20 Career Lessons from Celebrities

#3: Britney Spears

Photo courtesy of Loveyousave, Creative Commons

Lesson: You can make a comeback, but be prepared for a long — and sometimes ugly — road to recovery.

The past five years have been tough for this former teen pop starlet. She was in the midst of a custody battle with estranged husband (and total leach) Kevin Federline, had been deemed an unfit mother, battled drug addiction and once famously shaved her head for no apparent reason.

She’d hit rock bottom. And thanks to the paparazzi, she did so right before our prying eyes. In 2007, her attempt at a comeback at the MTV Video Music Awards was panned by critics and fans alike; onstage, she appeared detached, disinterested, drugged. Simply showing up for the gig was not enough.

But two years later, she’s back. She may not be the mega star she was before her fall from grace, but she’s no longer a media laughing stock. Her latest album is doing respectively well, she’s on tour, has her post-meltdown body back, and looks healthy and happy. With a little bit of hard work, she’s managed to get her career back on track, at least for the time being.

#4: Simon Cowell →

---