Lessons For Success From 'Boiler Room'
“The Notorious BIG said it best: ‘Either you’re slinging crack-rock, or you’ve got a wicked jump-shot.’ Nobody wants to work for it any more. There’s no honor in taking that after school job at Mickey D’s…honor’s in the dollar, kid. So I went the white boy way of slinging crack-rock: I became a stock broker.”
This epilogue to the acclaimed hit movie Boiler Room says it all. Being a stockbroker in the late 1990’s was unquestionably one of the most iconic and coveted investment careers the alpha male could pursue. The stock market was soaring on technology and Internet stocks, IPO’s were all the rage, and the sky was the limit for stock prices (and the brokers who sold them).
Like the housing bubble of 2008, the “dot-com” bubble of the late 1990's eventually burst, precipitating the demise of the stockbroker (as we knew it). While boiler rooms are a business model of the past and stockbrokers are no longer the epitome of the alpha male, the underlying philosophies they thrived on for so long need not be forgotten for anyone looking for success in any time period.
Act As If
“There’s an important phrase we use here, and I think it’s time that you all learned it. Act as if. You understand what that means?”
We have all encountered that one individual that really isn’t the smartest person in the room, nor the most attractive, and definitely not the wealthiest. Yet in spite of this, they have everybody convinced that they are…including themselves.
They understand that the body will follow what the mind believes and that the hardest person to convince of the supposed reality of a certain situation is in fact yourself. Convince yourself that you are who (or what) you aspire to be and the rest is easy.
Act as if you got the job you’re interviewing for. Act as if you are the CEO of the company. Act as if you are a millionaire. Act as if you are the best lover there is. Act as if you are confident. Confidence and self-belief are the key drivers of success in any profession.
Motion creates emotion
“Get off your ass! Move around. Motion creates emotion.”
Sure you can reply to that email in 30 seconds, but why not walk across the office to speak with the sender instead? Feeling tired? Don’t lie in bed, get off your ass, sweat it out, and make yourself feel good. If you see a hot guy at the bar that you want to talk to, go over there and talk to him. What’s the worst that could happen?
In physics, this concept is called inertia: the tendency of an object in motion to stay in motion.
You need to be alert and conscious of finding opportunities where you least expect them, and then taking these opportunities to keep your momentum constantly increasing. The betas of society are comfortable, complacent, and easily replaceable whereas the alphas of the world are inspirational and relentless.
Alphas understand that if you wait for things to happen they never will happen. The only way you are going to get where you want to go, have what you want to have, and feel the way you want to feel is if you go out there and do it for yourself.
Always Be Closing
“You have to be closing all the time. There’s no such thing as a no sell call. Either you sell the client some stock or he sells you a reason he can’t. Either way, a sale is made. The only question is: who is going to close? You or him?”
The alphas of society say what they say and do what they do because they have one goal in mind -- getting one step closer to closing the deal. This doesn’t just pertain to business deals, it pertains to practically anything; a deal is an opportunity and you are your own broker.
Your job is to go out there and sell yourself every chance you get. Sell yourself as an employee. Sell yourself as a lover. Sell yourself as whatever, I don’t care...just sell! Give your prospects (employer, boss, hot guy at the bar, girl you’ve been dating for awhile, etc) every logical and emotional reason to invest in you and no reasons to do the contrary. If you can do this, I promise you will get that job, or that promotion, and you will get that guy to ask you on a date.
Heck, you can probably get the “good girl” you know to f*ck you on the first date.
Stockbrokers of the late 1990’s embraced the alpha mentality in order to succeed and you should do the same. Opportunities come your way everyday and although you may fail sometimes, it is important to remember that any opportunity is a good opportunity.
As Seth Davis would say, “The only people making money passing are NFL quarterbacks and I don’t see a number on your back.”
Nicole Tarantino | Elite.
