How MADONNA Took Over the World (Without Selling Out)

You always have to fight for things that are worth it. So boring, everyone's doing the same thing. Are you walking the dog or is the dog walking you? The more brilliant people that you hang around, the more inspired you get. We are living in an age, in a society now where that is almost looked at as a weakness. You turn the apple cart over and then what? Then everyone's looking at an apple cart that's turned over and they're like, "Well, now what do I do?" In my mind there's a little movie playing and I always envision scenarios and characters. You could never compare, you know, Picasso with Leger. I always tell people vacations are for people who don't like their job. I want to conquer the world. She's an American singer-songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. She pushed the boundaries in her music and videos. She sold over 300 million records, and she is the world's best-selling female recording artist of all time. She's Madonna, and here are her top 10 rules for success. So, well, I think the best advice I can give anyone, male or female, is that you have to really believe in what you're doing. I think having a good job and having work is hard to come by. And being able to do what you want to do with your life. So you have to be willing— first of all, you have to be really Be passionate about what you do and really believe in what you do, because there's going to be a lot of fights and battles and struggles along the way. So my best advice is to really believe and love what you do, because— yeah. Because at the end of the day, nothing— you know, you always have to fight for things that are worth it. So put your boxing gloves on. Will we ever see choreography in a video again? Major dancing? It's possible. It's just that I got so sick of all the videos everybody's making where there's, like, the troupe of dancers and the singer standing in front of it, and everybody was moving in unison. I thought, "This is so boring. Everyone's doing the same thing." So I wanted to get away from all of that. But, yeah, I could see doing something like that, actually, because now Not so many people are doing it, so it'll be something different. You will definitely always go against the grain, won't you? Well, I will always take the road less traveled by. We're all controlled by our ego. We are all slaves to our ego. Everything we do is about our ego. Guilty as charged. Absolutely. And so am I, and so are we all. And if I didn't have a huge ego, I wouldn't be here. Um, but at a certain point, you have to understand that it is You know, it's your dog, and it's like, are you walking the dog, or is the dog walking you? The best way to be inspired as an artist is to be around humanity, whether you're walking down the street, or you're standing in the middle of a shopping mall, or you're hanging around a lot of really brilliant people. I mean, you know that the smarter— I mean, the more brilliant people that you hang around, the more inspired you get. You know, so I just like to be around talented people, whether I use what I learned from them in my work or not. I always say to myself, why, why aren't people inspired by everything that I've accomplished? Why is everybody afraid? You know, I think my strength, and that's like the hardest thing that I've had to sort of grasp and accept, is that my surviving and my strength and the things that I've accomplished isn't, isn't inspirational to other people, it's frightening, I think. And I think it's because so many people are so afraid to have a point of view, to strike out on their own, and to, like, try and realize one of their dreams. And to see someone else doing it— we're living in an age, in a society now, where that is almost looked at as a weakness, something to be ashamed of. Most people are immobilized by the fear of failure. Yeah, absolutely. And when they see someone else doing really well, it's like— I I think deep down inside it's human nature to want to destroy them. To try to destroy them. To try to bring them down to your level so you can feel good about yourself. You have done a really good job though, I think, of making the rest of us think you don't care very much what other people think. I'm a good actress. I mean, I'm a rebel. And, you know, that's the stance of a rebel. The stance of a rebel is, you know, I can't say bad words on TV, but you know, I don't care what you think. But if it's just for the sake of upsetting the apple cart, you're not really helping people. You turn the apple cart over, and then what? Then everyone's looking at an apple cart that's turned over, and they're like, well, now what do I do? So you've done a little of that. God, yes. Just for the sake of it. Just for the sake of it. I like— when I write music, I like to write them like in my mind there's a little movie playing, and I always envision scenarios and characters. And of course It's not always something that I've experienced, but I always say it in the first person, so it becomes— it seems like it's a personal thing. And they're just usually ideas that amuse me. I mean, sometimes they're things that I think are erotic. Sometimes they're things that I think would be interesting to write a song about because no one's ever written a song about it, you know. I mean, I'm influenced by many things, and my inspirations come from lots of different places, and sometimes I know I'm purposely being funny or ironic, you know, and sometimes I'm just— I just like the way words sound. I mean, I just think that people— it's pointless for people to get into a creative arena and say, I want to be the best. I mean, you know, there are— everyone has what they have. They say what they say, and you could never compare, you know, Picasso with Leger. I mean, you have to— everybody has something different to say. Um, and it's silly to get in there and say my brushstroke is better than another person's, you know. It's better to say, am I being true to myself? And is this what I want to say? And have I expressed myself, you know, the way I want to express myself? Yeah, I mean, that's what it's all about. Would you— are you trying to— would you like to find another Madonna? Well, I don't think that's possible, but I'm— what I'm trying to find is, is really, I don't know, fresh talent that, that's saying something, cutting edge, new. Um, I mean, we found some really good groups. We've signed a couple groups so far, and I'm really excited about them. This obviously is going to mean more work for you, presumably. It is already more work for me. Well, I'm not saying this personally, but some people perhaps would think if they had that much success, if they had that much wealth, maybe one thing they'd want to do is while they were still young enough to enjoy it all is maybe take a year off, kick around the world, you know, go fishing, whatever. I enjoy what I do. I mean, life is short and I have lots of things to do, and I see talent out there and I want to do something with it. I mean, I like watching— I like planting seeds and watching it grow, you know what I mean? It's inspiring. Do you actually— do you actually take a holiday though? Mm, what is that? I mean, I always tell people vacations are for people who don't like their job. I like what I do. What I would like to ultimately achieve, I already told Dick Clark once on American Bandstand, so I'll repeat it again and annoy everyone who was annoyed before when I said it. I want to conquer the world. Thank you so much for watching us. We made this video because Anna Young asked us to. If there's someone else that you'd like us to profile, please leave it in the comments and we'll see what we can do. We'd also love to know which one of Madonna's top 10 rules meant the most to you. Leave it in the comments below and we'll join the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Continue to believe and we'll see you soon. My Kabbalah teacher, one of them, used to say to me, "When in doubt, act like God." And then you think, well, what does that mean? You know, it's like, well, what does describe God? God would be compassionate, unconditional, all-giving, all-loving. So when in doubt, behave that way. You'll never go wrong. Do you like being powerful? Do you like power? Who doesn't? Not everybody. Do you like the ex— Name one person who doesn't like power. No, everybody wants to be famous. No, it's not just fame. Power is— anyone can have power. I mean, it's how you feel about yourself, it's how you carry yourself, it's the effect that you have on people. It doesn't necessarily— it's not synonymous with fame. And I think that— I don't think you would find a human being on this earth that wasn't interested in power. I think that 2 years ago, I wasn't really sure why— what I was on this earth for. I think I was mostly concerned with getting things for myself, you know, more clothes, more money, more popularity, more approval, more boyfriends, more every— you know, it was just like— no, I mean, it was— I wasn't really thinking. I was just doing. So not living consciously, really? Yeah. Yeah. And, and I think I probably had some conscious moments. I don't think I was I'm not like brain dead, but— but you know what I mean, not living consciously. Like, a lot of people are just kind of going through the motions no matter what their emotions are. No, I can't do that. Yeah. No, I think I just kind of woke up and said, okay, what am I on this earth for? Why are we all on this earth for? We're here to love. We're here to share. That's it. So that's the difference. Totally.