Jolt! by Phil Cooke (whitelam books .TXT) 📕

Enroll in a class on financial management. Talk to your banker, accountant, or attorney. Get good advice, and discover the power of managing your finances for the best possible result.

Who is your successor? I’m not just talking about family members here. I’m always amazed at how little effort major companies make to think ahead about successors. Someone once said, “Success without a successor is failure.” If you own a company, lead an organization, or run a family business, you need to plan for the transition to the next generation.

» THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN BUSINESS IS LITTERED WITH COMPANIES WHO NEVER UNDERSTOOD HOW TO MAKE A POSITIVE TRANSITION TO THE NEXT GENERATION.

Family members fight, boards argue, and executives battle over succession, and all the while drain the company of money, time, and resources.

When the founder of a nonprofit organization in the Midwest decided to step down, he considered converting the organization into a foundation. The organization was worth more than $100 million, and becoming a foundation would have assured its impact for generations. But family infighting delayed the transition for years, and the founder finally relented to family pressure and passed the organization on to his son. I’m told the nonprofit is now struggling under his poor leadership and is desperately attempting to find a new vision for the future. If it continues on its present course, the impact it could have made as a foundation may crumble as the endowment is eventually eaten away.

Sometimes founders are convinced that the only people who will ever really care about the organization are family members, and they turn away highly qualified future leaders in exchange for poorly qualified sons and daughters.

Whatever decision you make and whatever circumstances you face, start planning now. Even if you feel you have ten or fifteen years ahead of you, it’s never too early to begin thinking about the transition to the next generation.

Leave a legacy! Your life on the earth will be measured by two things: what you accomplish with your life and what you accomplish with your legacy. Many well-known men and women—who accomplished great things in life— left nothing of significance after they died. In some cases, information about private excess, wrongdoing, or scandal discovered after their deaths tainted their accomplishments and left them a legacy of failure and disdain.

But many who lived unknown or modest lives created a legacy that will last for generations.

A legacy is made up of many ingredients, including vision, foresight, integrity, service, compassion, and generosity. It’s about planting seeds in the lives of others that will reap harvests for many seasons in the future.

» IF YOU’VE WRONGED OTHERS, SEEK THEIR FORGIVENESS. IF YOU’VE MADE MISTAKES, MAKE THEM RIGHT. CLEAR THE SLATE NOW, SO YOU’RE NOT HAUNTED BY THE THOUGHTS OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.

In the opening scene of the legendary film Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane, played by Orson Welles, dies with the faintly whispered word “rosebud” on his lips. The entire movie becomes the intriguing story of a reporter desperately searching through Kane’s past to discover the word’s elusive meaning. This vastly wealthy businessman who influenced world leaders had spent his life in luxury and wealth, only to reach his deathbed with regrets and a desperate wish for the past.

Make sure your last words don’t express regret or remorse. Don’t leave anything unfinished.

Leave a legacy, and make your life count for eternity.

» JOLT #25

LIVE A BLOCKBUSTER LIFE

Discover the Far-Reaching Power of Influence

Philosophical purists may weep and gnash their teeth, but the fact is that movies are the most powerful cultural influence we have today.

—COLIN MCGIN, PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Let no man imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.

—HENRY GEORGE, ECONOMIST

Kathleen and I have two incredible daughters—Kelsey and Bailey—both grown now. Because of my experience with daughters, when I think of influence, I think of Hollywood. From the time they absolutely had to have a Snow White dress, to now, when a smartphone has become a standard accessory, I can see the power of the media industry through many of the choices my daughters make on a daily basis.

Hollywood isn’t the entertainment industry; it’s the influence industry.

The world of power and influence. It seems that today—like most of recorded history—nearly everyone wants it, and nowhere in the world is it more visible than in Hollywood.

Blockbuster movies are making nearly $100 million in a single weekend, and major stars are demanding $10 to $20 million per movie. Video games, websites, DVDs, and merchandising are all growth industries—and each is tied to the phenomenal success of entertainment.

Network television isn’t much different. Prime-time television is spinning off programs at a record pace, creating a global television market that is dominated by American programming. In third-world countries where houses have no windows and people have no medical care, they still never miss an episode of popular network shows. Major global companies are competing to own entertainment industry assets, as the money, the prestige, and the glamour become just too difficult to pass up.

The entertainment industry in the United States represents remarkable influence. For instance, when major “event” movies, like Spider-man, Avatar, or The X-Men, premiere, an awesome marketing machine is triggered to capture a specific target audience. In many cases, the target audience is teenage boys, some even showing up dressed in superhero outfits, and all willing to stand in line for hours to catch the first exciting glimpse of a new action movie.

The ability of the movie and television industries to sell, influence, and promote is the raw power that drives audience impact. But what if we could harness that awesome power and create blockbuster lives? There’s no question it could transform our personal performance, our leadership, and our future.

» NEARLY THIRTY YEARS CONSULTING AND WRITING ON CHANGE HAS TAUGHT ME THAT THE PRINCIPLES IN THIS BOOK CAN CREATE A BLOCKBUSTER SUCCESS IN