My most vivid Michael Jackson memory was his 1993 Oprah Winfrey interview. I remember watching the show and thinking two things:
1. This is the most talented person I’ve ever seen.
2. This person has the lowest self-esteem of anyone I’ve ever seen.
Here was this supremely gifted, awesomely talented individual. Yet even before I had heard of the term "head trash", I couldn’t help thinking that he was suffering from inner demons that few of us could comprehend.
In my seminars, I’ve often compared the success of Tiger Woods with Michael Jackson. Whereas Tiger’s parents encouraged and supported their young prodigy, Michael’s father (we don’t hear much about his mother) literally beat his sons to get them to rehearse "the right way".
It’s no secret that this kind of physical and emotional abuse cost Michael any chance at a normal life. Now, after his death, Brian Oxman, identified as a Jackson family spokesman, has said that he voiced concerns that Michael was abusing prescription drugs and that the people surrounding Michael were "enabling" his self-abusive behavior.
I can’t help but compare the life and death of Michael Jackson to that of Elvis Presley. Both were globally famous and galactically talented. Both suffered abuse from their handlers. Drugs played a part in both of their deaths. And both had defective Systems of Support that led to their early demise.
An individual’s System of Support consists of the People, Activities, and Environment in which they live. When your People System consists of hangers-on and enablers, your Activities put you millions of dollars in debt, and your Environment is a self-created prison called Neverland, it doesn’t matter how rich or famous you are. Your house isn’t built on sand; it’s built on quicksand.
Why is it that the most gifted people are often the most fragile, while those with little or no talent think they’re God’s gift? While I can’t fully explain this phenomenon, it has shown up in the entertainment world time after time – from Chris Farley to River Phoenix to Elvis, and now Michael Jackson.
My only hope is that the parents and handlers of young, talented people learn a lesson from Michael Jackson’s sudden death: that in life, just as in physics, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. When you push your young prodigy, be ready for the push-back. And that push-back may very well cost them their life.
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Noah St. John, Ph.D. is the author of The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness (HarperCollins) and inventor of Afformations.
He helps people get rid of the head trash that’s holding them back and stop living with one foot on the brake. Free book excerpt at SuccessClinic.com
Follow Noah St. John on Twitter: www.twitter.com/noahstjohn
Very well said Noah St John – clear, succinct and to the point! I always wondered why this side of his life was never highlighted when it was so glaringly obvious. But that's not what sells, is it?
Eldora D.B. Lougheide
Eldora D.B. Lougheide
Interesting viewpoint more so because it bears the ring of truth.But our support systems given to us within the context of the family often fail us .They have their own lives .They get busy and think we are okay. They don"t want to intrude for all kinds of reasons .
So what about us on the outside of the family support systems?What about community leaders,friends,pastors,Imams,.mentors, elders ,mother and father figures in the community.
It is interesting that you cited the interviews with Oprah Winfrey in 1993 at the start of this article.Millions turned to the Internet sites to gain solace from them,but they were removed apparently wiped by Harpo -citing copyright laws.
This led the discourse to the silence of Ms. Winfrey on the death of Michael Jackson. and the discussion is raging.Facebook bloggers About.com etc are expressing concern that Ms Winfrey has kept silent on Michaels' death.One blogger is counting the days of silence.
I think this omission will be eternally written and spoken about .The die has been cast .Action speaks louder than words.
Shakespeare had Brutus say after the assassination of Caesar the following:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries".
We have seen another "Ceasar" die . at the hands of treachery-None the least of which are the voices which are not raised to mourn ,acknowledge and acclaim his greatness at his death .
The sentiments expressed here ring very true. It is now a day after Michaels burial and I am unsure why I have felt so utterly depressed by his passing – of course I was well aware as a Master of Public Health graduate with human rights focus that Michael's basic human rights were trampled on from his infancy, right through to the posthumous circus that has played itself out in the hands of a media machinery that is unashamed and irresponsible. I am also a critical care nurse and midwife and well aware that in most developed countries a nurse would be deregistered for doing what Michael Jacksons doctor did. But the true humanity and passion of this man somehow became a public lynching that no individual should ever endure. The American media, American obsession for celebrity and value system focused on the disunity between extreme wealth and power, and have all contributed to the destruction of Michael Jackson, his integrity, his good work and his hope – to say nothing of the right of his children to enjoy their loving father to adulthood. Once again a true gift to mankind has become a victim of mankind.
Linda