Unwritten Potential.

Today’s Marketing Cookie is inviting us to write our own story.

Stefani began playing piano at age four, her tiny fingers dancing across the keys with a natural flair that delighted her parents and surprised her piano teacher. Yet, while other children were content reading sheet music, she preferred to play by ear, creating melodies that resonated deeply within her. Despite being a good student, her eccentricity made her a misfit, often mocked for her unique style and personality.

As a teenager, she began performing at open mic nights and acting in school plays, channeling her energy and creativity into every performance. Unlike her peers who planned for college, she chose to pursue her passion for music at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, but dropped out. Her journey was far from easy; she grappled with her identity as an artist, experimenting with her sound and style to find her unique voice.

Her big break came when a talent scout noticed her at a songwriter showcase and recommended her to Sony Music Publishing. There, she penned songs for prominent artists such as Britney Spears, the Pussycat Dolls, New Kids on the Block, and Jennifer Lopez. 

While working for Sony, she seized the chance to record a few of her own songs, one of which caught the attention of L.A. Reid at Def Jam. Impressed by her talent, Reid signed her to an artist development deal. However, her vision for her music clashed with Reid’s expectations. She had a very different vision for the music she wanted to make. Less than 3 months after signing her, she gave him a recording of the music she was working on, which Reid described it as "disgusting" and quickly dropped her from the label.

She soon signed with Interscope Records, where her debut single "Just Dance" soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved massive global success. This remarkable artist, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, who chose to write her own story rather than follow the conventional path, has become known to you and I as Lady Gaga. 

She didn’t fit the mold. She wouldn’t follow the expected script. She didn’t read the sheet music others gave her; instead, Lady Gaga lived her life the same way she played her music—by ear. Today’s fortune is presenting you with a blank piece of paper and an opportunity to write your own success story too, as it says, "Some fortune cookies contain no fortune."