REAL AF with Andy Frisella - HARRY: An American Success Story, with Andy Frisella - MFCEO279

Episode Date: January 10, 2019

It was the early 1940s, right before World War 2. The suburbs of Chicago. There was a kid - we'll call him "Harry."  He was shy, socially awkward, and a loner. But he powered through 20+ years of struggle, setback, rejection and repeated failure to become a multi-millionaire... and an American icon. His life story provides a blueprint for what the road to success really looks like and what it costs to achieve the life you really want. Listen to this episode to find out who he is & what he can teach you.

I can stack them hundreds to the roof. I ain't stopping till they stack to the moon. Without me, my family wouldn't have food. Anybody go against me, gotta lose. What is up, guys? You're listening to the MFCEO Project. I'm Andy. I'm your host. And this is the motherfucking CEO Project. Guys, we're here. 2019. This is the first podcast of 2019 and I want to start it off directly with a story, okay? And I could get into all the other stuff that we do about paying the fee. If you're a regular listener, you get it. So I'm not going to waste your time. If you don't get it, go back and listen to some other shit. I know you guys are busy getting your stuff done. I'm busy getting my stuff done, so I'm going to get right to it.

And I want to share a story with you guys. It's a story that is 1,000% applicable to your happiness and success, not only in just 2019, but for your whole entire life, okay? And this is part of also a little bit of a project that I've been working on for 2019. I'm sort of giving you a little bit of a preview, but you're going to have to guess if you want to know, because I'm not ready to tell you all about it yet. Anyway, back to the story. This story starts out in the suburbs of Chicago, okay? Right after World War II, in the early 1940s, there was a kid, okay? And we're going to call this kid Harry, all right?

He was short, and the other kids in his elementary school made fun of him. They thought he was a nerd, and you know what? By all accounts, he was a nerd, all right? So a lot of times he'd go out to recess. He'd be by himself when he tried to join the other kids, you know, climbing up the hill and playing games, they'd shove him back down the hill. They'd call him names. They'd make fun of them. Uh, and basically made him feel like, uh, he wasn't good enough to hang with them. All right. This didn't really change for, for Harry as he got older, everybody in his class, according to these people said he was shy. It was hard for him to make friends. He kept to himself. Uh, these people figured that this guy was either going to be some sort of

murder or he was going to end up being a loser. Okay. Um, But something happened to him in high school. He got involved with his high school's radio station. He actually worked up the nerve to become its very first sportscaster and he loved it. All right. He loved it so much that when he got to college, Ripon College in Wisconsin, he decided he needed to do whatever it took to overcome his shyness. He knew that his shyness was a major obstacle to his ultimate success. He knew he had to get more comfortable around people. So he looked over his college course directory and he found courses that he thought would help him to get over what he knew was a handicap for him. And he enrolled in these courses. And one of the courses that he took was acting 101. And you can imagine for someone who's extremely shy,

like I know a lot of you guys are all right that's one of the most common questions that I get how do I get over being an introvert how do I get over my shyness how do I get over the anxiety of talking to other people all right and for guys like this guy Harry and people like you listening this is hard okay Okay. And this acting class, it stretched him out of his comfort zone, but you know what? He loved it. He loved it so much that he became obsessed with acting. He learned every single thing that he could about acting. He took every course. He read every book. It became a literal obsession and he took advantage of every single opportunity that he could to act. In fact, he was so obsessed

with acting that he ended up leaving college. He left the Midwest and he headed to LA to become a full-time voice actor. All right, by this time, it's the mid-1960s. And once he got to LA, he was promised, like a lot of people who just up and moved to LA, a bunch of roles, a bunch of success, the next big thing, but guess what? He didn't get any of it. Just when there seemed to be some sort of hope that his career might gain some momentum he had an encounter with a very well-known very influential director and without intentionally meaning to he offended this guy and seriously pissed him off and guess what that did as a result his resume hit the toilet and the word of mouth because of this incident, because this director

was so influential, his name sunk to the bottom of the hiring list. Basically a black list of people not to work with. Okay. And for the next three years, Harry, all he could end up getting was uncredited roles, which are basically little bits in parts of movies where the role is so unimportant and so insignificant that your name isn't even worth mentioning. And as you know, when they're mentioning the key grip and the key grips assistance and your name doesn't get on the list, it makes you feel pretty fucking bad. All right. But that didn't stop Harry. All right. He kept hustling. He kept working hard and he started to gain some momentum in the late sixties and early seventies. He got small roles in some TV shows that were fairly popular, which, you know, weren't

his dream, but they were better than nothing. And finally, he had a breakthrough, or so he thought. In 1969, a well-respected French director cast him as the lead role in his first American film, and Harry was pumped. And guess what happened? The bigwigs at Columbia Pictures, the people who were producing this film, the executive team, vetoed the decision. They said, you have no experience. They said, you have no future in acting. And imagine being Harry and literally picking up his whole life, moving to a new city, working for years to get that one opportunity that would help launch him, getting it and then

getting it snatched right out from underneath them. Imagine hearing those words. You have no future in acting. Most people at that point, what would they do? They would say, you know what? This isn't for me. You know what? I need to be more realistic. You know what? This is just a pipe dream. And they would have given up. But Harry didn't. He believed in himself. And he was willing to do anything that he could to keep his acting career going. He taught himself carpentry and would take any menial job that he could to pay the bills

and support his family. He auditioned, he worked, he networked as much as he possibly could, and he finally tasted a little more success. He met a young visionary director that impressed him enough that he secured a small part in the top grossing film of 1973. The name of that film was American Graffiti. He sensed the tide was turning and that good things were coming. The problem was good things didn't come for another four years. So Harry continued to work his ass off 24-7

to make ends meet and to give himself a chance to succeed. He kept working the carpentry jobs. He kept doing the small jobs. He kept doing the labor jobs. In fact, he ended up installing a door for Francis Ford Coppola, the legendary director of The Godfather. And I want to emphasize this for you guys. His dream was not to be installing fucking doors and sweeping up shit and doing menial jobs.

This guy's dream was to be an A-list actor. He wasn't there to do someone's bitch work. He was there to be an actor, but he knew what he had to do to keep that dream alive, and he did it. And that impressed Coppola. It led Coppola to cast him in a few minor roles in successful films, which led to more experience on his resume, which is one of the things he got shut down for, and more connections in the movie industry.

And that connection with Coppola eventually led Harry to be reunited with the same young visionary director that he worked with on American Graffiti. That young director hired Harry to be a stand-in for screen tests on a new movie he was working on, a movie that would end up becoming the highest grossing film of all time, a movie that would literally become part of American culture and a worldwide phenomenon to this day. It was a science fiction movie. And even though he was just a stand-in and he was just a quote unquote screen tester, Harry delivered the performance of his life and his charisma lit up the screen and captivated this young director. And you know what that young director's name was?

George Lucas. You know what that movie was? Star Wars. Lucas cast Harry to play the role of a cocky smuggler and space pilot, a kind of galactic cowboy who flew a ship, as you might know, called the Millennium Falcon. And guess what? Now Harrison Ford is known worldwide and will always be known as Han Solo. That was his legendary role

that launched a legendary career in Hollywood. When you think of A-list actors, Harrison Ford has been at the top of that list for 40 fucking years. 40 40 years you've seen him in Blade Runner Patriot Games The Fugitive Air Force One Indiana Jones series but let me tell you and I guarantee you this throughout his career some fucking idiot has said at every single success that Harrison Ford has had and gets paid millions of dollars for, lives in a big fucking house, owns nine fucking airplanes, and some idiot is going to be saying, must be nice.

Because people only see the highlights. People only see the final production. They don't see the 20 years that this man put into this craft. They don't see the hard times. They weren't there for the work. They didn't see him sweat. They didn't see him panic. They didn't see him have nervous breakdowns. They didn't see him installing fucking garage doors. They weren't there cheering him on when he got rejected again and again and again, but refused to quit. All they see are the swanky suits, the red carpet, the popping bottles, the hot bitches, and the fucking big house, big car,

and the airplanes and all the life. But the one thing they aren't seeing, in fact, the one thing they refuse to see, is the entire picture of how success really works. You see, no person reaches ultimate prosperity without taking a shitload of punches to the fucking face. Contrary to what society will tell you, there is no overnight success in the business world or life in general for that matter. You have to pay your dues. Would Harrison Ford, would you even know who Harrison Ford was if he didn't have unshakable confidence in himself? Would you even know his name if he didn't have the grit and the persistence and the drive to push through literally 20 years of doing shit that he hated to find his path in this world?

Most people would have given up when the rug was pulled out from underneath him. The first time, not the 30th time. Most people would give up when the rug was pulled out from underneath them in year one, not year 17 or 18 or 19. Most people have no idea. They think they know, but they don't know the price that has to

be paid. Everyone else would have fucking thrown in the towel when they didn't get the dream role that they thought they were destined for or entitled to, the role they thought they deserved. The average person wouldn't be able to stomach that rejection. It's constant rejection too, guys. Let me tell you that. If you're going to be successful, you better get used to being told no. But that's what makes Harrison Ford and every other successful person, the people you look around and want to be like, truly great. This is what sets him and them apart from all the wannabes, the pretenders, the fakers, the shit talkers, the dreamers, and everybody else in society.

This is what makes them them and what makes you you. He refused to accept less than what he wanted. Did he have to be patient? Yes. Did he have to have grit? Yes. Did he have to be patient? Yes. Did he have to have grit? Yes. Did he have to have determination? Yes.

Did he have to do shit he didn't want to do repeatedly over and over and over again for years at a time? Yes. Did he have to develop thick skin and a strong state of mind? Yes. He did all of that. But what you have to understand is that is the recipe. That is how successful people become successful people. They pay the price other people aren't

willing to pay. And I know you've heard that and I know you've seen that, but do you truly understand what paying your dues means? Because the people that do win, they don't sometimes win. They don't might win. They fucking win. They understand what they have to do. They understand it's going to take time. They understand that they're going to have to do shit that they fucking hate. They get this. It's given. But what they also understand is they're not willing to settle for anything less than what they want. And that's the difference. That's why Harrison Ford is a multimillionaire. That's why you know his name that's why his net worth is now over 230 million dollars that's why he's a Hollywood legend that's why he's Han fucking solo and you aren't right now more than ever every single one of us is bombarded with get rich quick,

overnight success, luck, winning the lottery, all this crazy shit. And you know why we're bombarded with that shit? Because it's sexy. Because it makes us pay attention. Because secretly deep down inside, we hope that we're going to be one of those people. You know why we hope that? Because we want it to be easy. We want it to be easier than it is for us. And let me tell you something, guys. It is never going to be easy, okay? It's never going to be easy. It's never going to be fast. It's never going to be as simple as you thought. It's never going to happen as

quick as you want. But I could tell you this. I wouldn't trade places with one of those motherfuckers that got rich quick or won the lottery or any of that shit. I love the fact that it took me 20 years to get where I am. And you should appreciate that too, because here's the thing. You could take every single thing away from me right now. You you should appreciate that too, because here's the thing. You could take every single thing away from me right now. You could take away my business, take away my house, take away my cars, take away my employees, take away every single, every dollar I have. And guess what I have left? I have the last 20 years of skills. I have the last 20 years of experience. I have the last 20 years of understanding what it takes and nobody could

take that away from me. And that's where you want to be in life because inevitably bad shit is going to happen. You're going to lose a company. You're going to go out of business. You're going to have some sort of circumstance that sets you back and you're going to want to know what to do when that happens. Okay. I would not trade places with anybody on earth because I know what that's worth. You guys have to understand that if you're going to become successful, if you're going to create what you want in 2019 and beyond, you are going to have to understand the concept of three steps forward, two steps back. That shit can't break you. Only you can break you. I still have days to this day and I continue, I will continue to have these days until the day I die. I'm certain of that where I get two steps ahead, three steps ahead and two steps back.

You guys all have the perception that it's all forward progress. You guys look at people who have this, whatever it is that you want and you think it's some mystical force no it's all about what you're willing to do how long you're willing to go how many punches you're willing to take in the face and how many times you're willing to get back up and as cliche as that sounds it's the truth everything you needed to learn about success, you can learn from the movie Rocky. That's the truth. You don't need to buy a fucking course. You don't need to join this thing or do that or this or that or this. Dude, figure out what it is you want to do. Understand it's going to take time. Understand it's going to take

a long fucking time and go fucking do it. It's that simple. So guys, listen here. All right. Whatever it is that you struggle with, you know what that is. You know where your obstacles are. For Harrison Ford, he was shy. He couldn't talk to people. He was an introvert. He was a nerd. He got picked on. What did he do? Most people hide from those things. They try to bury those things in the sand and act like they don't exist.

And a lot of fucking gurus say, play to your strengths, not to your weaknesses. And I agree with that, by the way. But here's the thing. Being shy, being introverted is one of those things that you have to get over if you want to become successful. Okay? And you might not have a critical flaw like that. Maybe you have a little flaw. But I'm going to bet you that if you attacked it instead of hiding from it, you are going to have a much better chance at being successful.

And guys, guess what? Attacking your flaws and addressing your flaws, it's not fun. It's not fun to look in the mirror and say, you know what? I'm a hundred fucking pounds overweight. It's not fun to look in the mirror and say, you know what? I suck with people. You know what? I look in the mirror and I say, oh, you know what? You can't, you're not a good salesman or you're not good at this or that. And it's, it's, it's nature for us to go try other shit, but there's some skills that you cannot succeed without and you know what they are and you have to attack those things. Okay. Harrison Ford didn't hide. He went for every single opportunity he could to improve something that he knew was going to hold him back. And I challenge you in 2019

to figure out what it is about you. You might be shy. You might be terrible at sales. You might be unorganized. It could be a million. You might be fat. Could be a million things. But I challenge you this year to look in the mirror with honest eyes and see what it is the world sees and know what it is everyone else knows and look beyond that and see the shit that nobody sees and see the shit that nobody sees and see the shit that nobody knows and work to fix those issues because come January 1st, 2020, you're going to be ready to attack. You're not going to be sitting there with all these insecurities, all these issues.

There's not a skill that you lack right now that you can't make tremendous improvement on, whether that be a physical thing or a mental thing or a sales skill or interpersonal relations skill. It doesn't matter. If you have no sense of humor, you can learn to be funny in 12 fucking months. I guarantee it. There's nothing that you can't fix in 12 months. And I challenge you this year to take an honest look at yourself and attack the problem versus hiding from it. That's what ultra successful people do. That's what fucking legends do. That's what people do that are worth 230 million fucking dollars and own nine motherfucking airplanes

and are legends of their craft. That's where you want to be.