So, I Suppose We're Talking About Legacy: Remembering Sir Patrick Moore

 

Hey Guys!

Today’s a kinda special post on Graceland Ontario. For me, it might be one of the saddest ones. One of my childhood heroes, the British astronomer, Sir Patrick Moore, died today at the age of 89. His program, The Sky at Night’s been running since 1957. His last episode was Monday.

So, what I suppose I’m writing to you about today is legacy.

The focus of this blog is, of course, Elvis’s success lessons −the ones you can learn from to take and improve your life.

Well, legacy’s as proven by Elvis as it was by Sir Patrick Moore, even if in a different way.

Elvis had roughly a twenty three year career, from 1954 to 1977. You might be able to add a bit to the beginning there… in short, for a man who died in his early forties, he’d already compiled nearly a quarter century’s worth of work.

Elvis recorded somewhere between 665 and 988 songs in his life.

Those aren’t the rough drafts, the unheard tapes, the live performances. Those are just the different songs he put out. Compared with the complete output of the Beatles (at about 213 and 288), it’s a large number for a musician to put out.

And, even now, those songs are still heard − some like the early Sun recordings stuff, others prefer when his voice became all big and operatic. But one things for sure, there’s a legacy for people to listen to.

Same thing with Patrick Moore − there are hundreds of episodes of his show out there (over 700). Even with his passing, he, like Elvis, will never really pass. Not for a long time. There’s just too much he’s left behind for people to forget him.

 

God knows when you go the way of Sir Patrick or Elvis. God knows how much or how little time you have left. But you better get moving. People remember others for their output. Sure, some people are better thought of during their life than others, but if you have a product to sell, books to be read, songs to be heard, then you’re a heck of a lot better off than those who haven’t started. And those objects can continue to sell long after you die, giving you a sort of immortality.

 

Those who don’t do any work out of fear, stand no chance of being remembered.

And, even if you think you don’t care about being remembered, there is a financial aspect to be considered − the work you do now will be rewarded, if marketed properly, for financial compensation on your part. And when you’re gone, it’s the best death insurance policy you can by for your friends and family.

Sometimes it takes someone to kick you before you get moving. Now it’s my turn − for me, nothing’s more rewarding than a reader telling me they were inspired by something I said to action. I’d like to hear your success stories. But you gotta give it your all to earn that success. Otherwise, there’ll be no legacy, and you will fade to obscurity. Action or inertia: it’s your choice.

 

Elvis’s Lessons:

Sir Patrick Moore passed away today. He had a show on British television, The Sky at Night, for over fifty years. He left a legacy, like Elvis with his hundreds of recordings. Legacies give you a kind of immortality −your work will last even after you pass. And people’ll remember you. Plus, it’ll make you money now and for your estate when you’re gone. But you’ve gotta get started somewhere. If you don’t know how, let this post kick you to action. I want to see you be successful, but it’s your choice whether you decide to give it a shot.

P.S. If you want to read one of Sir Patrick's Obituaries, here's the one off CTV.

P.P.S. If you'd like to see an episode of The Sky at Night, here's one off Youtube.

If you enjoyed this post, here are other Graceland Ontario updates you might like:

• It's Time to Decide...
• Elvis's Olympic Team
• Elvis, Sir Isaac Brock and the Success Constant
• Give Back
• Alice Cooper Knows How to Live Life Better Than Most Celebrities: Know Why?

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.