Dolly Parton Revealed the Only Person She Wants to ‘Outdo’ With Her Continued Career Success
Dolly Parton’s career has lasted nearly as long as she’s been alive. The singer-songwriter began performing and recording as a child and has continued to do so for the entirety of her adulthood. Her success is undeniable, and many other artists likely look up to her. Parton tries not to compare herself to others, though. She said that there’s only one person she ever wants to outdo.
Dolly Parton said she wants to continue to outdo her own career success
Many people have emulated Parton throughout their careers. She said she doesn’t pay much attention to what other people are doing.
“You have to grow into things, and you have to grow out of things; that’s how I handled my career,” Parton told People. “I needed to try things. A lot of people think because you’re a girl, you don’t always know what you’re doing. I don’t care about what other people are doing. I only care about what I need to be doing.”
Instead, she focuses on working hard and creating art that’s meaningful to her. She always hopes to do better than her last project or performance.
“I’m not trying to outdo anybody except me. I just want to be my best self at all times and try to improve every day,” she said. “It wasn’t about just being rich; it was about being successful at what I love to do. Dreams nor wishes come true without a lot of hard work.”
Dolly Parton said her age won’t impact her career
While working on her latest book, Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, Parton realized just how much of her life she’s spent grinding.
“You know, I have just been going so fast my whole life,” she said. “And I just start thinking, ‘How in the world did I even have a life? How did I even get it done?’ I really realized when I was putting this book together just how much I had sacrificed in my life.”
She has no plans to stop, though. Even though she is taking a step back because of kidney stones, she does not want to retire.
“People say, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what? Look at all I’ve done in 80 years. I feel like I’m just getting started,” she said. “I know that sounds stupid, but unless my health gives way, which right now I seem to be doing fine … I think there’s a lot to be said about age. If you allow yourself to get old, you will. I say, ‘I ain’t got time to get old!’ I ain’t got time to dwell on that. That’s not what I’m thinking about.”
She’s currently planning a Las Vegas residency and a Broadway production for 2026.
She said she has never wanted her life to get in the way of her career
Parton said that her career has always felt worth the hard work it takes to maintain it.
“With my cup of ambition, I have to get up earlier, I have to work longer, and I have to have a bigger cup of ambition in the morning to get it all done,” Parton told Adam Grant on Clubhouse. “Somebody like me, I always wanted to be a star and I always wanted my dreams to come true, and they did. And there’s always a dream within a dream, within a dream, because as I often say as a joke but it’s true that I often dream myself into a corner. Meaning, my dreams have come true, so I have to keep them alive.”
She does everything without delegating much to others. Parton believes that in order to be truly happy with her career, she needs to maintain control over everything.
