8 highly successful celebrities share their most valuable piece of career advice

Success is different for everyone.

Working hard and setting goals are general rules to help achieve whatever you're seeking in your career and life.

Whether you're trying to make it in Hollywood, A-list figures in entertainment have faced a brutal industry and the pressure of the limelight to get to the top. And some have shared good tips about success that can be applied to any industry.

Here are eight highly successful celebrities on their essential career advice:

Do what makes you happy, and let the rest take care of itself. —Leonardo DiCaprio

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"I've been very lucky to have achieved a lot of the things that I dreamt of achieving as a young man," DiCaprio said in an interview with the Telegraph. "But, at the end of the day — and I truly believe this — it is not about achieving great wealth or success, because they don't bring happiness ultimately. They really don't. What matters is whether or not you've fulfilled the idea of having led an interesting life, whether you've contributed in some way to the world around you."

Don't be afraid of failure. —Beyoncé

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Even the most successful people are familiar with failure. In a video for her self-titled album, Beyoncé explained how she dealt with loss and learned from it. "The reality is, sometimes you lose," she said. "And you're never too good to lose, you're never too big to lose, you're never too smart to lose, it happens. And it happens when it needs to happen. And you have to embrace those things."

Know your limits. —Lady Gaga

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When stopping by Yale, Lady Gaga described how she became unhappy after overextending herself and agreeing to deals she didn't feel strongly about instead of focusing on her own creativity and music. She started saying no instead of agreeing to everything, and found her passion again.

"I feel sad when I'm overworked and I just become a moneymaking machine and my passion and creativity take a backseat," she said. "That makes me unhappy. So what did I do? I started to say no. I'm not doing that. I don't want to do that... And slowly but surely, I remembered who I am."

Understand fear. — Chris Pine

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"Star Trek" star Chris Pine understands the importance of knowing fear instead of running from it. "Fear runs our lives," he told Men's Health in the UK. "It doesn't matter who you are. You have to understand your relationship with fear. Whether you're scared of getting into a relationship or taking the new job or a confrontation — you have to size fear up."

Don't be afraid to contribute your ideas. —Tina Fey

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In her memoir "Bossypants," Tina Fey lists rules she learned for improvisation. One of the rules, "not only to say yes, but YES, AND" can also be extended to other aspects of life. "To me, YES, AND means don't be afraid to contribute," Fey writes. "It's your responsibility to contribute. Always make sure you're adding something to the discussion. Your initiations are worthwhile."

Leave your comfort zone. —Shonda Rhimes

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Shonda Rhimes is an award-winning television writer and producer ("Scandal," "Grey's Anatomy"), but as an introvert, she kept to herself, until a conversation with her sister led her to start saying yes to breaking out of her comfort zone. She told NPR, "My oldest sister said to me, 'You never say yes to anything.' And by that she meant I never accept any invitations... All I did was go to work and come home... Once I sort of realized that she was right, I was going to say yes to all the things that scared me, that made me nervous, that freaked me out, that made me think I'm going to look foolish doing it. Anything that took me out of my comfort zone I was going to do it, if asked to do it."

Stay humble. —Denzel Washington

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Don't let yourself get a big head. During an interview with the Huffington Post after the 2015 Boys & Girls Clubs of America annual gala, Washington said, "Life is not as complicated as we make it out to be. We're not as important as we think we are. The lessons I've learned and the things that I recall are just lessons of humility, working hard, having goals, and trying to achieve those goals."

Don't be afraid of collaborations. —Amy Poehler

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You learn more from working with people than trying to work alone. In a speech to graduating seniors at Harvard in 2011, Amy Poehler said, "What I have discovered, is this: You can't do it alone. As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life."

Related: 18 things successful people do in their spare time

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