Amanda The Biz Gal Weighs In On Whitney Houston's Tragic Passing

When some hear just that simple beginning of “And I” they instantaneously drift back to sobbing in the movie theater as Whitney sings one of the greatest love songs of all time to her co-star love Kevin Costner in the movie The Bodyguard. Beyond the powerhouse vocals that defined Whitney, that famous finishing line “will always love you” is the perfect goodbye as we celebrate the gift of Whitney Houston and grieve yet another too soon loss.

Across all genres of music the theme that almost guarantees a number one moneymaking, greatest hit is love. Every solo act or musical group sings tear-jerker lyrics about finding “the” one or the love that they share with “the” one but the reality is, the greatest love that they should sing about is the love that they have for themselves.

Somewhere along the way of hard work and lucky breaks, there is a huge disconnect about what it really means to be happy and loving oneself. I think each of us at one of those crucial decision making points in our life, has been told from an admonishing voice that fame and fortune do not buy happiness.

As more celebrities continue to self-destruct, this cautionary warning is starting to hit home. It seems to me that lots of celebrities seem surface happy and successful but in the inside they harbor tremendous heartache of self-doubt and low self-worth.

When Whitney Houston was on top of her game, she was unstoppable. She had the perfect blend of sex appeal and poise. She sold 55 million records, received 2Emmys, 6 Grammys , 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 AMA’s. Once you reach this level of success, you do whatever you need to do to remain at the top. But once you reach the top, the pressure starts to take hold of you as you begin that constant spiral of striving to be the best and maintaining that status of the public darling.

The world watched as we slowly started to see Houston self-destruct, first with an abusive marriage and then with drugs. She was falling to the pressure of fame and fortune but most importantly she was losing control over herself. She began to question who she was and where she was going, second-guessing everything she knew about herself. The minute this happens, you try to find the answer but instead you find yourself becoming desensitized to the world around you and retreat to a place that helps you forget.

This about-face from the actuality and dustiness of life does not often end well. One pill leads to a handful, one drink becomes a bottle, one snort leads to craving, one lie leads to many.

We should look at Houston’s death as a wake-up call to the reverence we should place on not only being physically healthy but even more importantly being mentally healthy in our perspective of who we are. Whether you are a celebrity or a college kid trying to find your way through life, respect yourself, love yourself and treat yourself with kindness. Life often ends way too fast, don’t speed things up.