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What “The Wolf” says about ethics and morality

29 October 2010 Gareth Stokes
Gareth Stokes, FAnews Online Editor

Gareth Stokes, FAnews Online Editor

The website widipedia.org says the title Wolf of Wall Street originally belonged to a conman named David Lamar. Lamar preyed on Wall Street investors in the early 1900s… The modern day Wolf of Wall Street claimed the title after a being indicted for secur

What kind of a man is Jordan Belfort? One way to find out is to grab a copy of his best-selling book titled The Wolf of Wall Street, which documents his rise and fall. But FAnews took a more direct route after CIB Insurance invited us to a “live” Jordan Belfort presentation. Belfort’s opening words say it all: “I’ve lived the most insane life on the f***ing planet.” He’s sampled the excesses of wealth and success – and endured the hardships which resulted form turning his back on ethics and morality. At one stage Belfort was taking a cocktail of 22 different drugs – enough “to sedate Johannesburg,” he joked. And he got the audience rolling when he suggested – given his history – he should look like Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones

No such thing as too much money

At the height of his broking career Belfort employed 1000 brokers, generated net profit in the region of $1 million per week, owned a private jet and 170-foot yacht and boasted 22 “servants”. This 25-year old was worth around $100 million. He tells us about the first really big deal, for which he netted $650 000. To celebrate he bought a white – yes white – Ferrari. His reason – he’d seen Don Johnson drive one in Miami Vice. How did he achieve his success?

Setting aside the issues of ethics and morality for now, Belfort identified the two qualities he used to grow his business so quickly. First – he found an untapped niche in Wall Street. The typical “penny stock” boiler room had focussed on middle-income Americans. Stratton Oakmont focused on the top 1% of wealthy Americans. Second – he developed a system of persuasion and influence (known as The Straight Line) which enabled anyone to become a world class closer! He trained his brokers to use this system with spectacular success.

The secrets of success

Nowadays Belfort rubs shoulders with chief executives and wealthy entrepreneurs as he teaches the “art of closing” at boot camps around the world. “When I sit next to an extremely wealthy person I want to find out the secret of their success,” he said.

After applying his mind to their various responses, Belfort identified three reasons people fail to achieve success at the highest level. He counted them down from three to one…

Reason Three: We spend too much time in a state of overwhelm. When you start a business there’s so much to do you cannot decide what to do first. “If you’re overwhelmed you tend to shut down and do nothing – so you want to figure out how to get out of this state of confusion and into a state of clarity!”

Reason two: People don’t know their “why” in life. If you don’t know why you’re doing something the motivation is never 100% there. And it shouldn’t be about the money only. You need to engender a powerful why incorporating family, community and filling up your soul…

Reason One: We don’t know how to sell and market. “People aren’t natural closers – they do anything but!” opined Belfort. The truth is selling is everything in life. And the idea behind ethical persuasion is to “sell” in a way that empowers other people and helps them make good decisions, while still getting what you want in life.

Building an entrepreneurial belief

“We act on things we believe,” said Belfort, “we concentrate on what we’re good at and shy away from things we don’t believe we’re good at!” He believed in his entrepreneurial ability from an early age... He had a successful newspaper route at age eight (his mom forced him to retire when he turned 10) and he was making $700 a week selling ice-creams in New York at age 16. And when he quit dentistry school (after just one day) he auctioned $3 000 worth of dentistry equipment.

After “quitting” dentist school he joined a meat company as a salesperson. He shattered the company sales record on its first day – and after a couple of weeks decided to start his own business. By the time he was 22-years old his business had 26 trucks – he was making money hand over fist – and bought his first Porsche. But his business was built on credit – collapsing after the first sales volume hiccup! “I took that punch – for a day or two I was a bit negative – and then I heard a story that changed everything,” said Belfort. He heard about a kid in his neighbourhood – an average guy – who (in 1986) was making $1 million a year on Wall Street. And that’s where The Wolf of Wall Street story kicks into high gear!

Editor’s thoughts: South Africa is awash with “dirty” money. We’re confronted daily with scams and schemes where smooth-talking salespeople con hardworking (but greedy) individuals out of their life savings. Belfort seems to have learnt his lesson… He’s done his time and is now travelling the world spreading the message of ethics and morality in sales. Can you make quick money without sacrificing ethics and morals? Add your comment below, or send it to gareth@fanews.co.za

Comments

Added by Bidnis Man, 03 Nov 2010
Strange that it always greedy people who get nabbed by the con artists...it is almost like the two deserve each other! Everybody has a 'little greedy person' inside them - it is both the client's and financial planner's job to protect the client from greed. Returns should almost never be viewed with a higher ranking than isk.
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