Take Some Time to Thank Who Has Helped You Become an "Icon"

“Nobody becomes an icon without help.” That was part of Ruben Blades’ speech when receiving the 2026 Billboard Icon Award. Sorry, I found out by doomscrolling on Instagram. In my defense, sometimes it gives me inspiration for ideas—like this one. After that line, he started to mentioned a list of singers, producers, and orchestras who bet on him. I’m not an icon, but I’ve received help from lots of people to get to where I’m at in my career. One day, someone made an introduction for my first job. Someone gave me a chance when I had zero experience. Someone made another introduction when I was fired from my first job. Someone made me sit next to him to mentor me. Someone referred me to my highest-paying job. Someone set aside time from his work agenda to give me advice. Someone gave me another chance when I had a huge gap on my CV. Those are the ones I remember from the top of my head. I’ve never had the opportunity to say thanks to most of them. To their eyes, their help was maybe a…