Harvey Mackay - Job seeking & Business building tips.

Best-selling Author, International Speaker & Business Guru

HARVEY MACKAY

Tips on how to find a job & build a business empire.

My interview with Harvey Mackay teetered between a comedy club gig and two-year stint at Harvard.

The man is totally funny and truly brilliant— an unheard of combination at his level where most tend to take themselves too seriously and lose their edgy wit (if they had any in the first place!).

Born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Mackay’s parents, Jack and Myrtle, played vital roles in teaching him what turned out to be his uberwinning formula for fulfillment and success.

The Mackay family lived a simple life. His father was a hard worker, who during high school got a part time job at the Associated Press and stayed on after graduating from college. He continued working there for 35 years rising through ranks and ethnic prejudices (there were many) to become a senior AP correspondent. Mackay’s mother went the help-the-world-be-a-better-place route from the ground up and became a teacher.

Mackay’s grandparents (on both sides) were immigrants to the U.S. Their inspiration to better their own lives taught Mackay’s parents about survival and success. They instilled those values in their son. To this day, Harvey Mackay keeps the values his parents taught him alive and burning in every speech he gives, and in every book that he writes.

Throughout four years of college at the University of Minnesota (history major) Mackay worked as a salesman for a mens clothing store before heading to Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program. At 26, he started Mackay Envelope Company where he remains as chairman. Today, it is a $100 million company, with 500 employees, manufacturing 25 million envelopes a day.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Mackay also became a newspaper man (among his other “jobs”), and is a columnist for United Feature Syndicate where his weekly business articles appear in 75 newspapers throughout the United States.

“I teach creativity and there is no correlation between IQ and creativity. Every person has the ability to become more creative than they ever thought they could.

Every newspaper column and every book chapter that I write has a ‘Mackay’s Moral’ and I have to come up with thousands of titles out of my head to go with each.

When it comes to titles for my books, I have a brain- storming session with 10 people in a room, look at television, look at magazines—we do all kinds of things to come up with ideas and titles.

For instance Swim with the Sharks; we put up more than 800 titles on a wall. ‘Swim with the Sharks’ was my idea, but I didn’t tell the others; it went up on the wall with the rest. And in the end when everyone voted, they ended up liking my title the best.”

Forget that introverted-type personality that plagues most writers. Mackay is ecstatic about life, and his excitement spills through every word that comes out of his mouth. It’s just plain fun listening to his humorous take on life; at the same time it never leaves your mind for a minute that you are talking with one of the most successful, well- known businessmen on planet earth.

“Practice makes perfect? Not true. Perfect practice makes perfect,” says Mackay. “You can do something time and again and if you don’t know what you’re doing…all you’re doing is perfecting an error and putting a ceiling on how good you can really become.”

The author of six New York Times best-sellers with titles such as, Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive; Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt; Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty, Pushing The Envelope; We Got Fired!…And It’s The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Us —what Mackay has to say changes lives!

His books have sold 10 million copies worldwide, been translated into 37 languages, distributed in 80 countries, and are found in almost every library ever built.

Here we go! Straight from the horse’s mouth—so listen up.

#1 RULE FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

“Build a network of contacts. To achieve success people have to under- stand networking. Every person who reads this can be more successful and happier than they are right now, and make more money if they buy Swim with the Sharks and Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty, and read my newspaper column.

All you have to do is practice those concepts and your life will dramatically change. Regardless of culture or language…the concepts that I write about do not change.

An example: People may think that networking is going to an event and exchanging business cards, hoping they will meet influential people. Nothing is further from the truth.

My father sat me down at age 18 and taught me Rule #1: the importance of the Rolodex. Every person I’ve met or will meet for as long as I live goes in my Rolodex—if I think they are a person I will want to stay in contact with, I put a little bit about them on the back of the Rolodex card and find a creative way to stay in touch.

From now on, every person you meet and want to see again goes in your Rolodex file. Then, keep in touch.” • Mackay has 12,800 names in his.

#1 RULE HOW TO GET A JOB - EVEN IN THIS ECONOMIC SLUMP

“Get out and volunteer. I spend 25% of my life volunteering. My father said, ‘When you meet someone and extend your hand, in your mind say…how can I help this person? What can I do for this person? Extend that thought into the conversation. What can I do for you? And here is the key; expect nothing in return.’

If you do this you will be financially successful and be much happier. It is just beyond comprehension. I learned that at age 21 and it has changed my entire life.

Find a charitable organization that you believe in and join.    Let me tell you what happens when you are looking for a job and volunteering.    Every non-profit needs money; so you’ll have to raise money for them. You’ll have to make calls, ring door bells and make presentations.

You’re getting rejected all the time, but rejection helps you. Helps you get a job, become a better sales person, become a better speaker (able to speak with anyone, any time), become a communicator, become a better leader. And get this: while you are out there donating your time and raising money for your favorite non-profit and looking for a job you are networking; 67% of all jobs come from networking.

When you’re with an organization where 150-200 people know you are looking, you have help finding a job, because each of those people know people. Plus you feel better about yourself. It’s a god send for every person out there.“

What I love, love, love is Mackay gets to the nitty gritty of “you can do it” fast! It’s …do this and you’ll get these results and that’s the deal. PERIOD. What he teaches isn’t rocket science; it’s very simple and understandable changes we all can make that work. And he knows that what he says works because he’s used them all to achieve the success he has today.

“I’ve had the best writing, humor, golf, language, skiing, you name it, coaches to help me. In whatever I want to do, I want a goal with a deadline. I want to focus on that goal. I want to be the best I can be. Whatever my talent, whatever my God-given potential, I can reach it if I have a mentor who teaches me everything that I need to know. And then I go out and spend my life coaching and teaching others to be the best that they can be.“

Mackay even goes so far as putting a ‘money back guarantee’ on the back covers of his books like with his latest, Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You.

If readers follow his advice, and don’t find a job in six months, he’ll give them their money back! Of course, I had to ask the burning question: had anyone ever wanted their money back?    Yes, he said. Over the years, 18 did, but seven were his best friends playing a joke and trying to keep him humble.

Mackay was named one of the top five speakers in the world by Toastmasters International and speaks every year at different universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Wharton School of Business; at Fortune 500-size companies and at tons of associations.

His own volunteer work and generosity is felt by students, nonprofits and organizations around the globe. He has personally mentored around 500 students and young adults, and served on some 20 nonprofit boards. Since he logs more time in the air than on the ground I asked: Do you ever get tired of all the running around, interviews, book signings and non-stop lecturing.

“I love it. Years ago, my friend Larry King said, ‘Harvey, when you get up in the morning, open your eyes, look at the ceiling and say…It’s a gift. It’s agift.’ I’vedoneiteverydaysincehe told me. I’m a very optimistic person. I have no negative friends. Zip.”

The honors Mackay has received probably number in the hundreds, but standouts are his receiving the Horatio Alger Award in the Supreme Court Chambers, being inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame in 2002, playing a key role in bringing the 1992 Super Bowl to Minneapolis, and serving as the catalyst in bringing an NBA franchise (Minnesota Timberwolves) to his home state.

Mackay doesn’t float words around a page to take up space. Each word has meaning. He wants us to succeed. Our successes are his and he happily and generously offers words of wisdom, experience and knowledge to get us to the top. Now, the biggest question: what are you going to do about it?

Suzanne Takowsky
Editor In Chief