Pharrell Williams reveals early self-doubt behind music success

The music star says he was ‘humbled’ when he turned 40
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams (Photo credit: Bang Media)

Pharrell Williams always thought of himself as “lazy.”

The “Happy” hitmaker has explained how he didn’t realize that he had the necessary “drive” to go with his creative talents because he has worked in the music industry from a young age.


“Everybody is born with creativity, but some are born with a pronounced connection to it,” Williams told Britain’s HELLO! “Some are born with drive. Some are creative but don’t feel the drive. Some don’t necessarily have the best creativity, but they want it so bad. I didn’t know I had this kind of drive. I considered myself lazy for years, but I just wasn’t inspired.

“If I’m motivated, I’ll be the first one in on Monday morning and the last one to leave on Friday night. I’ve been blessed [with] that early on in my life, I’ve been connected to what I love.”


Williams‘ life story is being told in LEGO form in the movie Piece by Piece. He said that working on the project has enabled him to reflect on his experiences with a fresh perspective.

“Essentially, this movie is my dissertation on my humility,” the star said. “I spent most of my time being arrogant, pompous, incredibly cocky, braggadocious. That was my musical environment and that’s what I thought I needed to be.

“When I turned 40, the universe humbled me,” Williams continued. “I realized that it wasn’t all about me and I was part of a bigger equation and was lucky not to be a word or a sentence, but just to be punctuation. The minute that dawns on you, you realize you’re so lucky to be in that conversation. Humility is how you get to that place.”

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