If you watch Entourage, you’re probably already laughing. If you don’t, next time you’re about to start whacking it, don’t, and go watch it instead. The show is about Vince Chase, a popular actor managed by Ari Gold. Ari, based on real life talent agent Ari Emanuel, is the epitome of a great businessman, and here’s why:

• His attitude: He’s a great salesman, and he can persuade people to do whatever he wants them to do. Drawing people in and convincing them that you’re right is an essential business skill that you must have.
• He’s ruthless: He’s willing to do whatever has to be done, be it lying, cheating, or screwing people over. So long as the job gets done, he’s happy in the end. This is another important skill to have because you have to know when to stop looking after everyone else and start looking after yourself.
• He’s relentless: If he wants something done, he’ll find a way to get it done. When it looks like every possibility has been exhausted, he’ll find some other ridiculous way of getting what he wants. There was a recent episode where he wanted his son to get into a private school that wouldn’t accept him. He found the principal and kept talking until he was almost thrown out, he tracked down someone on the school board to find out why his son wasn’t accepted, he offered to bribe the school, and when all that failed, he found out where the principal lived, showed up to his house, and offered to give the principal’s son a high paying job at his talent agency. His son was then accepted into the school. If you want something bad enough, there is always a way to get it.
• He’s conniving: He goes behind people’s backs, makes under the table deals, blackmails people, tricks people, and does whatever has to be done. He’ll lie about anything as long as it gets the job done and he makes his money. While I’m not saying you should throw out your morals, you do need to know that making the big bucks does involve a level of “foul play” and if you’re not comfortable with doing things that aren’t 100% ethical, you’ll have a harder time succeeding in most fields.

If you’ve never seen Entourage, you’re probably thinking “wow, he sounds like a total asshole.” Continue Reading »