Bill Gates is not an educated man, as he is a college drop-out. So, how did he become the richest man in the world without formal education? Talent, my boy, talent. Gifted, my boy, gifted. There are some people who have the God-given talent, that nobody can or does teach them, and I'll give a couple of examples;
John Wooden: U.C.L.A. basketball coach;
If I had a hero, it would be John Wooden, the basketball coach of U.C.L.A. I was awed, when U.C.L.A came to Albuquerque to participate in the quarter-finals at the newly-built 'Pit' (University Arena) at the University of New Mexico. I'll never forget when the UCLA team took the floor that day.
I think winning the Basketball Tournament in March is the most difficult to do among outher sports, because there are over 300 teams who are eligible to compete from the start of the basketball season. And, for John Wooden to win 10 National Titles, and seven in a row, is mind-boggleing. How did he do it? Over many years, other coaches tried to figure out his winning ways, and I think they all came up empty.
I think I have the answer: quickness of his players;
John Wooden had the God-given talent to pick out quickness in a player. In almost any sport you can think of...quickness wins. John Wooden won with big and tall teams; short and fast teams; black teams; white teams and a combination of talent. John Wooden had such a talent for picking players with quickness, that he probable rejected most players on recruiting trips.
I think the best basketball player ever, was Magic Johnson...even better than Michael Jordan and all the rest of them. Why? Because of his quickness. Magic Johnson was not a small man...yet he played a small man's position as a guard in the NBA. At 6' 9" tall, Magic Johnson could and did play as a guard...and as a small forward. He was a combination plate of talent. He could wizz that ball around the court, and score at will, because of his quickness over the likes of Michael Jordon and Larry Byrd, etc.
There's a big difference between 'fast' and 'quick.' Fast players are a dime a dozen; but, quick players are rare, and takes that special eye to find them. John Wooden had that eye to find the quickest players in the land, and that's why he won so many titles. Opposing teams, didn't dare run against UCLA, for it would be a death sentence and a loss for sure. Opposing teams usually slowed the game down when they played UCLA...and for good reason;
R.K. Rowling; author of the Harry Potter series;
I have to admit, that I have never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie. But, here is another woman, with that God-given talent, that nobody can teach her. This is a rags to riches story, about, through her writing and incredible imagination and style, she became one of the richest woman in the world, in such a short time. Just like John Wodden is gifted...this woman is gifted as well. R. K. Rowling got rejected several times, but, I saw the interview with her agent.
He said, that when he saw her writings, he had finally found that 'diamond in the rough' he had been looking for.
Bill Gates is the same way, as he has that God-given talent for engineering; math; computer science; physics; and in his younger years, he could probably teach those Harvard professors a thing or two.
So, Bill Gates and John Wooden have something in common. John Wooden goes out and recruits the quickest players he can find to win championships; and Bill Gates, after he got his mutli-million dollar contract with IBM (which made him a millionaire over-night) was doing the same thing. Going after the brightest people he could find in the Ivy League schools; Duke and Stanford, etc.
In other words, what Bill Gates did...because he was a college drop-out...he didn't go to school to learn all that went into building a business...he brought the school to HIM...in the form of the brightest people he could find. Imagine if you will, a conference room at MicroSoft, where Bill Gates is sitting at the head of the table, surrounded by 10 of his department heads. Marketing, advertising, computer science are all there. Ideas connot be copyrighted, so the theme with every staff meeting was "sing to me my children.' Bill Gates was and is a good listener, and he listened to all these great ideas from smart people...went with them...and the rest is history...I think this account can be pretty accurate...
And now, for my goal; You're Invited;
At the age of 68 in 2013, I have been in the creative business for over 40 years, first as a wood carver in the art world, and now as a wannabe writer.
For me, the Age of the paper and electronic query letters is over. The Age of Paper Book Proposals is Over. The Age of Chasing literary agents all over the kingdom is over. The Age of Chasing Publishers all over the country-side is OVER!
For as long as I can remember, I have sent out "invitations' to people in high and low places to come and view my work. With the advent of the computer, websites, technology and so forth...now, it becomes easier to deliver. Forget the book guidlines I don't care about your guidlines.
I have four book in the making, and the reader can go to this link and find out more about them.
WANTED; Literary Agent; (preferably alive);
I've done this so many time over 40 years, that I can do it in my sleep, etc. I've always sent out marketing pieces advertising my work. There have countless changes over the years, but the goal is to get noticed by the higher-ups. I call myself the Humor Doctor, and in 2013, my little margeting package looks like this...use your imagination...
A #10 ordinary business envelope, in which graphics were put on at the copy shop. The graphic in the upper middle of the envelope is an ordinary door with bricks around the edges; On the left side of the door reads; "Knock; knock; and on the right side of the door reads; "Who's there? And, at the bottom of the door, reads "The Humor Doctor making a house call."
The three other graphics on the envelope are a doctor's black bag; a stethoscope; and a smily-tooth for our dental friends.
Isn't that cute?
On the inside of the envelope is the invitation to the receipient of the letter...a double-sided flyer with all the information, including 10 links of places to go and a business care, which reads; "The Humor Doctor; Jerry Aragon, M.D. (Mentally Distrubed) and all the other contact information, etc.
So, with this idea, there will still be paper and expense in the form of postage, but the people receiving this little package, have and opportunity to see my little package. I hope this will be a conversation piece. Yes, there will be paper in my little marketing scheme, but with the invitation, it will be just that...an invitation to visit my writing site and look around. No more paper or electronic query letters for me. Interested people can come to my sites, and look around to see if there is something they like. During this Age of Electronics...this is the way I will do it in the future.
Just like Bill Gates did...the visitor's come to me...I don't go to them...the only paper that goes out, is in the form of an invitation. I don't want to see your guidelines...NO query letters, NO red tape, etc.
Come and kick the tires...drive it around the block...see what you think...do a little window shopping while you're here, etc. I think it's a great idea...
WORK IN PROGRESS...
JULY, 2013
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Copyright; 2013; Jerry Aragon; The Humor Doctor
You have to wonder how many fabulous novels ended up in the trash or died with the author. I'm so glad that the era of paper publishing is over. Like YouTube videos going viral, good novels on the Internet should be able to go viral as well. All it takes is for the social networks to pick them up. We will no longer need Oprah Winfrey to tell us that there's another good book. Unfortunately, the Internet will be clogged with poor novels and poor writing but that's the price we have to pay when the only writing education young people get will be how to text.
Rowling as a gift you failed to mention. She is a fantastic illustrator. I think it was the illustrations along with her words that caught the attention of her publishers. My first impression, in second grade, was Dr. Seuss's writings, and more importantly, his wild and crazy illustrations.
Bill Gates is self educated, curious, and constantly learning. He didn't need schooling to learn. As for getting rich, he also had a contract with Apple to write their software. By licensing all the software, commandeering the market for DOS (the disc operating system software that he and Microsoft created), and constantly creating upgrades that cost a little bit more, the money kept flowing in until everybody at Microsoft was fabulously rich––a great business model. I have 20-year-old Claris software (Apple's response to Bill Gates's monopoly) that still works beautifully, very fast, and is simple to operate. However, Americans are always looking for the next, latest thing, something both Apple and Microsoft have used to their advantage.
Ron