I spent Friday in the recording studio reading my forthcoming book “Buying Trances”. I came home exhausted but eager to review my email and work on a new project or two.
But my computer refused to let me in.
It didn’t recognize me.
I took it as a sign to take the day off.
But the computer won’t work today either.
My tech genius came out and declared Windows corrupted my user identity. It will need major surgery to fix. He left with my baby. I’m typing this on my Blackberry.
What’s happening here?
Last weekend’s Zero Limits event turned me inside out. I’ve been processing it all week. Apparently I still am.
Even my computer doesn’t recognize the new me.
Ao Akua
** Sent via Wireless E-Mail with Blackberry **
(I could be anywhere) 🙂
See that breathtaking picture?
At one point that was going to be our new living room.
That’s a shot inside Pickfair, the mansion once owned by the founding father and mother of Hollywood.
The gold framed picture is a signed photo of forgotten silent film star Mary Pickford. It’s in my private collection.
The smiling picture is also of Mary Pickford, taken in 1929.
This other picture is of a rare old Chinese made cigar humidor once owned by Mary. I won it in the recent Pickford estate auction. It arrived today.
Why do I sometimes collect Mary Pickford items?
At one point I thought I was going to write a book about Mary and her lost business secrets, much as I’ve done for circus showman P.T. Barnum in There’s a Customer Born Every Minute and BBDO ad genius Bruce Barton in The Seven Lost Secrets of Success.
I may yet do it, too.
Mary Pickford was America’s Sweetheart, capturing the imagination of the public as “Little Mary,” the teenager with spunk, in countless silent films in the early 1900s. She was charming, big eyed and perky.
She married famous swashbuckler Douglas Fairbanks, and with slapstick king Charlie Chaplin and director D.W. Griffith, they formed United Artists. It was the first movie production company run by people who acted and directed. Mary and her team were the founders of Hollywood.
Pickford and Fairbanks were a world famous couple and the closest thing to royalty that era had ever seen.
Their famous estate in Beverly Hills, called Pickfair, went on the market a few years ago and I almost bought it.
Today, Pickfair stands as a majestic Venetian mansion with high ceilings, ballroom size living room, formal dinning room, master bedroom suite and three family bedroom suites, sweeping balconies, indoor spa and Jacuzzi with dome glass ceiling, massage room, hair salon, gym, disco, state-of-the-art 35mm theater, guest quarters featuring a three bedroom apartment, security guard offices and subterranean parking for additional 15 vehicles.
The original swimming pool remains as the showpiece of this 2.7 acres site that overlooks the magnificent views of Beverly Hills, the Pacific Ocean, Santa Monica Mountains, and the skylines of Century City and Los Angeles.
Just walking room to room in Mary’s old castle would be a workout.
I’ll settle for her humidor today.
But someone really needs to write about her as a strong business woman.
Mary died sad, lonely, alcoholic and virtually forgotten.
Yet her business genius helped create an empire. We can learn from that. And her.
Too many greats like Mary Pickford fall through the cracks of history, and we miss out on their insights and secrets to business success.
“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford (1892 – 1979)
Ao Akua,
Joe
www.mrfire.com
PS — You can learn about her at www.marypickford.com/ Thank you.
I’m wiped from the weekend into bliss.
It was the world’s first Zero Limits event with Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len and myself talking about cleansing the unconscious memories we all share so we can receive Inspiration.
The entire event went way beyond even the forthcoming book, Zero Limits.
I’m at a loss at how to explain the weekend.
For one thing, putting words to it will limit it.
For another, it was entirely experiential.
People who have been around the block in terms of personal growth, self-improvement, and spiritual work, found the weekend to be the deepest work they had ever experienced.
One man released bottled up rage. Of course, the way Zero Limits work, is that as he releases it, so do the rest of us. Little pockets of volcanoes went off in the room as he shared how he used the tools Dr. Hew Len taught us to cleanse his own being.
Again, the event went beyond all understanding.
The good news for you is that we filmed and recorded the entire seminar. When the audios and DVDs are available, I’ll let you know.
If you want to know when the next Zero Limits event will be — and there’s no guarantee there will ever be one again, as Dr. Hew Len is up in age and (as he says) would rather sit at home and grow old — send a blank email to [email protected]
Ao Akua,
PS — Everyone who attended the event received an advance rough copy of the next Subliminal Manifestation DVD created by Mark Ryan and myself. This one focuses on sales. The first one is on love and forgiveness. Both are based in the teachings of Dr. Hew Len and Zero Limits. We sure live in exciting times.