Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee knows first-hand that success doesn’t come easy— after early rejections from film schools, he spent decades fighting for his place in Hollywood. Now, speaking on Michelle Obama’s podcast, the Oscar award-winning star is warning Gen Z not to fall for the myth of overnight success, but instead to focus on perseverance and finding the career that gets them out of bed without hitting snooze.

To the outside world, success can look deceptively effortless—leaving aspiring leaders desperate to find the shortcut to the top. However, according to the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee, the fast lane is all a lie .

“There’s no such thing as overnight success, because a lot of people, they say that, but they want to leave out that they were giving blood,”

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