Your Life Is a Jagged Line

 

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location in linking the success lessons of Elvis Presley back to your own life. Today, we’ll be talking about those ups and downs, the jagged lines, which tend to surface in all our lives and how best to deal with them.

If you look at your productivity in the short term, you’re looking at a jagged line. Some days you do well, others poorly. Sometimes you’re inspired, others you don’t know where to start. But, that doesn’t really matter. We all lose a little loss once in a while. All that matters is the long term.

 

At my blog, Graceland Ontario (yep, that’s right − here), the day to day views are scattered − I’ve seen 49 views a day and as few as zero, even now it’s more established. But, the long term is all that matters, and it shows a very different picture. As long as you produce as much as you can everyday, you can look at a steady increase. Despite all those jagged lines Graceland Ontario in the long term has been growing exponentially. And this type of growth is everywhere, it’s a pattern, and therefore it’s useful to watch out for.

Look at friends − you gain one here, you lose one there. You meet somebody at the bus stop, someone’s killed in a car accident. It’s another jagged line. But as long as you continue to meet people, you’re going to see it steady out in the long term and you’ll eventually have more friends than you’ll lose − you’ll create a steady gain over time.

Now, let’s move back to Elvis Presley, particularly his early chart successes.

 

Elvis started from nothing in the early mid-50’s at Sun. But by 1955, he’d become one of their biggest names. In late 1955, he was sold to RCA for more than anyone else in the business, including Sinatra, was worth. Then, in ’56 he’d flunked in Las Vegas and brought out Heartbreak Hotel, which’s different sound made RCA think they’d bought an expensive flop. More jagged lines. But overall, his RCA LP, Elvis Presley, was a major success. Soon enough he wasn’t only a big music star, he was also topping in the movies. And that’s not mentioning all the times he ended up on television in that 1956, alone! Whether you look at his Hollywood career or his passage into Las Vegas, you can still see those jagged lines. But even when he lost something, he gained something else − his marriage broke up, but he played the first International concert. He had his last top 10 hit, but he broke records in Vegas. All those jagged lines, those ups and downs, built up overall, like my blog, Graceland Ontario, like your friend count. So, when Elvis passed away in 1977, many people looked back at a successful career despite the criticism he received over more jagged lines (his increased weight).

 

As in the stock market, it's very hard to only gain. You tend to lose a little over time. The key is not to worry about it but enjoy those descents. You know everything that goes down will come up again when you’re doing a half decent job (notice I say when you’re doing a half decent job − can’t always speak for the stock market, though). What ever anybody else says, those jagged lines aren’t down to stay. They’ll work their way up again, and you’ll make all the people who said they wouldn’t and freaked out at the first sign of a downturn look like idiots. And then, in years to come, when you’ve put in the best work you can and consistently attempted to make those jagged lines change, you’ll look only at a gradual climb. Those jagged lines add up to a mountain with persistence. And, as David Deangelo says, Persistence is the price of success.

 

Elvis’s Lessons:

Your life is full of jagged lines. It’s not your fault, they’re just there. But, it’s ok − they’re in my blog, too, and most people’s friend counts, and Elvis’s career. They tell you despite what you gain, you’ll probably lose along the way, too. Again, relax. As long as you continue to work, moving forward, those jagged lines will work their way up again, too. Even when others freak out and say they won’t, they will. They do for me, they did for Elvis, they will for you. Persistence will get you over the bumps those jagged lines make. And then, in the future, when you look back, all you’ll see is a steady incline. That’s a successful life, my friend, not a fairy tale.

P.S. If you’d like to see Elvis singing, here’s a Youtube video of him with “ Datin’ ” from the movie, Paradise, Hawaiian Style. I’d never heard this one before…

P.P.S. If you liked this post (or if you *gasp* didn’t), remember to leave a comment below or email me at alexghilson@gmail.com. I’d be glad to reply to whatever you have to say (unless you start spouting Nazi propaganda on me… but then again, you probably won’t).

If you liked this post, you might also like these other FR.EE Graceland Ontario updates:

• The Time Trap
• Strange And Wonderful Things 
• Accept it How It Is
• Traits of the Superhero 
• Doing All You Can

The Only Guarantee

Hey guys,

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario where, once again, we'll be exploring the success principles demonstrated by Elvis Presley and see how they can be used in your life. Today, we'll be talking about the effects of acting and the effects of not... something I call The Only Guarantee.

I’ve got a question for you: Why do people do exceptional acts? Because it’s monumentous and it boosts their feeling of self-worth. Now, I’ve got another question for you: Why do people not do exceptional acts? Because it’s monumentous and they’re scared it will decrease their feelings of self-worth.

Do you notice the difference between the two questions? The first one, the one about doing monumentous things, talks about action: doing the act makes you feel awesome. The second question talks about an imagined possibility; they’re scared (read: they think) failure will lower their feelings of self-worth.

We’ve talked about Elvis making a fool of himself in the past: he couldn’t finish his first tour in Las Vegas in ’56 because he was going over so badly with the audience. Then, in later life, he put on a lot of weight. Some people would have been so embarrassed about their physical condition they would never want another picture taken.

But not Elvis. You see, he realized that this perceived fear of failing and lowering of self-worth is not a guarantee. He lived through it and we’ve seen the results years after his death. Failing in Las Vegas was not the end of his career. Not only did he continue doing well in the 50’s, later on he became one of Vegas’s great symbols. And people still buy the tracks and posters and memorabilia from his ‘fat’ period. He might have looked upon it as a low period, but to us he’s still Elvis, putting out those tracks the same as usual.

There’s no guarantee that failing will ruin you. You can only take it as you will, as a crippling loss or a lesson to be learnt.

On the other hand, doing something momentous produces guaranteed results. I mean, once you’ve done something incredible , no one can change that. They can show their jealousy through criticism and slanted reviews but the act remains the same. The act is certain, it is a guarantee, and that guarantee not only boosts your feelings of self-worth but others’s feelings of admiration for you.

Now, using some commonsense, the guaranteed result will help you, the perceived loss will not. The guaranteed result is certain and unchangeable, the perceived loss is flawed and easily changed. The guaranteed result shows others you’re awesome, the perceived loss is only seen at its worst by you.

As Elvis is remembered for his great successes, the acts he accomplished, and not the perceived (and often overlooked) downfalls, we too can learn. We can learn that doing, or at least aiming, to do great things will take you much farther than any perceived loss. We can learn that most people only care about those who attempt at success, even if they don’t achieve it, rather than those who never try out of fear. But, most importantly, we can learn that when we have a dream and it is our choice to go for something momentous or ditch it out of perceived fear, we can go for the momentous act and attempt victory over our dreams.

Elvis’s Lessons:

The act of doing something momentous is the only guarantee; it will increase your feelings of self-worth and the respect others hold for you. The perceived threat of failure brings no guarantee; it can help you learn or destroy your soul. Ultimately, as Elvis showed, going for something monumentous is the only way to achieve a dream and, at the very least, attempt success − it’s the only way to live a fulfilling life where both you and others believe in yourself.

P.S. If you're interesting in seeing Elvis singing some momentous soul music, here he is with "Trying to Get to You" from the 1977 CBS TV special, Elvis in Concert.

P.P.S. Remember to leave a comment either below this post or email me at alexghilson@gmail.com to discuss any of my work. I'd love to hear from you!

Who Wants to Be Called "Fat"?

Thank you success-searchers and Elvis fans for tuning into Graceland Ontario! Today, we’re going to turn to fitness, how it influences your chances of success and how Elvis modeled this.

I got an email only the other day from a woman who she felt “cheated” when she found a guy she’d gone on a date with had been hiding his large stomach under his suit. She proclaimed no out-of-shape guy would have any romantic chance with her. Of course, she was marketing a fitness product.

Now even if I told you (and I am telling you) there are a large number of systems on creating attraction that have nothing to do with your physical shape, the woman does have a point. I mean, being fit in no way ensures attraction, in business or life, but it can be a nice simple way to spark it. And no one’s going to complain about doing things the easy way (when there is an easy way), are they?

Elvis time! When Elvis was young, he was in decent shape. Not a barrel of bones, like James Stewart, but he was fit. He tried out for football in high school and later took up karate (Elvis was a black belt).

And remember, people weren’t just attracted to Elvis’s singing and music; they were attracted to Elvis. They screamed and mobbed him. Sure this had something to do with his awesome persona, but his looks also played their part.

Elvis was thinner during his stint in the army and heavier during his mid-movie career, but he kept in pretty steady shape.

Between 1968 and 1970, Elvis might have looked his best. He was lean and handsome, exceptionally for a man in his 30’s. But going into the late 70’s, he packed on the pounds fast. Really, he wasn’t even that bad compared to some people in their early 40’s, only bad compared to his old self.

Now I won’t once again point out the correlation between Elvis’s declining body and his declining career, but I will mention something else; you ever notice that whenever someone wants to be mean to Elvis, they never say “that punk who messed things up” or “that has-been who dressed up in leather”. These would reference when he was in the 50’s or 60’s, when he was in good shape. No, they say “‘fat Elvis’, the guy who was so heavy he died of a heart attack just getting up from his toilet”. Brutal, eh?

You know what’s even worse? Even though Elvis was in pristine physical shape through most of his life, they always colour over everything else with the ‘fat’ tag, even in the times when he wasn’t. Heck, even when he was in better shape than plenty of others.

It’s not my place to tell you what to do. I can only advise based on what I see, and that’s it − a bunch of narcissistic hypocrites who rip apart others based on looks and then, like the woman I mentioned earlier, sell products about it.

So what do you do? Start exercising. Doesn’t have to be much (I’m a big fan of walking) but do something. And watch your diet. I don’t mean go on a fad diet; I mean eat wholesome foods with nutrients in portions that make sense. And drink lots of water. When I started getting my health act in gear, nothing helped more than plain ol’ tap water.

You can learn from the past, from others who experienced pain first hand. A good body is not the key to success, but it and the discipline it takes fostering one helps. After all, who wants all their achievements tainted with ‘fat’ preceding their name?

Elvis’s Lessons:

• Getting into shape can help your career as well as your overall lifestyle. It doesn’t have to be extreme; a little walking, watching what foods you eat and drinking water can go a long way to shaping you up.

P.S. If you need some positive and negative inspiration, here's a video of Elvis singing "Jailhouse Rock" when he was in his best shape, in 1968, and another when he was in his worst, in 1977. They're useful for comparison.

P.S.S. When I was getting in shape, this free website was a lot of help. It's called Scooby's Workshop, named after its founder. I hope it can help you do the same.