Last week, I finally watched Baz Luhrmann’s recent biopic Elvis.

I’m a huge fan of Australian films and filmmakers, by the way.

In fact, it was my love of Aussie films in the first place that inspired me to leave my job and go travel the Pacific Rim for 6 months back in 1999-2000.

I recently wrote a little about that experience—my first day of the journey, in fact, in this LinkedIn post, in case you’re interested.

But, back to Elvis.

The film, itself, was okay—a bit long for my tastes. I have something of a love/hate thing with Luhrmann and his sensibilities.

For instance, I loved Strictly Ballroom and absolutely hated Moulin Rouge.
(Please don’t come for me, it’s just my opinion. You’re entitled to your own).

I have to admit, though, that once I finished watching Elvis, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole, YouTubing old Elvis footage, fact-checking things that didn’t quite ring true in the movie, and delving into the details of Elvis’ infamous manager Colonel Tom Parker.

His real name was Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, and he was a huckster and self-proclaimed carnival man through and through.

Now, there’s plenty to debate about Elvis, the man, the myth, the legend, and whether he owes his success to black musicians whose music he recorded and from which he profited.

I absolutely think so.

At the same time, however, I also think he was tremendously talented, driven, and far too trusting of the people he relied on to protect him.

While I’ve been thinking about that, I’ve also been thinking even more about the lessons to be learned from his rise and fall.

Here’s what’s been swirling around in my brain ever since watching the film and delving further into ‘the King’s’ story:

• As I always say, you can’t trust anyone, even family, with your money.
  You’ve got to at least keep an eye on what they’re doing with it.
  ​
• It may seem wise to trust a PR expert to shape your image, but if you forget who your audience is in the process, nothing they do is going to save you.​
  ​
• When you do what seems best for your bottom line but forget what’s true to your passion and why, your business will suffer in the end and so will your soul.​
  ​
• All work and no play, makes for a toxic cocktail of stress, bad habits, and no real support system.​
  ​
• Being a maverick means pissing people off, pushing people’s buttons, risking one’s physical and emotional safety, and inspiring tremendous passion, loyalty, and admiration.
  ​It's not for the faint of heart.
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• When people love you, they’re willing to forgive a lot, which is both a blessing and a curse.
  ​
• When people tell you who they are, believe them.

Have you had a similar experience recently where a movie has unexpectedly delivered all kinds of revelations or confirmations about your business and/or life philosophy?

If so, please do share!

Until next week, here’s a list of some of my favorite films (and one mini-series) on or about entrepreneurship (in alphabetical order):
​
​Big Night, Boss (PBS documentary), Chef, Jerry Maguire, Joy, Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker, The Boiler Room, The Founder, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Social Network.

I haven't included all the documentaries and mini-series on cautionary tales of "unicorn" venture capital darlings like WeWorks, Theranos, Uber and their ilk, but they're worth a watch especially if you're interested in understanding how toxic environments are created and perpetuated, a culture that lacks oversight, financial or otherwise, becomes dangerously normalized, and a 'growth at any cost' mindset leads to corruption, deception, and downfall.

PS - In case you missed it, last week I had Money on My Mind and recommended a couple of resources to help out with that.

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