Due to the nature of my life, I’ve had dozens of jobs and been involved in dozens of non-work projects. Huge projects at times.
I have been exposed to every type of personality imaginable, in many more types of situations than the average bear.
It’s just the nature of my life. I move and evolve constantly. It causes me to meet a lot of people for all sorts of reasons.
Even in the Marines I changed bases nineteen times in five years, traveling to a couple dozen states and a handful of countries to do so.
This was not normal and it forced me to work under every conceivable type of boss there is.
I’ve interacted with hundreds of personalities for the purpose of completing an endless variety of missions
And it’s led me to understand something I found critical in working with others:
People who operate with integrity, authenticity, and transparency are not as prevalent as you might imagine.
Don’t get me wrong. There are a very high percentage of good people I’ve come across with whom I’ve done some very good work.
But the ones who exude all three qualities stand out like a sore thumb
I’m talking about the ones who can’t even help themselves.
They give, share, and counsel with nothing but the best of intentions and take it very personally that they do their very best for all who come in contact with them.
One such person is my friend Jeremy Ellenbogen, owner of the Seven21 Media Center and Ellenbogen Creative Media in Kingston, NY.
Jeremy and his parents welcomed me with open arms from the very first instance we met
They’re a rare breed of family. Salt of the Earth.
Comparable to my parents and the world they came from where everyone took care of everyone else, as it was simply how life got done.
I won’t embarrass them with any further gushing but they really are stand out people and they played a big part in shaping how I got here today.
They’re authentic. No hype. No games. No BS.
This level of authenticity is something I strive to maintain in all I do
These are the kind of people with whom to do business and to ask for help.
People whose guidance you trust, with whom you enjoy working, and who make the process of completing any goal set a most satisfying one.
This is a short list of what I learned from Jeremy, his family, his team, and the community he developed within his building:
- Stay positive
- Stay focused
- Build a community of like-minded souls
- Be of use to the general community
- Friends are friends but business is business
- Be giving to those you care most about
- Don’t let hype overpower your judgment
- Don’t play small
- Own your market
- Be the standard all competitors are judged against
- Network like mad
- Be good to your employees
- Outsource and out task to keep costs down
- Do some of the jobs you’d rather not if it keeps the ship afloat
- Always scale your vision upward
- Be novel
- Be a good host
- Repurpose your assets as much and as often as needed
- Try to always leave people’s lives a bit better for having met with you that day
You need people like this assisting you in the production of your message and your path to sharing it.
If I’ve done my job right, and our energy matches, I aim to do for you what the Ellenbogen’s did for me.
