“When they became huge they were selling all the records. We (Pat Boone and other artists including Elvis) were begging for whatever was left.”
Those are the words of iconic singer Pat Boone during an interview on the CBS Sunday Morning show about five years ago.
Boone was talking about the Beatles and the impact they had on the music industry as well as other artists when they came to the United States. Cornavirus isn’t the Beatles but it is definitely having a negative health and financial impact on many people around the world
For the Beatles, record sales skyrocketed. For everyone else they fell off a cliff. Rather than being discouraged by his plummeting record sales Boone looked for opportunity and he found it with the Beatles. The very group that was hurting his record sales became his next great source of income to replace the royalties he was losing.
Boone connected with the Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. He purchased a license from Epstein to sell Beatles memorabilia. The first thing he did was commission a painter to paint individual as well as group portraits of the fab four. Through a great marketing plan and the sheer craze for the Beatles, Boone made more money selling the prints than he made in record royalties for a few years!
What an amazing story of seeing opportunity in the face of challenge!
Like many of you in these Coronavirus days, I am facing a challenge. My speaking business has basically shut down. My income has dried up. I’m working on seeing opportunities in spite of challenging circumstances. I’m working on stepping back from a microscopic focus and trying to see opportunity in a bigger picture.
What are the challenging circumstances facing you personally or professionally today?
Do you have the courage to step back and view those conditions from a different angle to see new opportunities?
Here are three steps to help you see your challenge differently:
- Write down all of the options you have in front of you. No option should be left out because it seems too weird, crazy or out of context.
- Talk with someone else not involved in the challenge at all to get their unbiased perspective.
- Create a list of what you have control over and a separate list of what you have no control over. Deal only with the list of which you have control.
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist see the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill
Do you have the courage to be an optimist in these difficult times?
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? I’d love to be that guy. You can reach me at dave@cultivatecourage.com or 952-200-7499.
You can now buy the book “Cultivate Courage” on Amazon! https://amzn.to/2N2PBVJ
