“The only thing standing between you and your dream is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” Yes, the legendary Jordon Belfort and his money making brain child Stratton Oakmont gave us some lifesaving lessons from business, entrepreneurship to sales. Talk about learning how the real corporate world looks like then this is the movie you need to watch. There’s so much to grasp from this rich film that one can’t ignore any of its parts, not even the time when Belfort faces his downfall or as the critiques say, gets too engulfed in his life of greed and debauchery.
Every time you watch this Martin Scorsese film you find a teacher in Jordan Belfort and Stratton Oakmont.
- It never starts easy:
For even Jordan Belfort, the start was rough as he loses his job on Wall Street when his company was shut down. He was just another stock broker selling his penny stocks in pink. However, once his aggressive selling skills and persistent nature got him into making a small fortune and starting Stratton Oakmont with Donnie, he was set to lead the path for many others. Something we are not taught otherwise but Jordan showed us how you don’t necessarily have to win from the start.
- You are what you sell:
If Jordan was stockbroker, he looked, lived and talked like one and that is what he taught to people he later joined his team.
“Act as if! Act as if you’re a wealthy man, rich already, and then you’ll surely become rich. Act as if you have unmatched confidence and then people will surely have confidence in you. Act as if you have unmatched experience and then people will follow your advice. And act as if you are already a tremendous success, and as sure as I stand here today – you will become successful.”
Selling yourself first was the key to succeed in Stratton Oakmont, Belfort trained people either illiterate or from colleges that are never considered to produce bright, lot. After joining Stratton Oakmont, the employees were not just supposed to make money looking like a bunch of salesmen but professional. They would even challenge students from esteemed colleges, students from which are known to make big bucks and live a luxurious life.
- Keep your eyes open:
If Belfort was just another stock broker just selling his stocks without knowing what his weak points were, he would have failed badly in a short time. Now you would say, he did fail after all but you should realize it was when he was too blinded by his obsessive use of Quaalude. Before that, Belfort was always trying to resolve whatever gave him a headache.
- Knack to Sell:
It was not in Belfort’s nature to take no for an answer and hence the reason he was the unbeatable guru of sales. This is how he trained his people too, never to hang up until you have seized the day. He knew where to hit and when to hit and just then he would come up with something unique and pitch his filthy rich market.
- Lead from within:
There are leaders that stand and front as they pass orders, not knowing what happens beneath their nose and then there are leaders like Belfort. This was the biggest example set by him, by leading in a way that you take everyone along. Keeping people under you happy is very important for any business to excel.
- Even Sky is not the limit:
If you are willing to move forward in life and set out on a path to success and money, then you need to clear out ambiguities like limits and boundaries. Most people give up on their dreams by caging themselves in assumed boundaries when they can actually turn them into realities. All you need to do is work the Belfort way and stop making these beliefs a hindrance to achieving what you want.
- Value people to persuade:
What’s Belfort’s idea to win people, stocks or just about anything? It is as simple as showing that you value people by persuading them to believe that. While most people entering into the corporate world, think the key is making money; well, they are not so right there as that’s where they go wrong. Anywhere you go you’ll have to work along with people and the best way to climb the ladder is to keep them with you and by showing them you care.
- Value your values:
When it comes to building up an empire that is always functioning with the same efficiency and be as productive then it should keep its values intact. While most people argue that Belfort is not the example you should be giving for people who are particular about their values but the thing is Belfort is quite the man. His core values were make money while staying a class apart and he pretty much achieved that.
- Trust the Trustworthy:
When it came to choosing his no. 2 Stratton Oakmont it was definitely someone he has known since the start. Yes, Donnie was the man saving him when he was getting off track. He trusted him and Kenny for he knew everything about him and this trust eventually lead them to winning bigger stocks.
- Be Realistic:
Let’s just not turn a blind eye to what happened to Belfort in the end. Yes, while it truly is acceptable to dream big and go about chasing them but one should stick to reality too. The drugged, corroded version of reality Belfort was viewing at the time of his downfall resulted in drowning his ship.
This is a guest post from Barney Whistance, who is a passionate Finance, Heavy Machinery and Lifestyle blogger who loves to write about prevailing Trends. You can find him using Twitter and LinkedIn.
