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

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen…

Welcome back to another week at Graceland Ontario where we show you the lessons that made Elvis successful and fit them into your life. This week we’re going to talk about Elvis’s influence and how it’s no sin to use it for your benefit.

Check out this link:

http://www.elvis.com/news/detail.aspx?id=5575

It’s about modern pop star Bruno Mars. Mars has topped the charts a few times in recent years and won a Grammy, yet when he was four years old he was known as the world’s youngest Elvis Impersonator.

When Mars was young, he used Elvis’s image to boost his own (though he probably didn’t realise it then). When he got older, he did his own original material but still used what he learnt from Elvis to improve his act.

Mars at a young age, consciously or not, learnt that mixing his talent with Elvis’s legend and style were explosive. Even now, he uses the same formila to capture this generation of youth’s attention as Elvis did back in the 50’s.

As Mars shows, there’s no shame in learning from your idols to improve your act, whether it be in show biz, politics or the corporate world. Sure, you need to be safe in your own skin to be successful but if using the legend of a dead guy helps you do it, then use it.

You see, a lot of people get worried when they start using the legends of great men (or women) like Elvis to fine-tone their skills. They’re scared they’ll lose their personal identity and turn into a copy-cat.

But, as in Bruno Mars’s case, learning from the best does not mean you turn into them… It took Mars years to cement his own musical reputation. And even then, it required his own unique style. Take a look at some of his stuff − you can see the 50’s/60’s influence, but you wouldn’t say he’s solely copying Elvis.

And besides, most modern musicians copy Elvis to a degree whether they like it or not, he’s so imbedded in our culture.

No, Mars has a unique style, but he used Elvis to help get him there. And YOU can, too.

Copying Elvis’s confidence, his charm, his energy − whatever you need − will give you a basis to build foundations of your own (as Mars did in his music career). It turns into a question of “What would Elvis do in this situation?” From that basis, you can let the dead singer’s spirit lead you to accomplishment in whatever field you want.

Mars did it to help him get to a modern crowd of pop-enthusiasts; you can do it to help get whatever you like, too.

Elvis’s Lessons:

Bruno Mars, a modern singer-songwriter, Grammy winner and teen sensation, got his career basis as the world’s youngest Elvis impersonator when he was four. Mars used Elvis’s legend to help his career, and so can you. By asking yourself, “what would Elvis do in this situation?” you can change your perspective and use what Elvis had (confidence, energy, humility, etc…) as basis to improve yourself in that area. It worked for Mars, and he’s rich and famous now. It can work for you, too.

P.S. Any comments or questions regarding this post? Write me a note in the comment box below or email me at alexghilson@gmail.com and I'll reply to you faster than Usain Bolt can run the 100m... well, maybe not that fast.

P.P.S. If you'd like to see Bruno Mars singing his number one hit single, "Just the Way You Are", here's a link to the music video on Youtube.

Doing All You Can

Welcome back to another week at Graceland Ontario. Thanks for joining us and I hope we can improve your life today. This week we’re going to be talking about doing all you can even when people aren’t giving you the recognition you deserve, using Elvis’s life as example.

According to the book, Elvis Presley: Unseen Archives by Marie Clayton, Elvis has sold more than one billion records (more than anyone else in history) as well as,

• 32 Gold Albums
• 32 Platinum Albums
• 24 Gold Singles
• 27 Platinum Singles
• 6 gold EP singles, and,
• 10 platinum EP singles

Only in the U.S. (not including international sales)

For those who aren’t record-sales literate, gold certification is given to someone who has sold half a million units and platinum to someone who has sold a million units.

And the list goes on… Not to mention he directly influenced the music industry for all time by his influence of groups like the Beatles (for more info on Elvis’s achievements, check out the page about it at Elvis.com, Elvis Presley’s official site)

Yet, figure this, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) took years to award Elvis a Grammy of any kind. Introduced for the performers of 1958 in 1959 by NARAS the Grammies are a set of the most prestigious awards open to a recording artist. And you’d think that being Elvis was so important and did so much great work, they’d recognise it. Wrong. It took the Grammies eight years to award Elvis his first Grammy in 1967 for the album “How Great Thou Art”. Then it took them another five years to award him his second Grammy for the album “He Touched Me” in 1972. Two years later they gave him another award for his live rendition of the song “How Great Thou Art” in 1974.

Elvis won three Grammy awards but they never awarded him them for rock ‘n’ roll, only gospel music, even though he was originally better known for rock ‘n’ roll.

But did Elvis’s singing get worse because he wasn’t awarded music’s chief award for eight years. No way (despite the quality of his movie songs). He sang with the same passion; He did all he could with his songs. And, finally, someone awarded him for how awesome his work was. Even though it took years.

So here’s the point, sometimes people won’t recognize you even when you’re doing a great job. Not at first. The challenge is keeping going even when you’re seeing people who aren’t at your level taking your awards. Getting angry won’t help. It’ll only make you look jealous. And working less because you don’t see the point of working hard if no one’s recognizing you won’t help either. Then, you’ll never win anything. And deservedly so. All you can do is work with renewed vigour to produce the best product possible. And, eventually, someone will recognize you. Someone will say, “this guy knows what he’s doing”. And eventually, you’ll win out overall.

Elvis’s Lessons:

It took Elvis eight years to win music’s chief award, the Grammy. But he didn’t give up or put less work out. Then he would never have been recognized (and his record sales might have gone down, too). Instead, he did all he could and eventually he was recognized. When you don’t get the recognition you deserve, it’s your job to do all you can, keep plugging away and some day you’ll win out.

P.S. If you're interested in hearing Elvis singing the song that eventually won him a Grammy, here's a Youtube video of him with "How Great Thou Art".

P.P.S. Remember to leave a comment below or email me at alexghilson@gmail.com to continue the discussion.