Elvis Presley meets Usain Bolt: Do You Use THIS the Way They Do?

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario for another week linking the success lessons of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll back home to YOU. Today, we’ll be returning to the final episode of this Olympic series to explore how YOUR support (and the support of those rooting for you) helps you, and others, perform at a higher level.

At the beginning of the London 2012 Olympics, I recall seeing an advertisement essentially saying “They work harder when you’re there”. The idea was to boost views for the Olympics which would lead to more advertising money and souvenirs and so on, like any sports advertisement. But the advertisers had a point − Olympians do perform better when you’re watching.

Look at Usain Bolt, the Olympic (and World) record holder and gold medalist of the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay athletic events. After the Olympic trials, everyone thought Bolt was going to be beaten by his team-mate, Yohan Blake, who’d runner faster than he had. But, given the real event, the power was pulsing, the crowd was singing and this all gets to Bolt. The extra energy from the crowd is what made him reclaim his gold medal − their support shaves off those last few milliseconds.

Bolt’s a showman and hero to his country − and so was Elvis. Elvis did some good recordings but they rarely matched the passion and energy he showed live. In fact, one of his three Grammys was collected for a live recording of “How Great Thou Art” in 1974. The crowd’s support got to him, too, and pumped him up to that next level, like Usain Bolt, so Elvis could break his records for the quality of his music.

For these great performers, the added crowd, the added support, inspires them to go further than they have before, work harder than they thought possible. Their responsibility and love for you, the listener/watcher, makes them want to do better. Because however scary it is getting on the line for the 100m, they’d rather take it and go as fast as possible than disappoint their fans with a losing performance. I mean, you don’t see Elvis sing “He Gave Me a Mountain” while watching his designer boots. He was there to give a gift to you, the gift of his voice, and he was going to do a good job, too.

So, what’s the lesson in this for you? Well, like Bolt and Elvis, use the energy given to you by your customers’s support to work harder for them and break your own records.

“But I work in an office and don’t see anybody all day?”

Yea… but the people you work for will still be impacted by your work. Do it for them, or better your family. Imagine they’re sitting next to you watching you − you don’t want to disappoint your kids do you? Give it your all so that when you look back at your day, you can smile at the extra swing you gave your work.

“But I work in Wal-Mart and no one cares what cashiers say there anyways…”

Wrong! People do care how Wal-Mart/McDonald's/local petrol station workers react to them. When they’re excited to see you, you can feel that energy. It’s like when you meet someone serving you at the store and you go, “Wow, that’s one awesome gal− I wonder what she’s doing working here…” She’s pushing her limits in doing her best for you, and you like it. On the other hand, the people who lack energy come across as snobs. And they don’t win your business. You know who I mean…

So, push your limits for your customers, family, or any other crowd you serve. After all, you “work harder when [they’re] watching”, when you have their support. And they are watching… not in the creepy, Big Brother way that sounded, but they do care how you react to them. When it’s dead and below level, they don’t want to support you (and that includes paying your salary by giving you business). When you break records, like Bolt or Elvis, they want to help you, you get their business, your boss pats you on the back, the sun shines a bit brighter and you feel fantabulous. I mean, what can you lose?

Elvis’s Lessons:

Be aware of the crowd that’s ‘watching’ you. When you use the energy from their support, as Elvis and Usain Bolt did and do, you perform that bit harder and push to the next level. This is a great technique to win your customers over and earn their business. And when you earn their business they pay you, and isn’t that just the greatest thing!?

P.S. If you want to see Usain Bolt reclaiming his 100m Olympic title, here he is on that fateful day in London.

P.P.S. Remember to leave a comment − love to hear from you!

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.

What's Your Lucky Number?

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for success advice based on the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Today we’re going to take a break from our Olympic series to focus on the number of this post − 34 − and of the symbolic importance it can impart to you.

So, let's start by saying Elvis is my favourite singer. Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Nat King Cole all come close but Elvis rocks #1.

But Why?

Well, for me, Elvis became my idol. He looked the way I wanted to, he acted the way I wanted to. But I knew I couldn’t be him. So, instead, he became my guide − ideally, I’d enact his positive habits and dodge his negative aspects (which, to me, seemed few).

Elvis became a friend of sorts, the favourite person to look at when I needed advice. Being dead only meant that he was closer to me in spirit than if he’d been a real person, living his own life across the world instead of ‘some other place’.

In turn, 34 became my ‘friend’ number. Over time it became a symbol of me − it’d keep showing up time and again around the things I wanted and liked. And when it showed up, subconsciously I’d want those things more because fate had linked that item, event, person, etc. to a symbol of me.

So, I’m a bit crazy, but what else’s new? Ok, before you turn me off, let’s have a think: I’m not so different from everyone else −they have their favourites, too. And they want to get as close to those favourites as I do. Wouldn’t it be nice to be that person’s favourite number? The one people felt brought them luck? Was somehow part of them?

When you’re the favourite, people are already looking for you. They trust you and want your stuff. Meanwhile, you keep the quality high and monopolize the market.

Not bad, eh?

But how do you become favourite?

Not an easy question, my friend. It’s not clear cut and changes from person to person. But, looking at the information above, there are a couple ways that might help.

1) Be Around: Remember number 34 − it kept on showing up until I felt it was fate putting us together. Was it? Who knows. But when you’re about, it’s easy to get put into someone’s subconscious mind, easy to be made favourite. You see, when you see a brand all the time, you’re more likely to belief it’s legitimate than if it suddenly appeared on the shelves and said “I'm best.” With the later, you’re liable to say, “if you’re best, why did I never hear of you before?” When you’ve been around all along, people feel like you’ve always been about, and when you’ve always been about, you must be safe and trustworthy. Otherwise you’d have been pulled years ago. In a way, by being around, you build trust. And when people trust you, they’ll buy you and you stand a chance at becoming their favourite.

2) Act as Best as You Can: Elvis became my idol. Why? He was simply who I wanted to be. Why? Because he seemed better than everyone else. That’s the lesson − when you act better than everyone else you, logically, must be best. People want to have the best to help them, be the best, act the best. Making your product best will slowly but surely change the dynamic so that people realize your goods, or act, are consistently better than the other guy. Therefore, they’ll go for you rather than settle for less than they deserve. As I wanted to be Elvis, they’ll want to have your stuff because they’ll think it’s the best they can do or get. And, if you play honest, they’ll be right. Again, this builds trust; trust in you, trust in the brand. And with trust, you’ll eventually become favourite.

Elvis’s Lessons:

Elvis and 34 are two examples of favourites in my life. Everyone has favourites and, when you become favourite, it becomes a very profitable situation to be in. When you or your product is around and you act, or build, it as best as you can, you stand a good chance of being someone’s new favourite. This in turn builds trust. With trust, it’s easy to become a favourite. And once you’re in that situation, that person’s going to be attracted to you or your product, returning for your product or service time and again. Not bad, my friend, not bad…

P.S. Remember to leave a comment; I’d love to hear what you have to say about today’s post.

P.P.S. If you’re interested in seeing Elvis being favourite, here’s a Youtube clip of him arriving in Hawaii for his Aloha from Hawaii Concert. Notice how people react to him, trying to attract his attention, be near him. They’ve grown up with him, they trust him, and he’s their favourite. And that’s where you want to be. It's a private video by a fella who was present at the event which makes it even more awesome, and rare.

P.P.P.S In case you're wondering, up here in good ol' Canada, we spell 'favourite', not 'favorite' like in the U.S. (even though we're geographically close). So, if you happen to be reading this from the U.S., I can spell, but differently to how you do.

They’re Exceptional − And YOU Can Be, Too!

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop zone for analyzing the success lessons of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and seeing how to implement them into YOUR life. Today we’ll be returning to our series on the Olympics, which will wrap up tomorrow in London England − namely on the athletes preparation.

Anybody seen Elvis: That’s the Way it Is? It’s the 1970 documentary film showing Elvis in preparation and later playing a series of shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. In it, it’s interesting to notice the songs at the beginning compared to the end. At the beginning, Elvis and his band go through a song once. They’re good, but they make mistakes. A thousand practices later (which they don’t show you − you’d get bored) you see Big E and the band at the end of the movie, polished and complete with Elvis’s signature choreography.

Essentially, they had to prepare long hours beforehand to get that good. Why bother? Because people expect their money’s worth. When something’s good, they feel they’ve spent their money well and will want to continue spending it on you, therefore getting the same value. When things are poorly done, they feel their money’s been ill spent. And people who feel they’ve been ripped off don’t give their money to the person who didn’t deliver again. In other words, you don’t give them what they pay for (and more), they don’t pay you (at least ever again), you’re business (or career) gets broiled in a crock pot. You do the opposite, they’ll want to go back to you because they trust you. They tell their friends you’re what you say you are and your business or career grows.

It’s commonsense really… in a way, we’re all rehearsing for that big casino show. We’ve got to put the hours in with our band, our team, to make sure things go smooth. We practice our choreography and lines, our pitch, and, when we practice hard enough, it’s good enough to be in a movie.

But many people want to get by the hard work. They don’t practice and don’t put time in and expect above average results. It doesn’t make sense. And they lose every time because of it.

This is when the Olympic athlete comes in; other than the singer or showman, like Elvis, no one puts in more time fine tuning their act than an Olympic athlete. They’ve got a show to put on, too, in front of millions of people, many of them fellow countrymen. And if they don’t do a good job, the backlash is huge. They’re under extreme pressure to do well. The plus side is when they do well and win gold everyone loves them. Someone like Michael Phelps, Andy Murray or, in my country of Canada, Rosie MacLennan becomes a national hero.

These Olympians work hard for years to get into peak shape so they can compete internationally. And when they’re guaranteed a spot in the Olympics, they have to keep training or risk the embarrassment we talked about. But they do it because they love their sport; the long hours aren’t always fun, but they wouldn’t want to do anything else. They’re exceptional in their preparation and dedication and because of that some of them get the greatest honour they feel possible − international recognition of their greatness.

So, what’s the point? Expecting something for nothing won’t get you anywhere. It doesn’t make sense − you have to work for what you earn. But putting in the hours or preparation will. It’s what Elvis did to run the series of highly successful shows shown in That’s the Way it Is and it’s what Olympians like Rosie MacLennan do to earn a gold medal and international respect for their abilities. You, too, need to learn to prepare whether it’s for a presentation or simply educating yourself on your products. Even if you’re naturally talented (as many Olympians are), preparation is what you need get that extra mile and grab a gold. It’s easy to say and it makes sense, but it’s hard. Make it your goal to be exceptional and prepare − the success you earn will be payment enough for it.

Elvis’s Lessons:

Both Elvis and Olympians put in lots of preparation beforehand for their respective ‘shows’ − it’s the best way they can guarantee winning in the end. But many ‘ordinary’ people don’t think they need to prepare and, as a result, lose milestones that could’ve been theirs with some work put in beforehand. When you’re exceptional and put the work in beforehand, like an Olympian, you’re boosting your chances of doing well the first time an opportunity presents itself. And the more opportunities you pull through with, the more successful you’ll be. It’s a pleasant kind of equation.

P.S. Remember to leave a comment below or email me at alexghilson@gmail.com - I'd love to hear from you.

P.P.S. If you'd like to see Elvis singing from That's the Way it Is, here he is on Youtube with "One Night".

Elvis's Olympic Team

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario for another week of exploring the success lessons of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and seeing how YOU can use them to further your dreams. Today, we’re going to be talking about the Olympics, Elvis and Teamwork. This is an episode of a mini-series so remember to tune in next week to see the next part!

So, as most of you are aware, the London 2012 Summer Olympics’s Opening Ceremony was last Friday (I watched all three and a half hours of it… it took some nerve!). With many allusions to English art and culture, at the end I could only go “Wow! That must have involved SOOO many people”. And that’s when my Elvis bell went off…

You see, Elvis also had his big events. Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii, for example, was the first internationally broadcast concert and, again, it wouldn’t have been possible without a ton of people.

Something as huge as the Olympics or an internationally broadcast concert requires a team. In fact, it requires a BIG team − the bigger the event, the bigger the team. It’d simply be too much work for one person to do, even if that person’s the Prime Minister of the U.K. or Elvis Presley.

Looking at Elvis’s Aloha show, there was his band (which was massive to start with), the stage crew, his manager, the television people and directors telling people how to film things, the people actually filming things… the number of folks involved in a production like that (or the Olympics) is insane − but without those people, it wouldn’t be possible. Elvis, however talented he was, could never have done that show sole handed − it would’ve taken years… decades!

So, if the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll couldn’t run the show single-handedly, who can? Not the President of the United States, not Richard Branson, not Justin Bieber, certainly not me. To get things done, you need bearer people, you need your team because those people are the ones who support you to do great things and keep you there. Look at Julius Caesar; he had the support of an army which he used in civil war to take over Rome. But because he didn’t have the support of the whole Senate, who he needed to resolve the political issues he’d created with the civil war, he was assassinated.

With the help of the Senate, Caesar would’ve remained leader of Rome. Without their support, however strong a man he was, he was murdered. He needed political allies, a team, to keep him in charge. Without his team, he didn’t stand a chance. Now, I don’t know about you but I’ve got no desire to be assassinated by my enemies.

In Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, one of the greatest self-help books in history, Hill describes what he calls ‘the master mind group’. Essentially, these are the people who help you take care of business, the ones making your business possible. You’re the leader, the one calling the shots, but they’re the ones that make the shots possible. Without these people, it becomes immeasurably harder to reach your dreams… Remember Caesar? With them, anything’s achievable.

So, what’s the point? Build your master mind team. Find the people who are important for you to do things, the people who can do things better than you can, the people who can do stuff when you’re too busy; those who are good with finances and those who excel at public relations. Choose carefully: these people will compose or compost you. But when it’s complete, when you have a good team with good people and you’ve broken through your personal insecurities and taken charge of this group, anything, ANYTHING is possible − including the Olympics.

Once again, this is my Olympic mini-series… for those of you into sports and the Olympics, these next couple weeks are for you. See you next Friday!

Elvis’s Lessons:

No man can do it alone… well, that’s a lie − you can, but it’ll take you forever. Do yourself a favour and build up what Napoleon Hill called a master mind group, a bunch of people who will help you reach heights you might’ve never hit alone. You’re in charge, but they propel you further. A great team’s how great visions are achieved − the Olympics, the first internationally broadcasted concert; one man dreamed it but it took a team for them to come into reality.

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing Elvis singing “He Gave Me A Mountain” in the largest show of his career, here’s a Youtube link to that song from the Elvis: Aloha Hawaii international concert.

P.P.S. Remember to leave a comment… providing it’s not a hate rant, I’d be glad to answer it. Or, of course, email me at alexghilson@gmail.com.