Leadership Lessons from the Legends

The American film director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg holds the distinction of being the most commercially successful director of all time. In 1963, when he was only seventeen, Steven Spielberg traveled to Hollywood to participate in a tour of Universal Studios. The bold action Spielberg took next both set him apart from the crowd and put him on an altogether different and faster success track. In this episode of Classic Influence, we travel back to the summer of 1963 to discover the self-authoring mindset and bold actions that separate people like Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney and others from the great mass of people who are content to follow the crowd and think and act according to the designs of others.

CIP 047. Put Your Name on the Building, Assume the Position You Desire: Steven Spielberg Occupies the Universal Lot

http://classicinfluence.com/cip-047-put-your-name-on-the-building-take-the-title-you-desire-steven-spielberg-occupies-the-universal-lot/

CIP 044. Exploit the Hidden Power of Simplicity: Alexander the Great Fulfills the Prophecy of the Gordian Knot
http://classicinfluence.com/cip-044-exploit-the-hidden-power-of-simplicity-alexander-the-great-fulfills-the-prophecy-of-the-gordian-knot/

Joan of Arc was an unknown, illiterate peasant girl who became a celebrated national hero. She was a teenage girl with no military training or experience who became the supreme commander of French military forces at age 17. She was a symbol of French courage and military power who became a saint in the Catholic Church. At nearly every turn, Joan of Arc overturned assumptions, defied expectations, and upended beliefs. But how did she do it? Listen in and learn the key secrets of her miraculous success.

http://classicinfluence.com/cip-043-believe-absolutely-to-inspire-absolute-belief-joan-of-arc-turns-the-tide-of-the-hundred-years-war/

Episode Overview: Joan of Arc’s story remains one of the most remarkable stories in the long history of military leadership. Consider this singular, striking distinction: “Since the writing of human history began, Joan of Arc is the only person, of either s*x, who has ever held supreme command of the military forces of a nation at the age of seventeen” (Garlow p. 185). In the words of Winston Churchill, “Joan of Arc was a being so uplifted from the ordinary run of mankind that she finds no equal in a thousand years.” But what is it that set Joan of Arc so far apart? In this episode of Classic Influence, we’ll travel back to France during the Hundred Years’ War to explore the most critical, definitive factor in her success, the key lessons we can learn from her example, and why the wisdom of her leadership continues to echo across time.

How to Win Friends and Influence People is one of the best-selling books of all time, but Dale Carnegie’s career did not start off with a bang. In fact, Carnegie was nearly 50 before he finally stumbled upon the key secret to his success. In this episode of Classic Influence, we’ll explore the power of proof, the small start, and how baby steps can be carefully calculated to create blockbuster success.

Episode Overview: One cold evening in January 1936, with the world in the midst of the Great Depression, Dale Carnegie addressed a sold-out, standing-room-only crowd at the luxurious Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. Despite the global economic crisis, Carnegie, in a series of full-page newspaper ads, had promised the attendees that they could increase their incomes, and he was about to deliver on that promise. But how exactly did Carnegie come to discover these priceless, proven secrets of social, professional, and financial success? In this episode of Classic Influence, we’ll travel back to the 1930s and discover how a man born into poverty on a farm in Missouri came to become one of the best-selling authors of all time, “The Father of Self-Help,” and, in time, the head of a thriving personal development empire the likes of which the world had never before seen.

Classic Influence Podcast—CIP 037. Make Your First Dollar, Profit from the Power of Proof: Dale Carnegie’s Baby Steps Rise to Blockbuster Success
http://classicinfluence.com/cip-038-make-your-first-dollar-profit-from-the-power-of-proof-dale-carnegies-baby-steps-rise-to-blockbuster-success/

Raised in a one-room, dirt-floor log cabin on the American frontier, Lincoln’s early life was filled with long hours of manual labor, and many years of trial and tribulation, setback and struggle. This episode of Classic Influence explores what it took for Lincoln to finally see his star rise.

Ranked among the greatest of American Presidents, Abraham Lincoln was surprisingly ambitious. He desperately wanted to be remembered for doing something great. But it wasn’t until he linked his great aspiration with his passionate, unconquerable hatred for slavery that Lincoln began to see his star rise. Listen in and learn how Lincoln, a poor, backwoods country lawyer with less than a year of formal education, rose to become the Great Emancipator, and the 16th President of the United States.

Classic Influence Podcast—CIP 036. Own the Need, Achieve the Dream: Abraham Lincoln Assumes Command of the Problem at Hand, and Pilots His Path to the Top

http://classicinfluence.com/cip-036-own-the-need-achieve-the-dream-abraham-lincoln-assumes-command-of-the-problem-at-hand-and-pilots-his-path-to-the-top/

Eager to make his way in the competitive world of show business, the daring Don Rickles was willing to make all manner of bold moves, including exploiting the star power of uber celebrities like Frank Sinatra. Alas, unlike Sinatra, who was far better attuned to his audience, and the importance of playing to their desires, Rickles still had a few key lessons to learn. Listen in and discover how Sinatra schooled the young upstart comedian, and how Rickles’ hunger to learn ultimately enabled him to succeed.

Classic Influence Podcast—CIP 035. Take Bold Action (Part 5): Be Bold in Pursuit of Your Aims: The Celebrity Power of Frank Sinatra, and the Daring Don Rickles, Upstart Comedian Extraordinaire

http://classicinfluence.com/cip-035-take-bold-action-part-5-be-bold-in-pursuit-of-your-aims-the-celebrity-power-of-frank-sinatra-and-the-daring-don-rickles-upstart-comedian-extraordinaire/

In the 1950s, still at the start of his acting career, and frustrated by the lack of work, Don Rickles began hustling gigs as a standup comedian in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Finding that his audiences were also failing to respond to his prepared material as a comic, Rickles started to boldly lash out. In fact, he began insulting people in his audience, particularly the hecklers. With this, Rickles finally began to see his audiences respond. Sometimes, however, Rickles went too far, boldly insulting the wrong person at the wrong time, and suffering some humiliating consequences as a result. Listen in to this episode of Classic Influence, and learn how boldness can backfire when it rises to a level beyond what your target or audience will endure. Given the potential consequences of a lack of boldness, which are often even more severe, this episode also reveals the essential approach to take to build your capacity for bold action, and, thereby, tap your true potential, and succeed in your chosen field. Finally, returning to the opening story of this “Take Bold Action” series, you will discover the single most critical secret of Napoleon Bonaparte’s remarkable return from Elba and which, in defiance of Europe’s greatest powers, enabled him to once again become the Emperor of France.

Check out our latest post! Governor Huey Long and Senator Robert M. La Follette take bold action and defy the odds.

Growing up in one of the most impoverished regions in the country, Huey Long surmounted one obstacle after another until at last he became the Governor of Louisiana, and then a U.S. Senator, with a shot at besting FDR. Along with his intense ambition, intelligence, and grit, what set Long apart from the very start was the bold action he was willing to take to achieve his aims. This episode reveals a few of the early stories, and the sort of bold actions that set the stage for Long’s rapid rise.

Episode Overview: A populist champion of the poor, Huey Long grew up during America’s Gilded Age, and got involved in politics in the years before the Great Depression. Despite the considerable economic hardships he faced throughout his early life in Louisiana, and the ferocious political opposition he faced throughout his political career, Huey Long rose to become one of the Pelican State’s greatest political stars. Beyond his fierce ambition and quick mind, it was bold action that set Huey apart. In fact, Huey Long was willing to take whatever bold action was necessary to overcome his humble origins, make a name for himself, and do as much good as he could along the way. In this episode of Classic Influence, we’ll travel back to Louisiana in the early 20th century and see what we can learn from the bold and brash actions of Huey P. Long. This episode also looks to the example of Robert M. La Follette, and his surprising response to the political machine in Madison, Wisconsin when they warned him not to run.

http://classicinfluence.com/cip-032-take-bold-action-part-2-dare-to-defy-the-established-order-risk-to-skip-ahead-huey-long-cuts-a-barrier-breaking-path-to-the-top/