Rich people associate with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.
My grandfather was a persuasive man who made friends with people at every level of influence. In order to fight against our tribe's termination, he went to newspapers and politicians and urged them to advocate for our tribe in Washington. He also supported his family through the Depression as a truck farmer.
You meet rich people and you hang around with them, and one night they've had a few drinks and they say 'I'll buy it!' Then they tell their friends, 'You must have this person's work, darling,' and that's all you need. That's all it takes. Get it?
If you are going to be successful, you have to start hanging out with the successful people.
The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people.
Instead of squirreling away your earnings early in your career, spend on experiences that will enrich your life - like diving with great white sharks. It can expose you to influential people who could open doors for you.
The result of being a Kennedy is that I have extraordinary opportunities that I wouldn't otherwise have.
Every relationship in your organization will affect you one way or another. Those who do not increase you will inevitably decrease you.
I've been very, very lucky in my career, in my life - from day one. When aspiring directors say, 'What's your advice?' first I say, 'Be born the son of a famous director. It's invaluable.'
Both JFK and George W. Bush were the sons of wealthy U.S. ambassadors and thus privileged to meet distinguished figures, to travel, and to see the world and think about its problems if they chose.
I have been privileged to work for some of the most high-powered people in town. They pay me for my opinions, and I give those to them.
Certainly political capital-slash-celebrity attention, whatever you want to call it, certainly is part of the reason why I've been reaching out to CEOs. There's a lot of folks who probably would have taken a call from me before but are even more inclined now and are interested in what we're doing because of all the attention.
At Harvard, people like to impart the idea that you are a mover and shaker.
When I was young, anywhere I would go in Germany, I would see my father's posters. Everyone knew about him. And he had many friends who were artists who were also quite famous. So, for me, it seemed very natural to be an artist and be known.
Don't count the people that you reach, reach the people who count
The members of the legislative department . . . are numerous. They are distributed and dwell among the people at large. Their connections of blood, of friendship, and of acquaintance embrace a great proportion of the most influential part of the society . . . they are more immediately the confidential guardians of their rights and liberties.
I knew I wanted to work in television because some friends of mine, when I went to high school - their fathers worked for, as a matter of fact, for NBC Sports at the time.
It's always a good idea to get yourself a famous, rich, and groovy young man. That's one of the best-known methods of furthering your career.
A talented executive would be somebody who knows how to surround themselves with a lot of people that will make him look good. You could say that about a politician or you could say that about a head of a major corporation or what have you. The people you surround yourself with it's very important.
