Being Thankful for Surviving a Plague of Flying Crocodiles

Helloo0OO Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for success lessons from the greats. Today we’re going to talk about gratitude,

As you probably didn’t know, my birthday was the other day and, like happens for most people, I went between happy for all the presents and attention to shocked by the extent of my age. But, thinking about it, I put things in perspective and it might help you to hear my conclusions.

Every year, every month, every day, there’s a thousand things that can go wrong, at least half of them lethal. You can electrocute yourself, poison yourself (in multiple different ways − through cleaning supplies!), you can drown, be murdered, hit by a car, beaten by an angry spouse, and consumed by an epidemic of flying crocodiles. In short, there are a lot of reasons why both you and I shouldn’t be here (and I haven’t even gone into the biological improbabilities of it or the chances of super illness).

Yet, chances are, if you’re reading this, you are! I mean, isn’t it fantastic that despite the overwhelming odds, we’re still alive.

Every birthday provides us with a mark of stability, like the Queen does or the Olympics. It’s something so human and so natural it can’t help but ground us. At this point, it allows us an opportunity to see how far we’ve come since the previous year, to see what went right and wrong.

But it offers something much more… the chance to be grateful that we survived. There’s only so many birthdays you have. If you have one hundred of them, you’re fortunate.

Enjoy each and every one of them and celebrate with open heart. After all, you never know when those flying crocodiles are going to show up, hungry and waiting to take you away before your next birthday.

Alex H.

If you like this post, you might also like these other Graceland Ontario updates:

• Three Tips to Show Gratitude During the Holiday Season
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• Graceland, Ontario: Here's to Thanksgiving Day, Time to Eat, Love ...
• Graceland, Ontario: Cool Down!
• Graceland, Ontario: Life's a Haunted House and We're all In It

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
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What You Have in Common with a Teenage Girl

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario for another week of learning from the success lessons of the King of Rock 'n' Roll so as to better your life. Today, we'll be returning to our Halloween series and entertaining the ever important topic of fear.

So, to start off, I have a story to tell you. It involves a friend of mine some time back. And though I'm sure she will look less favourable through its telling, I can assure you she is as good as any friend who's ever walked the straits of our world. Funnily enough, you'll find my teenage friend and you probably have a lot in common.

When this event occurred, my friend had recently broken up with a boyfriend she’d been close to but life hadn't gone well with. In the short time she and him had been apart, he continued to call her and attempt contact to possibly patch things up. She didn't want to get back together with him but his attempts kept him in her doll house. Around the same time, she'd met a fella at the college she was going to who she liked. He had future prospects and listened better than her ex ever had.
 

So, this night we were together with some other friends at a party. Unfortunately, this girl had drunk a bit more than she probably should have. In her stupor, she decided to contact her new college friend. But however hard she tried, he didn't answer. She continued attempting but his lack of reply made her feel worse. Then, she started mulling over her ex and thinking about how bad things were − maybe she should go back to him because he was obviously trying and this fella, though she liked him more, wouldn't answer when she needed him. Of course, she was overlooking one detail.

It was 3 o'clock in the morning.

Heck, his lack of reply was probably brought about by bedtime. Or, at the very worst, associating with other friends, giving them the respect they deserved at some other party elsewhere − somewhere where he didn't have a phone or where it was turned off. Her fear of his never getting back to her and being left were likely crass. Yet, her lack of knowing still fanned fear within her, a fear that prevented her from acting. And that same fear stops perhaps billions of people from accomplishing what they want to do most.

Looking at Elvis, this lack of knowledge likely scared him, too. I mean, he was a Rock singer back in the fifties... man, that had to be the most unstable job in the world! Think about it, besides the fickleness of fame in itself, he risked the possibility of injury to either his voice or body (either one possibly destroying his career). And then, to top it all off, he had all these reporters asking him what would happen to the world if Rock 'n' Roll was a fad and it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, effectively ending his career. He had a lot to worry about. 

But, did he? Who knows. Yet, whether he had these fears or not, he didn't let them paralyze him. He still recorded tracks - he even went into the army and surmounted a comeback on his discharge. In fact, had he feared his chances of a continued career, he might’ve procrastinated, not recorded those tracks, not tried the comeback and never done anything again. His fear of losing could’ve stopped him from acting, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where he did lose.

The difference, the sole difference, between his actions and my friend’s were, despite the possibility of truth in her college friend going off with other girls in her absence, Elvis accepted the truth and kept moving. Whatever fear was there, this fear of the unknown, he turned it into background noise and continued doing what he could - making songs. A breakdown brought about by fear, like what happened in my friend’s case, could have only worsened the situation. He and those around him made sure they were never too absorbed by the possibility of disaster. Sure it's there, but whether you fear it or not it can happen anyways. The only intelligent way to handle fear is to acknowledge it and move on.

And this is what you must do. At this time of year, people focus on ghouls and goblins (Green Goblin from Spiderman, anyone?), fearing those creatures. But fear is not a once a year emotion - it can happen anytime. And what scares us far more than any vampire is the possibility of being fired, of losing our spouse, of sickness, of famine, of war, of foreclosure; worries so far away yet so close to us all. And that gives us the shivers.

But despite the unknown and your fear of it, you can only do what you can do. Accept it, and move on. You're at a crossroads, you can either act like my friend − breakdown on a couch over fear of something happening − or you can act like Elvis, understand the fear, and then do everything you can to fight it. Only then will you manage this spirit of the season; only then will be able to make progress in all areas of your life.

Elvis's Lessons:

You can only do what you can do; my friend, scared of the possibility she might be in this world unloved, broke down on a couch over possibly nothing. Elvis on the other hand, with an uncertain job and life ahead of him, managed to keep going. His secret? Acknowledge your fears and keep moving. When you let your fears paralyze you, you won't make any more progress and you’ll increase the likelihood of your fears coming true. Moving on is the only way to fight your fear AND accomplish great acts. You're at the crossroads, and it's your choice which way your walk.

See you next week for more Graceland Ontario Halloween fun! Can't wait!!! 

P.S.  Remember to leave a comment... I'd love to hear what you think about my work and also hear your experiences of Halloween, Elvis or simply success. And, as an added bonus, you can guarantee I'll reply to you - so keep to your best spelling!

P.P.S. If you're interested in seeing Elvis singing ‘Johnny B Goode” in a rare video from 1975, here's a Youtube video of it. Cheers!

If you liked this post, you may also like these other FREE writings from Graceland Ontario:

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• The Time Trap

• Move On When It's Time

• Bruno Mars Learnt from Elvis... Why Wouldn't You?

• Getting Others to Believe in You (the Elvis Way)

35 Years Without Elvis (And Why He’s So Popular Today)

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!!!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop blog for learning success lessons from the actions of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Today, we’re delaying the final Olympic Blog Post for one more week to talk about your enduring popularity. I hope you enjoy it!

So, if you’re a big Elvis fan, you probably know that on August 16^th 2012 Elvis Presley celebrated 35 years of no-Elvis. Yep, it was the anniversary of his death. Yet, a crowd still showed up at Graceland, they stilled played Elvis records on the radio, Elvis Presley Enterprises still made money. 35 years after his death, Elvis is still popular.

“Why?”

He’s got a brand; a set of distinctive attributes that can be uniquely associated with him.

“But he’s a person, a dead person. How can he have a brand?”

Well, it’s what he did while he was alive that made it possible −the songs, the looks, the pictures, they were all part of his image when he was alive, but they also gave him immortality. You see, as soon as he died, people could then use what he created in life to keep making money in the future.

He had the fashions that made him unique, the jumpsuits, the Tupelo Gold Suit. People recognized Elvis’s image, with the sideburns and slicked back hair, and it could be used to market him after death as well as in life.

So Elvis Presley Enterprises (E. P. E.) took control. Graceland became the base, the centre where Elvis fans could meet and reminisce. The products remained Elvis’s tracks and movies, which could be re-mastered and remixed as much as needed. Then there were the spin-off products; the books, the posters, the t-shirts and dolls, the licensing. Collecting royalties from all this made Elvis one of the highest paid dead-men in the world.

But that’s not good enough − the brand must be dynamic; it must move and change and twist and keep growing. Remember the old business adage? If you’re not growing, you’re dieing − and E.P. Enterprises knew that so they kept changing things, remodelling this and that, putting out new publicity campaigns, licensing new odds and dodds.

And what has it brought them? A successful business thriving thirty five years after the man who inspired it was discovered dead in his Graceland bathroom. It worked for Elvis and it can work for you.

The key is not to be boring. When you don’t grow, that’s predictable, that’s boring and that won’t make you any money. On the other hand, when you create an exciting brand, a cool brand, as Apple’s done, and keep growing even when the inspiration for the business has been dead for thirty five years, it keeps you on top of the tower.

So, what’s important for you? Get your brand going. Whether you know it or not, the way you show yourself, your business, the place you hold up, the stuff you create or sell is all part of that brand. Advertise that brand as E.P. Enterprises has and collect for the image you promote. Then, keep growing the brand. Don’t change everything but adding this and taking that away, improving this and innovating that keeps you growing. And as long as you’re growing, you won’t be dieing. That’s how Elvis did it.

So, thirty five years on, Elvis isn’t dead, not really. He’s a living, growing entity with a unique brand. And as long as that brand keeps growing, he’ll never die. He’ll be immortal.

Elvis’s Lessons:

Create a brand. A brand is a set of attributes (like a house, image, fashion, book, recordings, t-shirt, etc) that can be associated with you. Then, as Elvis’s estate did, change the brand slowly so that it keeps growing and never dies. When you have your brand - with its subtle changes over time - you will be moving towards Elvis’s current station, true immortality.

Creating a brand is like creating an image, it reflects who you are and what you stand for. For more on creating an image, check out what I say about it in this post.

P.S. This ’35 years without Elvis’ post happened to be my 35^th post, and not purposely − it makes you wonder…

P.P.S. Remember to leave a comment − I’d love to hear from you.

P.P.S. If you’d like to see a Youtube clip from Graceland this year, 35 years after Elvis’s death, here’s a news broadcast with Elvis's ex-wife and daughter, Priscilla and Lisa Marie, talking about Elvis's legacy.