Great Business Lessons From The Movies – Jerry Maguire.

WOW - What a wonderful movie. It's a love story, a coming of age movie, and building strong friendships, all mixed with humor and pathos. And so many business rules. So here they are:

"Show me the money!" - Rod Tidwell (video)

You work to make money. So many people forget this. I know — there's the satisfaction, the notoriety, the use of your talents, etc. But at the end of the day, you need to take a signed check home. And most people forget this.

When it comes to asking for a price for their services, most people either bunt or balk. They don't realize the money discussion is key to any business transaction. And most people think their begging or putting out their client.

I remember a proposal I was putting together — I was asking $15K for the work. My wife reviewed it (she reviews everything!) and she said to double it to $30K. I thought she was crazy — but I did it. And the client quickly accepted.

“Hey, I don’t have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success.” - Dicky Fox, Jerry's mentor (video)

You're going to fail. And succeed. Don't worry about one or the other. Just do your best and keep swinging.

Learn from your failures and celebrate your successes.

"Help me… help you. Help me, help you." - Jerry Maguire (video)

If you position everything you do to help other people, you will make a lot of money and be gainfully employed for many years.

The minute you veer from this tenet and start doing busy work — you'll find your job prospects drying up quickly.

"It’s not show friends. Its show business." - Bob Sugar (video)

You are not out to make friends — you are there to deliver service.

This is true with your clients, the office, organizations, etc. Concentrate first on business and if friends come later, fine. Not the other way around.

Want to read Jerry Maguire's Mission Statement? Click here.

What are your favorite quotes from Jerry Maguire?

POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW

P.S. Which quote resonated clearly with your career? Which one made you think twice? Let's talk. I've worked with a number of clients — and we developed a successful strategy to grow your career exponentially. If you’re not a client . . . pick up the phone and call me — I offer only one complimentary session each week.

Image: Royalty-Free License from Dollar Photo Club 2014. Over 25 million images, only $1 each.

Serendipity With The Apple Store.

Something wonderful happened to me yesterday. Well, let me start from the beginning — I wanted to get the new iPad. Badly.

In fact, I gave up all Christmas & Birthday presents to save up for one. So I was primed to get the iPad2 once I heard that the new release was slated for March.

When the iPad came out on Friday, my family and I traveled to the closest mall to see if we can see one (and secretly get one!).

You've probably heard — the lines wrapped throughout the mall — hundreds of people waiting for hours. We never got to even enter the store. I went home thinking we would show up the next day (when the lines went down) to pick one up. Guess what — all stores were totally sold out.

What I forgot to add is that I made a quick phone call to my good friends, the business managers at the Apple Store, prior to all of this technology hoopla. I asked them, "If the iPad came in, could they hold one for me?". I then proceeded to forget about this call after hearing the pent-up demand and 'no inventory' news.

One quick detour to talk more about the Apple Business Managers. They're the BEST. As a successful entrepreneur, I need a flawless technology platform. The Apple Store does it for me. They go out of their way to make any purchase (I have four MacBook Pros, two iMacs, three iPhones, and about twelve iPods, iTouches, Nanos, and Shuffles hanging around the office and home). Whenever ANYTHING goes wrong, they have impeccable client service that is available and flawless. I LOVE going to the Apple Store.

Now back to yesterday. I was at Pepe's Pizza, hosting my son Andrew's 10th birthday party with a gaggle of kids. I get a call from my one of the Apple business managers — not only has he saved an iPad for me from a secret shipment that he received this morning, he also will give me a discount on my purchase.

WOW. I ran down to the store and picked it up. It's beautiful.

Why am I telling you this story? It's based on all the business I sent the way of this business manager. And many of my friends, colleagues, clients, and acquaintances that I've also sent to that particular Apple Store.

It's called developing deep connections with key people in your business circle. Seeing how you can help THEM — how you can build their business. Always asking, "How Can I Help You?" (see my last post)

Most people don't do it — and they are the ones waiting in line for an iPad.

Has this ever happened to you? How did it make you feel? Do you now deepen your business relationships?