Weekly Business Insights from Top Ten Business Magazines | Week 312 | Entrepreneurship Section | 1

Extractive summaries and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Since September 2017 | Week 312 | September 1-7, 2023

Three Things My Friend Jimmy Buffett Taught Me About Life and Business 

By Howard Tullman | Inc Magazine | September 5, 2023

Extractive Summary of the Article | Listen

The author shared about his friend’s Jimmy Buffett who was as talented an entrepreneur as he was a musician, author, sailor, and aviator. He never forgot about keeping successes and failures in perspective.  Three most important things that Jimmy shared with him over several projects and many years are:

1. Your work is what you do, not who you are.  It’s difficult for any new business builder to separate himself from the business.  But maintaining a healthy distance between what you do and your own identity and self-worth is crucial to your mental health.  No one’s “happy-go-lucky” all the time–it’s not part of the human condition. Performers face a far more immediate and regular test of their efforts every time they cut a record, perform, write something, or offer new material to the world because the world–especially these days–is a picky and nasty place. When he faced criticism, complaints, and even outright rejection or disappointment, Jimmy always took a step back and said that he could only do his best and that, as long as he did that, he could live with whatever came after. Success is fleeting, but excellence is forever. His work was a wonderful part of his life, but making a living was only a part of making a life worth living.
2. Take your work seriously, but not yourself.  It’s easy as an entrepreneur to convince yourself that the weight of the world is on your shoulders. An entrepreneur needs plenty of self-confidence, but that power and passion need to be tempered from time to time with some self-awareness as well.  Jimmy could always laugh at himself. He’d sometimes catch himself pressing a little too hard, lecturing out loud, or even pontificating, and–full stop–he’d just shut up and shake his head and say: “Where’d I go wrong?” or “Who is this guy anyway?” He knew he could get caught up in the work and in the moment, and he would never compromise the take or the music or the project. But he’d often take himself to task, take a short break and a mental reset, and then come back–a little sheepishly–and hit things twice as hard.  He knew that, from time to time, the person most likely to get in the way of moving things forward was Jimmy Buffett, and he always kept an eye out for times when he thought he was getting too full of himself or ahead of the game.
3. Never expect to get what you give–not everyone’s heart is as big as yours.  According to the author he is not sure that Jimmy ever got enough credit for his charitable work–not just the music appearances at all the big-deal group events over the years–but the gestures and the sleeves-rolled-up time he devoted quietly to a number of causes, people, and charities that were personally near and dear to his heart. But–unsurprisingly–not everyone else in these ventures lived up to their end of the bargain, delivered on their promises, or even showed up when they said they would. What was completely amazing to him was how he never let these disappointments get him down, interfere with what he needed to do, or even break his belief that most of the people out there were solid citizens, well-intentioned, generous, and willing to help others in need. It would have been so easy to get angry, to hold a grudge, or to say, along with the Who, “We won’t get fooled again” and walk away. But he never did. He didn’t measure, he didn’t compete, he didn’t lose his faith, and he never stopped giving back. He did everything he could, never expected anything in return, and never tried to impose his contributions and commitments on others.

2 key takeaways from the article

1. The author shared about his friend’s Jimmy Buffett who was as talented an entrepreneur as he was a musician, author, sailor, and aviator. He never forgot about keeping successes and failures in perspective.  
2. Three most important things that Jimmy shared with him over several projects and many years are:  your work is what you do, not who you are; take your work seriously, but not yourself; and never expect to get what you give–not everyone’s heart is as big as yours.

Full Article

(Copyrights lies with the publisher)

Topics:  Leadership, Entrepreneurship