It seems like an eternity ago given just how famous she’s become, but the superstar we know as Jennifer Lopez wasn’t always the incredibly esteemed songstress we know today.

Lest we forget, at one point she was just Jenny from the block. And Lopez has no trouble remembering those days, as far gone as they may be. She writes of her early days in her memoir True Love, out Nov. 4th, and recalls how when her career was just beginning, she made creative decisions exclusively according to her personal judgement.

“I always made my decisions on my own; I always knew what was best for me. I didn’t have anyone telling me what to do or where to go. I followed my heart, followed my instincts and listened to my gut,” she writes.

She recounted how, as her fame grew, she made the mistake of putting “the advice of managers, record executives and stylists” before her own visions for herself.

“They had the best of intentions, but because I wasn’t also listening to myself, I ended up caring more and more about what they wanted and how I was perceived by the public and the media than what I knew was right for me as an artist,” she reflected.

With those experiences in mind, Lopez urges aspiring artists to not do the same:

That’s why now, whenever someone asks me “what is the one piece of advice you would give an artist who is starting out and wants to do what you do?” My answer is always: Listen to yourself; listen to your gut; because only you know what’s right for you.”

For more from True Love, purchase the book here and check out more of HuffPost’s coverage below.

• Catch Jennifer Lopez in conversation with Arianna Huffington on HuffPost Live at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday here.

• See a live stream of Lopez’s conversation with Hoda Kotb at the 92nd Street Y on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. here.

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