn Hugo
It is my favorite time of year: Summer reading season. I only allow myself to read books about love, beaches, and happiness during this time. So naturally, I had to pick up 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and give it a read. For those who have not read the book, let me give you a rundown (without giving away too much).
Evelyn Hugo is a bad*ss. Story complete.
But seriously, she is. Hugo was raised in a not-so-loving environment. By 11 she had a dead mother and an abusive father, and all she wanted was to get out. When she was in her teens, she did just that. Hugo found her way to Hollywood and worked her way to star in the big screen movies in the 1950s. Quickly, she went on to become a star. Like a massive star. A household name. And she did it all through hard work, perseverance, and husbands.
Yes, you heard right, she realized that one thing she was great at (besides acting in movies) was making men fall for her and manipulating people to get what she wanted. Not in a bad way, in an impressive one. She used her skill to play the system and use the biases and sexism of the 50s and 60s to her advantage. And man, was she good at it. By the turn of the 21st century, she was filthy rich, worldwide famous, and truly wise. Obviously, there is more to the story but I will stop so I don’t give away the book (trust me, I could go on for hours about it).
Throughout reading, I learned a lot about empowerment and harnessing your skills to make a difference in your life. Sounds cheesy, but seriously, the lessons from this book can be applied to any career, age, or industry.
So, here are the three things I learned from Evelyn Hugo:
1. Believe in yourself
Hugo started from nothing. She had no contacts, no acting classes on her back, and she probably didn’t even know how to read a script. But it didn’t matter because she knew she was going to be the best. When she arrived in Los Angeles, she waited out in a Hollywood coffee shop every day for months until she met someone who could get her on the path to fame, and when she got the opportunity, she worked like this was her only chance (and it really was).
In my life, I have been working hard recently on many different little projects. The other day, I got fantastic news about one that would put my idea on a whole new level, and I took this lesson to heart. I put my all into my work and now, I am on a path that can lead exactly to my goals. I know that sounds pretty vague, but you get the point. It is so important to believe in yourself. We all grew up being told this and it must sound silly, but it is so true. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? FYI: Pretty sure I stole that line from Pinterest
2. Be unapologetic, keep doing what is best for you, and don’t let those imposter symptoms creep in
So, if you read one of my first monologues (I mean posts), you would know that I have been debating the idea of law school. The one thing that is stopping me from actually doing it is the idea of imposter syndrome. I keep feeling like because I don’t know exactly what type of law I want to practice, I won’t be able to succeed. However, the other day I was reading off my podcast list to someone and I realized (through his confused, almost scared reaction) that most people don’t genuinely enjoy listening to History Unplugged, Thinking Like a Lawyer, and The Weeds. It was such a simple thing, but it was exactly what I needed for that lightbulb moment.
You see, Evelyn Hugo had no idea what she was doing as she was navigating Hollywood, but she never let that distract her from doing what she loved. She didn’t care, she was going to figure it out along the way. She stayed true to herself and her goals.
We all need a little bit of this in life, going for what we want even if we don’t exactly know what that will look like.
3. Don’t stop — Keep building on your skills
One of my favorite moments in the book is when Hugo decides she was going to star in a movie in France. She took the job because she knew it was going to elevate her career, but she would have to push herself to go there and do something she was afraid of (nudity). Ultimately, she decided that while it was terrifying, it would be beneficial in the long term. So, she boarded a plane to Paris.
Again, this is a lesson for all of us. We should never let ourselves plateau in our skills. For me, this means getting back to writing every day and opening up that English textbook from my freshman year of college. My grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure will plateau if I don’t take action to improve and build on my skills. While this may seem like a minor action, it can make a massive difference in my future writing endeavors.
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I tried my best not to give away too much of the book, but I really hope this inspired you to take action today to keep working on yourself and your goals. Read the book if you have time I promise you will not be disappointed.
If you want to come back to this post and argue with me on if Evelyn was a good, bad, or somewhere-in-the-middle person… I would love to do so.
