Blair - Rock bottom to rock star lessons from the business school of hard knocks

I dedicate this to my son, Ryan Reagan Blair: May you never experience the rock bottoms that I have, and become the rock star that I could only dream of being.

AUTHORS NOTE

I would like to express my deepest gratitude for my biographer and writing partner of eight years, Shannon Constantine Logan, for extracting my innermost thoughts, deciphering my handwriting, and writing this book with me.

THIS BOOK CONTAINS POTTY MOUTH

You cant just bleep out colorful language in a book the way you can with a documentary, and unlike albums, books dont come with parental advisory ratings, so I struggled with whether or not to give you the uncensored version of my thinking process in my writing this time around. (I swear a lot more in my mind than I do in real life, rest assured.) After some debate, I decided that my readers could handle it. But if youre sensitive to strong language, then definitely consider bleeping out my f-bombs yourself. Also, out of respect for my mom, who is going to probably read this book, and because it may also be read in high schools, Ive omitted a number of stories that were either too explicit for mass media or werent relevant to business. If you want those stories, Ive included them in the bonus content, which you can get by signing up for the newsletter on my website: ryanblair.com

One last note, I did my best to make sure all the facts and figures lined up in this book, but I did change some peoples names for privacy purposes.

T his isnt a rags-to-riches story, because not everyone comes from rags or wants riches. This book isnt about a charmed path to success or some untouchable fairy tale that nobody can relate tothis is about going from rock bottom to rock star, something that everybody can relate to. Can you relate?

Think about it. Everyone has had at least one rock-bottom moment: lost a job, landed in the hospital, went through a breakup, had to borrow money, repeated the cyclebecause not one of us is immune to adversity. And everyone has had at least one rock star moment. Can you remember that one time you got recognized in class, or someone thanked you for your contribution to their life, or you looked back to see your pastor, mentor, or parents smiling at you with pride? You were a rock star, even for just one second. This book is about learning how to take those moments at the bottom, when youre beaten down, exhausted, embarrassed, and cornered, and using them to propel yourself forward, when you get to shine your brightestand not just in your imagination, like when you were a kid and still believed you could be anything (even a rock star).

Today the term rock star has a whole new meaning; it isnt exclusive to someone on a stage holding a mic. You can be a rock star CEO, employee, or moma rock star is anybody who embodies the qualities of success and lives a life that lets them own their own stage. In the tech industry people always talk about the rock star engineer or the rock star coder. On the philanthropy side there are rock star fund-raisers (there are individuals out there raising more money than Bono, on a regular basis). There are rock star advertising execs. You dont need to be a millionaire to be a rock star; you dont need to quit your job. You can start wherever you are, in whatever industry or position youve already chosen. But you have to start now.

One of my friends, James Moorhead, is a great example of a rock star chief marketing officer. He created the brand campaign that reinvigorated Old Spice. Heres a man in his 30s who came up with a totally crazy ideaa half-man, half-horse spokespersonfor an aging brand at Proctor & Gamble with declining sales. Most people would hate working on a project that reminds them of their dads cologne, but James was up for a challenge. He got a team together, came up with the ads and social media strategy, and launched it. The campaign went viral, he won prestigious awards (including an Emmy) for his concept, and Old Spice went from being in the gutter to being a top brand again. This rock star marketer went on to become the chief marketing officer at DISH Network (and currently, Metromile). All of this happened because he believed it could, he committed to it, and took action.

Im living the rock star life, a life that I created, one that I built with my own hands through countless battles. Ive had ups and downs, but Ive always strived to stay true to myself. Ive started many companies over the course of my career and have been running ViSalus for the past twelve years, and even though my trajectory has been upward, that doesnt mean its been easy. Ive personally gone broke starting companies, had to sell companies and then buy them back. I planned an IPO (only to cancel it) and survived the 2008 recession. And in between, I wrote a New York Times best seller, made Time magazines highest paid under 40 list (number five), collected trophies for my documentary, and was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, all while making tens of millions of dollars.

My rules for being a rock star are simple: Rule 1. Dont listen to the noise. Especially in this day and age, any fool with a mobile phone and a social media account thinks hes an expert, so dont listen to useless, negative messaging, and only take advice from those who are qualified to give it. Rule 2. Dont believe your own hype. The moment you start celebrating, youve left the stage. It wasnt celebration that made you a rock star, it was hard work. Remember that. Rule 3. Practice. There will be times where youre going to get rusty, and youre going to ask yourself, can I still do this? You have to get out there, play, rehearse, get feedback from your audience, and modify your performance. Rule 4. Surround yourself with the right musicians. You have to constantly assess the people you choose to hang with. Are they helping you move forward or are they just along for the ride? Are they building you up, or tearing you apart? Ive lost relatives over this. Rule 5. Always remember where you came from.