RECOMMENDED READING
I awoke early yesterday morning to re-runs of Larry King Live and the Glenn Beck show at 4 a.m. Sometimes fate steers us in the right direction (esp. when we say our prayers the night before – something I try to remember to do).
These days, I can only seem to take about 30 to 60 seconds of Glenn Beck and his erratic, “political historian” stammering and posturing, so I very quickly ended up on CNN – while my brain rebooted after Tex-Mex and margaritas the night before…
Larry King was interviewing Jerry Weintraub, a famous Hollywood producer and serial entrepreneur. I was soon absorbed and mesmerized by the short stories of Jerry’s amazing success promoting stars like Elvis, Frank Sinatra, George Clooney, John Denver and many rock bands including Led Zeppelin – among so many others.
I could quickly tell from this interview that what I was seeing was merely the tip of an iceberg – one that went much deeper beneath the surface – someone I simply had to know more about…
In the interview with Larry King, Jerry talked about how he learned from his father how to take seemingly regular things and “repackage” them into something special, then promote them effectively to the masses as an “event. Well, as a product launch guy, this repackaging and event marketing stuff hooked me right away. I definitely had to know more – a lot more…
Jerry talked briefly about how he came back from the brink of death one day, and decided it was time for him to share his life story while he was still able, so he recently published his autobiography. I was hoping Amazon.com had the Kindle e-book version available for download, so I could check it out while it was still fresh on my mind.
Fortunately, they did. So I bought the e-book for $12 and downloaded it to my PC moments later (I don’t have an actual Kindle, just the free Kindle for PC and iPhone readers, which I like just fine). I grabbed another cup of coffee and before I knew it, I looked up and it was almost 9 a.m.
I had already spent 3 and a half hours reading one of the most fascinating success stories around – a kid who went from the Bronx to the top of the world, creating movies like Oceans 11 through 13, Oh God!, The Karate Kid, Vegas Vacation and many others – and who discovered and made stars like John Denver and many others what they became (among hundreds of other success stories).
One of the most important lessons in business and in life Jerry sums up toward the end that is absolutely true:
“Most important, I was never afraid to fail, which meant I was never afraid to try. I was never afraid to look silly, which meant I was never threatened by a new idea.”
Jerry exemplifies these statements when he describes how he managed to go from being a relative “nobody” to taking Elvis on his first cross-country national tour – and after that six-week tour, became a self-made multi-millionaire and launched his career as a world-class producer. After being told No, in no uncertain terms, for 364 days straight – every single day by Colonel Tom Parker – he finally got a call back saying Yes – and the rest is history…
I wonder how many of us could believe in ourselves and our vision of what is possible enough to be told no that many days in a row, and wake up the next day, looking forward to being that much closer to getting the Yes we know we need.
I highly recommend you take a moment to download and get your own copy of Jerry’s latest autobiography and learn from his experience, persistence and ability to forge lasting, profitable relationships and sell almost anything.
Believe me, it’s the best $12 investment I have made in a very long time. I finished my first reading in just two sittings – probably a record for me lately.
One of the things I like most about Jerry is his fearlessness, his belief in himself and an impeccable tenacity for success – traits that are absolutely essential for anyone to succeed in today’s hyper-competitive world. His life is filled with a series of tremendous successes, along with some failures, that were all predicated on his ability to establish new relationships, and then leverage and monetize those relationships to the maximum extent possible, while at the same time forging real, lasting friendships.
Jerry’s Lifelong Success Formula: (my interpretation)
- Clarity of Vision - Having clarity of vision around what can and needs to be accomplished (that others often cannot see themselves as clearly)
- Identifying the Path - Figuring out who holds the keys to the stepping stones for fulfilling that vision
- Leveraging Relationships – Breaking through all obstacles to establish the relationships with key decision makers and influencers, which provides the necessary leverage to cause and sustain profitable change
- Communicating a Shared Vision – Making clear, bold statements about what can be done to help the other party accomplish and achieve a shared vision (once in front of the decision maker)
- Telling Persuasive Stories - Using master storytelling as an effective persuasion tool to sell the vision
- Packaging – Effective “packaging” – positioning and naming things so they have extremely high perceived value (even when the intrinsic value may be very low)
- Launching – Turning opportunities into “events” and then promoting those events effectively as a launch
- Delivering – Doing whatever it takes to actually deliver the promised results as expected
- Disruptive Innovation – where appropriate, changing the way things are traditionally done by replacing the “old way” with a new, improved approach that better serves customers (business models, distribution models, pricing models, etc.)
It’s easy enough to understand, but a formula that takes courage, relentless persistence and a healthy dose of creativity and a willingness to “do whatever it takes” to succeed and win – that should be every entrepreneur’s credo.
Finally, and perhaps most important, Jerry is a master storyteller. Stories provide the carrier wave for our messages that people will actually listen to, absorb and internalize – then make decisions upon.
Packaging the story up and then selling it as an “event” is the vehicle for actually delivering the end sales and generating millions in sales.
Much of what Jerry is actually a master at doing is what we now commonly refer to as “launches”. Instead of launching products or websites, he launches and builds the careers of stars, movies and performers like bands and musicians.
Boy – just when you think you know a lot about something like launches, you find out just how much more there is to learn… I’d sure like the opportunity to meet Jerry and learn even more about his fascinating journey someday. I wonder if I can break his record of 364 days?
{ 9 comments }
What a title!
Thanks for the heads up Rick. I just bought the book via Amazon. It should arrive in the next couple of weeks. You sold me on the great review you made of the book. Anyone who is that persistent and determined in their life needs to be read and studied.
I’ll write a review of my own once I finish it. Thanks again.
Looking forward to your review, Jeff!
Rick
When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead http://bit.ly/9UcNMP
The Entrepreneur's Credo, As Exemplified by Jerry Weintraub http://bit.ly/9UcNMP
Great Storytelling Personified by Multi-million Dollar Fortune, Fame and Success That We Can All Learn From http://bit.ly/9UcNMP
RT @rickbraddy When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead: Useful Stories http://bit.ly/9UcNMP
Really interesting interpretation about vision of entrepreneurship http://j.mp/b9UaBC (with a bit of storytelling)
Thanks for the recommendation Rick.
I LOVE this quote:
“Most important, I was never afraid to fail, which meant I was never afraid to try. I was never afraid to look silly, which meant I was never threatened by a new idea.”
If only I could live by that
I think when our belief in our ourselves and our cause or mission is strong enough, all things become possible, including an unnatural level of humility and fearlessness.
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