I recently learned that Jason Earles is 44 years old. Jason Earles is the actor who played Miley/Hannah’s brother Jackson on Hannah Montana, the show.. Hannah Montana premiered on Disney Channel in 2006. This means that Jason Earles was a 28 year old man playing a 16 year old kid for money. Not to mention, he had a wife at the time! He had probably already utilized a car rental service and been summoned for jury duty by that point. The viewers of the show hadn’t yet hit puberty.
Jason’s story struck me for several reasons. The first being that it’s funny af. Secondly, I began thinking about the concept of success. We’ve all heard the phrase: fake it till you make it! If you want that promotion, that grade, that parking spot, the first step is believing you can have those things. Jason Earles actually did that. He dressed like an early 2000s teenager. He acted the way teenagers on Disney Channel act. I added “on Disney Channel” to my previous statement because I acknowledge that teens on Disney are nothing like real life teens. Disney teens wouldn’t last a day in real high school. Can you imagine Billy Ray Cyrus filling out a FAFSA? Anyways, the point I’m trying to make is we believed Jason Earles was 16. He was really a 28 year old actor (with a sh*tty manager if Hannah Montana was his only notable gig). Jason Earles taught me that the key to success isn’t changing who you are. It’s just believing you can be something and being so damn believable that other people believe it too. I believe I can achieve my goals and be successful. So, I’m gonna take a lesson out of Jason Earles’ playbook. I’m gonna believe in myself, so other people will believe it too. Who knows maybe one day I’ll be watching my glory days on Disney + with wife number two, just like my pal Jason.