Bloodclot Films wouldn’t be what it is today if I didn’t have my contacts.
All (smart) CEOs a list of contacts for any given thing.
Being a (smart) CEO, and not being a bozo, I am no exception to this rule. People know me as a man who can get things.
I consider myself to be the brain-child of Frank Abagnale Jr.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been gifted with chutzpah (Yiddish slang word meaning “shameless audacity” or “impudence”) at birth. When I walk into a room, I don’t make eye contact with anybody. Rather, I walk directly to my intended location with absolutely no regard for anyone around me.
In so doing, I command ownership of any given room, dominating it singlehandedly. Anybody co-habiting a room with me is essentially a guest, even if it’s in their own home.
If you say anything with complete confidence, anybody will believe you as long as you believe yourself. This sounds cheesy, but I’m deadly serious.
Countless times in my life, I walk right past restricted section barriers with total confidence, and nobody’s questioned me. My key is looking like you know exactly where you’re going, even if you’re entirely out of your element.
Have your eyes locked on a goal somewhere in front of you, and don’t break stride for anybody. If you see someone in your peripherals who is clearly baffled by your presence in an area restricted to employees only, don’t turn to look. The second you break stride or make eye contact with anyone, the jig is up. People who know where they’re going don’t stop to gain approval from strangers; they go where they want and tell everybody else to shove it.
One time, on a business trip to Alberta, Canada, I went inside this fancy 5-star hotel to check out just how fancy it looked, even though I was actually posted up in a Super-8 motel down the road in the bad part of town.
Some areas of the hotel were open to tourists who wanted to look around, but most of the hotel was blocked off with those velvet ropes and signs that read “GUESTS ONLY.”
Yeah, that wasn’t quite going to work for me.
I walked up, unhooked the rope, and waltzed right through. There were 2 men in suits standing in front of the velvet rope on either side. I didn’t make eye contact with either of them (which is a really rude move, but yields tremendous results), and neither said anything to me except, “have a good day, sir.”
That’s all you need to do.
What’s the worst that could happen if things were to stray from the intended plan? Irrelevant.
Do as I say and things will always go according to plan.
If you have a Plan B, your Plan A won’t work. You can’t have a backup. You can’t have a fail-safe.
Improvisation is the key to freedom.
Unlock the door.
Until next time,
Michael J. Erickson, CEO & Co-Founder
