Life's a Haunted House and We're all In It

Hellooo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario! Your one stop location for connecting the success lessons of Elvis Presley back to your own life. Today, we're finishing our Halloween series with a post about haunted houses, and how they're kinda like life in general.

So, I've had the pleasure to participate in the running of several haunted houses over the years, namely the ones held by my Scout group. The haunted house is not an overnight undertaking - it takes plenty of people to make it work. And even if the people who organize it know how things are meant to go, that doesn't mean diddly squat if the actors don't know what's up. And even if the actors are good, when the people running the effects, lights and sounds are up a different tree, the extra punch is lost. And you need all the punch you can get in a haunted house - plenty of people come to rip apart what you've done and criticize you. Others keep telling themselves it's all fake, thereby destroying the fun of being scared in the setting. And for the people behind the scenes, nothing beats seeing scared customers. I mean, it's even better than the happy and supportive guests.

You built a haunted house to scare people, and when it fulfills that purpose and freaks others out, you've completed your goal. You were successful and the plan worked the way it should, thanks to the perfect cooperation of your staff.

  

This whole scenario reminds me of Elvis: Elvis also had a show to put on. Unlike the goal of the haunted house − to scare people − Elvis's goal was to reach people at a deep level, a doctor of voice. The goal was to get inside his audience’s heart and improve whatever he found there with the songs he sang.

And like a haunted house, there were people there who probably shouldn't have come out − the ones who came to make fun of him, to look at him from 'an objective standpoint', who listened because they wanted to be trendy. The show had to blow peoples’s minds or Elvis's goal of reaching people at that deep level wouldn't be realised. And all the while, he'd be taking abuse for every error he made along the way.

Elvis couldn't take care of all the details. He probably wasn't as professional in all areas as some his staff were. And even if he was, you can't mix yourself when you're singing to 10,000 people. The simple truth is you need a team. And not just any, out of the dryer team. You need people who work together darn well and stand by you, whatever happens.

I remember writing a post sometime ago about people working together in unity to make a better whole - the importance of the team. Well, here we go again... the haunted house would not be possible without the group. All the people being in the right place, the sound people, the guide, the actors - they're all kernels in the bag of popcorn, and only when they're popped in the right bag, at the right temperature, in the right microwave will someone want to eat them. It takes someone to put together that bag, that team. And, as the bad guy in all the old kid's cartoons said, "You can't trust anyone but yourself".

What?

Didn't I just say you have to make a team… but it's up to you because you can only trust yourself? Well, yes. But initiative is a funny thing. Just because people do a good job working jointly doesn't mean they would’ve worked collectively had someone not put them together. Every project, every team, needs a mayor to cut the ribbon, the driver to give the ticket, the suitor to pop the champagne. Someone has to start things going. And when you're the one with the idea and the plan and you dream about it every night and know what you want, it's gotta be you! No one else will do it, and even if they try, they'll never do it the way you do, the best. It's like one of those 30's Busby Berkeley movies with all the girls following the brass band choreography - sure someone else could have thought of it, marching bands have been going for millennia, but it took Barkley to do it right. And no one else will ever do it the same. Hitchcock? Same thing. Suspense is an old genre still created to this day, but no one stands near Hitchcock's silhouette when it comes to creating it.

Life can move you or you can move it, depending on your disposition. The teams are there, but you’ve got to bring them together or never at all. And once they’re one, you’ve got to lead them or watch your dream disappear.

 

In short, going back to the popcorn metaphor, you've gotta be the microwave, too − the guy who gets things going. I mean, those kernels would sit in a bag forever, untouched. It's the microwave who's the leader, the person who makes it all work. Elvis was that person in his group - there was no doubting who was the King and who called the shots. Perhaps it's time you became the King of your little group. You can be nice-ish about it, just make sure you're getting your say in. And if you need any help with that, check out the Dale Carnegie classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. It will go a long way in improving your persuasion and social skills. But, that post will have to wait to another day, in a month where orange and black aren’t the colours of state and witches and vampires don't rule in a land of never ceasing darkness and treats.

 

Elvis's Lessons:

Elvis and a haunted house bear similarity (as insulting as that sounds). You need a team to make it all happen. But that's not all - you need that team to work together so things are going flawlessly. Moving to my popcorn metaphor (so proud I thought that one up), you're the person with the initiative to put together the raw materials (bag, kernels), your team, and also the microwave who cooks things (leads) so they pop just right. But remember, no one likes being bossed about. Keep a persuasive attitude - and if you need help with that, check out the Dale Carnegie classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People − that should get you fixed up in no time…

Thanks for reading, Happy Halloween, and see you in November!

 

P.S. If this post got you ticking (in a good or bad way), leave a comment below or at my email at alexghilson@gmail.com and I'll give you a reply as soon as I can.

P.P.S. If you're interested in hearing some Halloween Elvis, check out this Youtube video of Elvis singing “Night Rider”.

If you like this post, you may also like these other FR.EE Graceland Ontario posts:

• What You Have in Common with a Teenage Girl
• The Witches's Marketing Secret
• Alice Cooper Knows How to Live Life Better than Most Celebrities: Know Why?
• Elvis's Olympic Team
• They're Exceptional − And YOU Can Be, Too!
• Elvis Presley meets Usain Bolt: Do You Use THIS the Way They Do?

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:

• Violence on the Roads: A Lack of Humanity

• Alice Cooper Knows How to Live Life Better than Most Celebrities: Know Why?

• The Witches's Marketing Secret

• The Only Guarantee

• 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)

The Witches's Marketing Secret

 

 

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to another week at Graceland Ontario, where you research the success lessons of Elvis Presley so to better YOUR life. Today, as promised, we're going to dive straight into our Halloween series with our second October post, symbolism and marketing at Halloween.

 

Now, for anyone, one of the big rules of winning boils down to this: 'You ain’t nothing if you ain’t marketable'. I mean, it's true. Whether you're a big corporation like Wal-Mart or McDonald's with your trademarks, a band with your emblem or simply an individual, like Elvis, with sideburns and a jumpsuit, symbols are the way you get across; everyone who's successful has some trademarks. Maybe not intentionally, people just noticed them overtime and attributed them as trademarks of a person or company, like linking the way someone does their hair to a person. But once they've become that person's trademark, the person gets linked up when someone mentions it. It's like in my country of Canada we have this politician, the son of one of our notable Prime ministers, called Justin Trudeau. He, like me, has curly brown hair and is relatively young and handsome. So, when people see my handsome face, they say 'you look just like Justin Trudeau!' Trudeau's coined those trademarks as his own, largely unintentionally, yet even I, as a regular guy, become advertising for him. And that's why people have trademarks - to remind others of who they are. And, better yet, to use those trademarks to make money.

 

Let's look at Halloween. Items like Jack O Lanterns, witches, vampires, ghosts, ghouls, graveyards, etc. make Halloween a store owner's dream. And the best part − those symbols, trademarks of the season, can be added to essentially anything (like how the MGM film The Wizard of Oz starred the Wicked Witch of the West). Bedding, clothes, movies, food… you name it and a symbol, when distinctive enough, can be supplemented. People see those symbols and it reminds them what time of year it is. And then, they spend money on it. Unfortunately for everyone who creates Halloween stuff, there isn't one sole copyright holder for all those items - a lot of the ideas are public domain so anyone can make money off it. If, on the other hand, one person holds the rights for all of it, like Warner Brothers does for everything based off the movie Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, that one company (Warner Brothers in Casablanca's case, or Elvis Presley Enterprises for Elvis) makes a fortune off merchandise and books. It doesn't take much either - simply a likeness to Humphrey Bogart could become fair game for a lawsuit. For Warner Brothers and other film and music companies, trademarks are a goldmine others often never see.

 

Elvis had the same thing − a brand and trademarks. The poses, the jumpsuit, the hair, the sideburns can be added to anything to move it from a plain piece of nothingness, sold bottom price at any street market, to an Elvis item. Get official permission from Elvis Presley Enterprises and you can charge top dollar for your ‘Official’ Elvis Presley merchandise (all royalties being paid to EP Enterprises). The symbols and stances, the looks and logos Elvis created during his lifetime might make more money now than even his music does. Music has to be listened to and enjoyed depending on a person's taste - anyone can buy a cool Elvis clock.

 

And besides, people feel a likeness with a symbol. Sure, you've never bought an Elvis clock before or a Jack o' Lantern and you might have been apprehensive if a vacuum salesman had tried to sell you a cut-price cleaner at your door. But when you see something familiar, with a Halloween symbol or, perhaps, Elvis symbol, your guard goes down a bit. You were brought up with this, like Christmas pudding, and despite your unfamiliarity with the brand, it looks and reminds you of something you had in the past, something safe. And your security, false as it might be but brought about by the packaging of a product, might lead to a sale you'd never have been pushed into had it been plain.

 

So, what's the point?

Get with the season! Halloween and Elvis are only two of a billion different examples of how symbols can be used to make money. The symbols can be used to create merchandise for your particular brand, or a brand you want to use on your work (make sure you've got the copyright owner's permission... you don't need any Warner Brothers pattern lawsuits on your back). Also, the addition of a symbol, when familiar to a customer, can lower a customer's apprehension about a product. They recognize the symbol and therefore feel a little closer to the product than if it had been blank and from a random company. 

 

And if you don't have any symbols, any witches to paste on, this would be a great time to start designing some. The symbols you create now can be used forever and create a common thread among all your work. Even when others use your symbols (as they use Elvis’s logos), they’ll have to pay you for the rights. Then, as you build up a customer base (if you don't already have one), people start getting attached to your brand. They feel they're part of something, like Elvis fans do when they visit the real Graceland. And when people start feeling they're part of something, they get the old family security feeling. And people who feel secure are more likely to pay you for it. Nice!.

 

Elvis's Lessons:

Both Halloween and Elvis use symbols to get people to recognize them. The recognition makes them less apprehensive about buying because they feel a familiarity with the product - not because of the ACTUAL product but because of the symbols on it. The less apprehensive they are about buying, the easier it is to sell your product to them. Besides, when these symbols are licensed to you, as all Elvis's symbols are licensed to Elvis Presley Enterprises, you stand the chance of making royalties even when someone else makes something but sticks your face on it. Furthermore, it's free advertising every time someone recognizes someone else's work looking like yours. They say, "hey that looks like a *whatever*" and your name spreads all the more. Symbolism is important for marketing at Halloween. It's important for the people at EP Enterprises. Perhaps it's time for it to become more important to YOU.

P.S. Leave a comment, if you dare! Just kidding - love to hear what your opinions on this post are.

P.P.S. If you're interesting in seeing some witches, here's a Youtube link to the famous scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth when the witches brew up trouble. 

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

• Alice Cooper Knows How to Live Life Better than Most Celebrities: Know Why?

• Violence on the Roads: A Lack of Humanity

• The July 4th Special (Or July 1st for Us Canadians…

• "Image Scrimmage"

• Learn from Elvis, Learn from a Superhero

Alice Cooper Knows How to Live Life Better than Most Celebrities: Know Why?

 

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for learning the success lessons of the King of Rock 'n' Roll and seeing how to implement them into your life. This is part of our Halloween series. Perhaps not the most scary but, because of Alice Cooper’s reputation and act, I think it’ll fit in nicely.

Today, we'll do what we don't usually, look at one of the negative sides of Elvis's life and see how you can learn from it. Today, we'll be talking about too much isolation.

In his autobiography, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict, Alice Cooper says he met Elvis after a show and found it sad he was so isolated. Apparently the King presented Cooper his most prized possession − a police report about Elvis defending himself against these fellas who were taunting him.  Given Elvis's expertise in Karate, he made minced meat of them.  Impressive. But to Cooper it said Elvis had no opportunity to show his own worth and take care of himself. Even in the given incident, Elvis's bodyguards had been standing behind him. If he hadn't told them to let him handle it, they would have taken the other guys. But Elvis wanted to stand up for himself once. 

 

Later, Cooper met Elvis when the snake charmer was training for a tour, but Elvis’s bodyguards pulled Elvis's head back in the car before Cooper and the King could get into a conversation. Cooper wanted to help Elvis but couldn't find a way to reach him - he was too far gone.

 

Because of Elvis's popularity and worth, his bodyguards (often members of the Memphis Mafia and friends on his payroll) all had a personal stake in keeping the King happy. After all, anything happened to him and they were out of a job. Besides, they'd lost a good friend. So, to keep him safe, they kept him isolated. He couldn't get hurt because he had no way of getting out of his persona - like real royalty, he was constantly under watch. And, as a result, any risks, whether that meant going for a ride in his car or having a night with his wife in some foreign state were out of the question. Even when Elvis was alone, he wasn't. There was someone outside his door. A guard holding the key. And, in a way, Elvis was a prisoner.

Cooper also mentions that he never wanted to be that successful - he loved his freedom and felt Elvis had become so big he'd lost that.

So, what does this mean? However successful you become, however great you are, prize your freedom above any other treasure, any position, any opportunity. Always allow the possibility of shutting down for a while. It's not a bad thing to be rich or famous, but you've got to still be you underneath it all. Otherwise, you'll turn into a prisoner. Isolation for a bit is relaxing. Permanent isolation because you're too valuable is a curse.

So, if and when you need people watching out for your safety, make sure you've still got places to go to disconnect from all the celebrity. A personal library, a private room where you're allowed to be you. Because if you don't preserve some element of the independence you were born into, you'll get into a position where others do everything for you; where you have to ask to live your life like you're some sort of kid, where you have to ask your bodyguards whether you can defend yourself. Though it may be hard to believe now, the more valuable you become the more you’ll mean to others. And they, like Elvis’s Memphis Mafia, will become indebted to you for their careers. They can’t afford you to get hurt so they’ll be careful to make sure you never get into a situation where you could be hurt. They’ll even condemn you to a life of loneliness if it means you’ll be safe so you can provide for them. No person deserves that sort of isolation from living their life. Remember, striving for success is about subsisting life at a greater level, not becoming prisoner to your accomplishments and a stranger to living.

 

Elvis’s Lessons:

In Alice Cooper's autobiography, Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict, Cooper recalls a couple experiences meeting Elvis. Both times he felt sorry for him because he was so successful and valuable, he didn't have his own life; he was so valuable to his bodyguards, he was isolated by them. As you become more successful and do greater things, remember to remain in control of your life, not a victim of your success. After all, you're working to improve your life, not cut yourself off from it.

P.S. Remember to leave a comment or email me at alexghilson@gmail.com to discuss the content of my posts. I don’t bite and I love a good conversation.

P.P.S. Due to the content of this week’s post, here’s a link to Alice Cooper singing "Poison" on Youtube. Enjoy!!!

If this post interested you, so might these other Graceland Ontario Posts:

• Violence on the Roads: A Lack of Humanity 
• The July 4th Special (Or July 1st for Us Canadians…) 
• Move On When It's Time
• So, When You Say Growth, You Mean Height… Right?
• "Image Scrimmage"