What inspires me

In my journey to where I am today several people and objects (books, video’s, photo’s etc…) have inspired me in many ways. I don’t think I can list them all. But I have chosen some to be listed below. They are not in any order.

The coolest guy ever!

As a young man I didn’t know how to be cool, until I watched Steve Mcqueen movies. I still cannot explain what being ‘cool’ means. But when it come to Steve Mcqueen – he is the daddy of ‘cool’ . The way he walks talks, smiles, rides a motor bike or drives a car – all epitomises coolness. Did you know in the film Le Mans, Steve McQueen, himself a championship racer, did most of his own driving on the harrowing 8.5 mile Le Mans course – often at speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour.

 

My favourite modern day philosopher!

So insightfully absurd about human life, no wonder he has Stephen Hawking as a fan. When it comes to God, I believe he understands the will of the creator better than anybody else.

Here are some of his brilliant stuff:

“What’s the big deal about going to some building every Sunday, I mean, isn’t God everywhere?”

“Don’t you think the almighty has better things to worry about than where one little guy spends one measly hour of his week?”

“And what if we’ve picked the wrong religion? Every week we’re just making God madder and madder?”

 

Personality is everything

Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (the one and only Peter Sellers)- How can a bumbling and incompetent police inspector, constantly causing chaos and destruction behind him be an inspiration to me?

I have watched the entire series hundreds of times and I laugh more and more. I am never tired of it.

Regardless of his limited ability (he is aware of his limited ability as he gets embarrased by his clumsiness and quickly pretend it was intentional by saying  ” I know that”..) he forces himself to look elegant and in the process causes massive calamity and eventually  solves his cases and finds the correct culprits, even if this success is achieved entirely by accident. He is the master of disrupting everyones natural rythem by creating chaos and mayhem and there by getting them to reveal their true identity.

The King

Sir Issac Vivian Richards transcended boundaries by which even greatness in measured. As a young man he was everything I wanted to be – macho, muscular, with superior focus and confidence. A true gladiator with a swagger that sent shivers down the spine of the opposing team.

Even great fast bowlers like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram regard him as the best batsman they ever bowled to.

Richards was chosen by Wisden as the greatest ODI batsman of all time, as well as the third greatest Test batsman of all time, after Sir Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar.

Direct Response Marketing

I have read and studied several classic books on Direct Response Marketing by legends such as ..Jay Abraham, Drayton Bird, John Caples,Robert Collier,Clayton Makepeace,Ken McCarthy,Gary Bencivenga,Robert W. Bly,John Carlton,Gary Halbert, Eugene Schwartz …

But the only person who made me really understand the power of words to influence was Ted Nicholas. At age 21, with $800 in savings and $96,000 in debts, Ted started his first company. It was called Peterson’s House of Fudge. He sold homemade candies and ice cream. The business was immediately successful. Within a few years he had a chain of 30 stores.

At age 29, Ted was voted one of the 50 best and most successful business people in America. As a consequence he was invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States.He founded and sold 21 successful companies. During his career, working in 47 different industries, Ted sold over 7 billion dollars worth of products and services.

I am privileged to have learned Direct Response Marketing from this legend.

My Teachers

I never expected my kids to be my greatest teachers. Every day they teach me about living spontaneously and enjoying life’s simple pleasures.The enthusiasm with which they start every day puts me to shame. Creativity for them is doing it their way. When things go wrong …they just move on.

How true when the poet William Stafford eloquently said..Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music.

+ Ravi Peal-Shankar