4 IMPORTANT LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM JENNIFER LOPEZ

Earlier this month, Jennifer Lopez took the stage in the Big Apple to celebrate our nation's birthday.  In case you were wondering, Jenny From The Block at 48 can get down better than the baby-faced industry newbies.
 
Jennifer Lopez maintains her iconic status as mother, mogul and megastar.  Currently, she is a judge and producer of NBC's "World Of Dance"; star of the award-winning "All I Have" concert residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, she is also starring and producing the NBC crime drama, "Shades Of Blue," which has just been renewed for a third season.  She also maintains multiple fashion lines and a home decor line.
 
There are priceless lessons to be mined from JLO's legendary career.  Here are four big ones that just might help you achieve your dreams.   

Work with what you got.  You will never see Jennifer Lopez rattling chandeliers ala Adele, because she doesn’t have the strongest singing voice.  And yet she’s released 11 albums; five of which landed in the Top 5 of the Billboard Top 200.  Lopez shrewdly plays to her strengths.  She also keeps her music personal—drawing inspiration from her increasing public persona and colorful love life.  More importantly, the former “In Living Color” Fly Girl is a trained dancer, and stuffs her albums with dance-heavy tracks, which allows her to use those mad skillz in live performances and music videos (her talents as an actor help here too).  Bottom Line: Playing to your strengths and working hard can get take incredibly far.
 
Check out “Get Right”--one of my all-time favorite JLO videos above. 

If you can't find it, make it yourself.  Lately, there has been a lot of talk about diversity—or lack thereof—in business and in Hollywood.  Lopez rose to fame in the pre-Shonda Rhimes entertainment industry, and became the first person to have a No. 1 album (“J.LO”) and movie (“The Wedding Planner”) in the same week in 2001.  Throughout her career, in which she has become the one of the most successful Latinas in the world, she has continued to break records.  She now strives to add diversity to the entertainment and fashion industry.  She produces the critically-acclaimed show “The Fosters” on Freeform (formerly ABC Family), the cop thriller “Shades Of Blue” and "World Of Dance" on NBC. 

Lopez was also a trailblazer in building celebrity empires in the last 20 years, being one of the first to create signature fragrances, clothinglines (Sweetface was discontinued in 2009) and even a home décor line at Kohl’s Department Stores.  Lopez recognized a need in the industry and captialized on it, both creating opportunities for Hispanics as well as all-important representation.  

Be A Trailblazer.  Large derrieres have been popular in diverse communities, specifically the black community, for decades before Lopez.  However, when JLO began to rise to fame, most of her colleagues were downright waifish, and her curves were decidedly different.  Thanks to her unabashed pride in her bottom and body, she did help bring booties in the mainstream. JLO’s never yielding confidence in her body is something we can all embrace.  

​Embrace your fabulousity.  It's a near impossibility to find a bad picture of Jennifer Lopez.  As a celebrity, she understands that her part of her job is to look pretty and play dress up for events, and thus she has all but trademarked 24/7 fabulosity.  One of her most famous fashion looks was early in her career when she wore a scandalous jungle print Dolce and Gabbana dress to the 2000 Grammys (see slideshow below).  JLO has giving us fashion forward realness on the red carpet ever since.  Lesson: If you look like a billion dollars, one day you might be worth a billion dollars.