#91 Michael Ovitz on the Best Advice Ever for Succeeding In Record Time

Entrepreneur Michael Ovitz went from being a tour guide at Universal Studios in his teens to co-founding the mammoth talent agency CAA that he and his partners built from scratch. Taking bold risks to kick his foot in the door of the industry helped him outshine his peers to get noticed and get ahead. The author of the memoir “Who Is Michael Ovitz?” details his roadmap for success and life lessons learned along the way on this episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu.

Impact Theory is proudly sponsored by:
Skillshare. Start learning on Skillshare today at skillshare.com/impact ButcherBox. Use the discount code: “IMPACT” at butcherbox.com to get 20$ off and FREE BACON Four Sigmatic: Visit foursigmatic.com/impacttheory for 15% off your order Audible; Try Audible Free here: audible.com/impact
SHOW NOTES:
Michael reflects on his upbringing and early interest in the entertainment industry. [3:13]
Michael and Tom discuss the type of work ethic that gets you noticed on your road to success. [8:27]
Michael breaks down some traits and downfalls of successful people. [22:05]
Michael talks about capitalizing on learning opportunities. [28:00]
Michael dives into the art of negotiating. [31:45]
Michael speaks on the importance and power of vulnerability. [37:22]
Michael reflects on the impact he’s had on the world. [40:38]

QUOTES:
“...I had a really strong foundation and I decided there were two paths in life. There was one path which was to just sort of float with it, and there was another path to be aggressive and try to make something of yourself and do something that would put you in a position to be able to do something else, to be able to do something else, to do something else...” [5:24]

“So one had to learn at 17 when to back off, when to try to get more information. For me, information and knowledge were the key to everything.” [9:55]

“Steven Spielberg didn't read a book how to direct. He went out and did it, made some mistakes, made some brilliant things, figured it out, and then just growing and growing and growing. And as, by the way, with most creative people it's trial and error. It's just trial and error. And that's how it was for me. It was no different.” [21:28]

“One doesn't get to a place of success without having made mistakes.” [26:25]

FOLLOW MICHAEL OVITZ:
WEBSITE - https://bit.ly/2PMc9a6
FACEBOOK - https://bit.ly/2D8Mirz
TWITTER - https://bit.ly/2NmIXJS

PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Michael Crichton - https://bit.ly/2xu16Li [26:38]

BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Who Is Michael Ovitz? - https://amzn.to/2OcgE0m [2:25]
Biography of Winston Churchill - https://bit.ly/2MHRm5I [41:23]

COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
CAA - https://bit.ly/2MGNYrP [0:49]