Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Luck and a Winning Attitude
Meyer's messenger job included chauffeuring Paul Kohner, a successful agent who represented stars like John Huston, Billy Wilder, Charles Bronson and Lana Turner. Meyer kept his eyes on the road -- and his ears on the conversations in the backseat. "Paul would have meetings in his car and talk about deals. I learned the business, and got to know a lot of people."Meyer was lucky to work with a good boss -- and he had the brains to make the most of that experience. In nearly six years of driving for Kohner, Meyer became his right-hand man. By that time, though he knew the business, he still had to learn a lot about the process.
He pretended he was an agent and landed a job at über agency William Morris in the TV talent department. After everyone left at night, he would analyze his mentor's deals and figure out how to do them.
By the 1970s, Meyer had built a lot of relationships in the business. His clients included Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner. Clearly, Meyer was becoming a leader in his industry.
He stayed at William Morris for over five years and would happily have stayed longer, but fate intervened when his mentor was fired. That presented an opportunity to start his own operation, Creative Artists Agency. Founded in 1975 with four colleagues from William Morris, CAA became a huge success, representing Hollywood legends like Barbra Streisand, Cher, Madonna, Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise. In the beginning, though, the staff of five struggled -- 18-hour days, seven days a week. They didn't draw any money out of the company for the first two years.
But Meyer had an advantage: Few people knew the business as well as he did, and few were as good with people. He built CAA client by client. He was always networking, attending anything he could get invited to -- parties, dinners, screenings, tapings.
His first major clients included Charlie's Angels Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson. But his big break came when he signed Sylvester Stallone during his Rocky and Rambo years. "Everyone wanted Sly," says Meyer. "It was a big deal to be his agent. That became my entrée to representing people like Michael Douglas, Goldie Hawn and Jessica Lange."
Twenty years later, Meyer was tapped to run Universal Studios, a position far beyond his youthful dream. But once he saw success was possible, he was driven to achieve it. It was important to him, though, that he was trusted and well-thought-of. In looking back, Meyer allows that he's never forgotten his humble beginnings.
Today, colleagues regularly attribute his success -- and theirs -- to his humility and perseverance. It's a level of success that takes a certain tenacity, a certain personality, a certain kind of intelligence, whether it comes from a college education or from the street.
It takes guts to make a choice -- and gumption to stick with it.
AND FYI...
- The Rocky movies: Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III. The underdog boxer, Rocky Balboa, fights to become a "somebody."
- The Success Principles by Jack Canfield with Janet Switzer (Harper-Collins). How to get from where you are to where you want to be.
- The Power of Purpose, by Peter S. Temes. Fear of failure holding you back? Not able to reach your personal and career goals? Try a surprising solution -- help others achieve their goals.
Advertisement 
Your Comments
See all
...
Post your comment