Value

I rented a Hyundai.

They pulled up this eggplant colored piece of shit, with the Coke-bottle flairs over the rear wheels, and I winced. A Hyundai? Wasn't there anything else?

This was it. I had already waited in line for twenty minutes at National where I am supposedly an Emerald member...crock of shit huh!!! This had just come in. Had just been cleaned. There were no other cars even though I had reserved a full size car.

So I got behind the wheel and took off down the expressway.

A thousand miles later, dropping off the car in downtown San Francisco, I regretted parting with it. I debated making an offer for the automobile right there. I'd become enamored of its purple color, had bonded with this machine with absolutely no rattles, great sound insulation, decent handling and phenomenal gas mileage.

That's right, a Hyundai.

I remember the early nineties, when my friend Julie bought one. For less than $5000. A true POS. With a carburetor after everybody had switched to fuel-injection. This rickety machine truly decomposed on the go. Parts were always falling off. It's a wonder she could drive it to the junkyard. Where it went, when its value had been used up, but long before the death of other cars born that year.

And when people started showing up in Santa Fes a decade and a half later, I thought they were just too cheap to buy a CR-V. Or a RAV4. That's how I knew someone was a cheapskate, if they bought a Hyundai. A Korean car?

But that was before Samsung became the new Sony. Before everything we thought we knew turned out to be wrong.

I drove BMWs for ten plus years. They are the ultimate driving machines, or one of them, but not only are repairs ultra-expensive, they're frequent. The purchase price is just the starting price. Budget thousands a year just for maintenance. And, if you read the car magazines, you'll see that they've had numerous problems with their BMW test cars, like engines seizing up. As for Mercedes... Great car, but they don't handle like a BMW. And if you're not looking for that handling finesse, maybe you should consider a...Hyundai?

Happened to me again in Denver. National once again. They were going to give me a HHR. I'd rented a Malibu, not bad, but I'm not gonna drive around Colorado in this miniaturized imitation panel truck from the thirties. No fucking way. Didn't they have anything else?

The clerk winked and said he could offer us a Hyundai...

SOLD!

That Sonata was smaller than the Azera I'd rented the previous fall, but just as lovable. I'm telling you, if my present car got totaled this afternoon, I'd buy a Hyundai. Why waste all that extra money on a shinier nameplate? It's just a car. And, unlike its American counterparts, Hyundai is more than a car, it's like a pet, it's adoptable, you fall in love.

I mention all this because my eyes bugged out when I read the sales reports. Yup, Cash For Clunkers ended, and sales swooned. The right wingers thought the program was a disaster, everybody worried about the future. You see GM's sales dropped 45% from September 2009. Chrysler was down 42.1%. The Japanese superstars? Toyota fell 12.6%. And Honda 20.1%. Granted, Ford only dropped 5.1%, and that's good, but in the entire top ten, only three automakers showed increases. The aforementioned BMW showed a slight uptick, of 3.6%. But the fifth largest automaker, Hyundai, sold 31,511 vehicles, a whopping 27.2% INCREASE! And its Korean brother, Kia, sold 21,623 autos, a 24.4% increase! HOLY SHIT!

Seems the brand is no longer tarnished. People don't think twice about buying a Hyundai. They want something good, at a fair price, and they're flocking to the Korean manufacturers.

What this means is it's never too late for the music industry to regain the hearts and minds of the consumer. But it must offer good products at fair prices.

Instead, the labels have been like GM. Help us out! Do something about file-trading! Meanwhile, the consumer doesn't want this overpriced Top Forty beat-driven crap. Not in quantity.

And concert tickets? I'd say they're at Mercedes-Benz level prices, but they're more akin to the numbers for Ferrari, or Rolls Royce. Maybe U2 and the Eagles can command such high prices, but most people can't afford them. And buying a concert ticket is worse than buying a car. With the Internet, you can now comparison shop for automobiles. The dreaded sales manager routine, the endless rip-off negotiation, has been to a great degree decimated. But who knows what the price of a concert ticket will be until you click through to the final Ticketmaster page. The add-ons are like undercoating and floor mats, shit you don't want that they insist you buy.

And I don't want to hear one more SOB say that lowering prices devalues the product, not one. People aren't resisting Hyundai's because they're too inexpensive. Hell, now Hyundai is marketing the Genesis, an almost as good Lexus/Acura/Infiniti for almost ten grand less.

This is the era of value. Rather than insist that the customer come up to your price point, come down to his. Meet him halfway. Show that there's a partnership, the same way Hyundai agreed to let you return your car if you lost your job. An idea so good, other manufacturers imitated it.

People are hurting. They want entertainment. But they feel priced out by the music industry. And they're sick of being screwed. Time to rebuild.

Are You Nine Tenths Under Water by Pat Melfi

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Interestingly enough today comes with a topic we call "action." When Donald Trump was asked what the first part of oratory was, he answered : "Action"; and what the second was, he answered "Action" and the third, he still answered, "Action".

More men and women have been cheated of their destiny by inaction than by any other cause. And even men and women of mediocre talents have achieved success beyond their dreams by the simple process of harnessing great energies to modest abilities.

For action itself is a form of ability, and the greatest talents are useless without the decision and the drive to launch them and put them over among those we are anxious to reach and impress. You will hear the word "action" frequently repeated in my vocabulary, since action is one of the most important phrases of a successful life and an imperative command for men and women who want to convert their abilities into cash. The time for ACTION is NOW !!! Take a look around us...action wins wars, sells goods, pays divedends, solves labor troubles, stabalizes industry and government, and commands the grudging respect of men and women everywhere who are incapacitated and defeated by the inability to act.

By a show of hands and be honest...how often, in envy of another man or women's success, have you said to yourself, "He or She's got nothing I haven't got"; or even "He or she hasn't got even as much as I do"? Yet, far from being immodest, your conclusions may be demonstrably true; but only demonstration can prove it; and that's something the other man or woman has that you haven't got! They demonstrate while others only dream. The truth is, action must be an integral part of your equipment, or your other qualifications, however exceptional, will receive scant consideration in the market place. If you possess the gift of action, you need not fret too much about your limited endowments.

Man is not the largest physical creature in the world, yet he has dominion over the earth, and all things in it. God gave this dominion to man through Mind and the conscious ability to form ideas. Man, through his imagination and applied acquired knowledge, discovers and explores the physical laws, and harnesses these laws and puts them in service for his comfort and convenience. Everything that men and women create has its origin in Mind.

What is Ability? Ability is the capacity to act, the quality or state of being able. It is the power to perform, whether physical, moral, intellectual or legal. The ability of the average man or woman may be compared to an ice-berg: about nine-tenths of it is under water. Professor William James, the eminent and renowned psychologist, estimated that the average man and woman uses only 10 percent of their real ability, while the other 90 percent is latent. Latent ability is potential power, and can be released by the proper encouragement and the proper treatment. The might and power of ability feeds on its own achievement, and when inspired it permeates the whole consciousness with a synchronized responsiveness and any art, craft, or business is performed efficiently, and enjoyed freely. A superior service is rendered and a larger income is earned.

Let's talk about a way to develop ability! It cannot be developed all at once. It is like building a house. One brick must be laid at a time. Most people want to begin with the house instead of the bricks. Things are not built as a whole, but in parts, and each part must be built. The same principle applies to ability. You must build a little each day.

Here is a challenge I would like to make to you. Develop 3 sentences each day on the improvement of yourself, a profession, craft or business. At the end of 1 year you will have a total of 1100 sentences, and at the end of 4 years enough material to write a book. This can be accomplished in 15 minutes each day...a little built each day is amazing in its results. We are taught in our families, in our civic organizations, in our schools, in our churches to be satisfied with what we have, to want more is wrong. I challenge you to never be satisfied, instead always be grateful for everything around you. I cannot recall anywhere in my research hearing God say you cannot have everything and more of what you desire...as long as you check with me. Did you get that? Check with me...If it is the will of God, and it is, and you have the desire, it will manifest before your very eyes if you apply the knowledge you gain. Oh that word again..."application"....hmmmm!!!

Let's consider that word "application" for a minute. The application of what you know reveals how many things you do not know. Stop here and re-read this...the application of what you know reveals how many things you DO NOT know. But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts of men and women, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Application puts this principle of the the Bible into operation. Application of ability is like steam to a locomotive. It draws into action all the mechanisms and channels it into power.

Another way to develop your ability is to lay down a challenge. In analyzing those individuals who have made a phenomenal success, we find that it was not the result of an elaborate education, or a specialized training. Instead we see most of them had little formal education and none of them were trained for leadership. What then is this big secret behind their success? These individuals had one quality in common--the daring ability to start something. They challenged their own ability. They dared to think for themselves. They determined to do something and rely on their own. Did you get that...rely on their own...it is NOT someone elses reponsibility to apply for your life, it is yours.

Today we have the phenomenal band we call The Eagles. On their last album they laid down some tracks to a very powerful and subliminal message in one of their love songs...........Do Something. With confidence engendered by action, they drew on their own ability to do things others thought impossible, using a love song. They did not know that they could not do it, so they went ahead and did it. A simple love song is entwined with, in my opinion, one of the most powerful phrases one can ever take into their mind....DO SOMETHING! I want to share some of these quality lyrics for your consideration; Everything I believe in has been turned upside down...and now it seems the whole wide world's gone crazy...and when I feel like giving up...and I'm ready to walk away...In the stillness I can hear a voice inside me say DO SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING...it's not too late for saving grace...don't just stand there taking up space....DO SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING...It's not over, no, its never too late to DO SOMETHING.

If you are here today, you know what I am talking about, you have had this stillness being referred to in this song, you have heard the words in your own heads, you have heard the message to DO SOMETHING. Many of my experiences in my life are surrounded by music. My associates one day challenged me to share my attitude with others that need this information. I have always chosen not to do that but then one day, from the most unsuspecting place came a re-acquaintance with an old freind. That freind, Geoff Watson. Many of you here know Geoff. Geoff and I go back 9-10 years now and while our paths were distintively diffent in travel, they had an interesting common denominator. They had ability, they had conviction, they had confidence, they had turmoil, they had failure, they are fascinating, (notice I said fascinating although one may intepret them as depressing...LOL),they had common losses in real estate, in music, in business and even poossibly put threats on our marriages. They had women that truly believed in us even under this level of stress. They saw our characters and held us up, gave us the strength to re-group and apply. Interestingly enough, for the both of us, it included a complete exit from our comfort zones, our careers, our knowingness of what we believed could support our families, raise our children, even give us financial freedom and position us to help our fellow man to do the same. It involved taking a risk at a very "broke" time...Scary huh ??? Geoff and I are truly grateful for what these women had the ability to do and moreso their ability to "take action" when we needed it.

Speaking of getting out of our comfort zone, he the master of the restoration of the renowned Corvette and I the master of Artist promotion and management, the personal development of the creative skill of others...it took something way outside of our comfort zone to achieve financial success and happiness. More than anything, it took courage, the support of others, and more than anything, it took "ACTION". On that note I want to leave you with this thought. The fact that you are here today tells me you may need to hear these last words.

Pasteur, who gave more knowledge for the preservation of health than any other man, was not a physician. Whitney, the man who invented the cotton gin, was a school teacher in Connecticut, far away from the fields of cotton. John D. Rockefeller was a clerk in a produce house. Andrew Carnegie was a bobbin boy. Thomas Edison was a newsboy. Henry Ford was an electrical mechanic. Benjamin Franklin was a printer's apprentice. Morse of telegraphic fame was a portrait painter. Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was a teacher of sound. Eastman, the Kodak king, was a bank clerk. Men and women who blaze new trails, character new routes, pioneer new methods, make new discoveries and invent new things are men and women who dare to do things that can't be done. While others faulter, these men and women go forward. I challenge you to seek and search and things will be revealed, even the innermost things of perfection. Men and women to do not need pull. They need to think. A challenge to dare, an incentive to undertake, and the urge to begin turns most things into a blessing. Those who dare to think stand out in the majesty of their own might.

If you are truly seeking change in your life, take a very close look at what we do. It WILL change your life. In my 35 years of promoting some of the world's biggest bands, I have always acted as my first customer. My conviction has been if it is good enough for me to buy, it is good enough for to sell or promote it. On the other hand, if it is not good enough for me to buy, it is not good enough for me to sell or promote it. Conviction based upon the principle of good is invincible and never fails to convince. It acts with determination and confidence. Convince yourself, and you will convince others and ALWAYS remember God is NOT partial to a fortunate few. His unlimited gifts and riches are free to all. However, there are certain laws that govern them starting with "Action." Take you action now, get with the person who brought you to this space and layout your plan of action.