--- description: The singer is performing at this year's Essence Music Festival title: Usher: 'All Your Choices Determine Your Outcome' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44528415ad897ee3/6988557acd684809e50a0716/usher1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Usher on the Secret of His Success: 'All Your Choices Determine Your Outcome'  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 20, 2015 3:08 PM CUT  Singer and Cleveland Cavaliers part-owner Usher performs the national anthem prior to Game Four of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on June 11, 2015 in Cleveland. Singer and Cleveland Cavaliers part-owner Usher performs the national anthem prior to Game Four of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on June 11, 2015 in Cleveland.Ronald Martinez—Getty Images  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 20, 2015 3:08 PM CUT In a [Facebook Q&A session](https://www.facebook.com/essencefest "undefined") promoting his appearance at the upcoming Essence Music Festival, Usher spoke about the legacy of Michael Jackson, his hobbies and how he has managed to stay relevant and successful over the course of a long career. “I’ve evolved and done many other things, but it’s because I started early,” he said. “I kept myself surrounded by people who were positive, people who had something to offer.” The singer continued: “All your choices determine your outcome.” The full question-and-answer session, with questions submitted by fans via Facebook, is available at [the Essence Festival’s page](https://www.facebook.com/essencefest "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3929321/usher-secret-success/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3929321/usher-secret-success/"},"headline":"Usher on the Secret of His Success: 'All Your Choices Determine Your Outcome'","datePublished":"2015-06-20T15:08:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:23:08.204Z","description":"The singer is performing at this year's Essence Music Festival","url":"https://time.com/3929321/usher-secret-success/","keywords":["Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44528415ad897ee3/6988557acd684809e50a0716/usher1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44528415ad897ee3/6988557acd684809e50a0716/usher1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"usher","caption":"usher","creditText":"Ronald Martinez—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3929321/usher-secret-success/","name":"Usher on the Secret of His Success: 'All Your Choices Determine Your Outcome'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"100 Years of Blockbusters in 5 Minutes","description":"Time has taken the highest grossing film each year for the past century and crammed them into 5 and a half minutes. No Intermission.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/tfrXo5zL/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-02-12T15:57:58.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tfrXo5zL.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3929321/usher-secret-success/","duration":"PT5M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3929321/usher-secret-success/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```