When people talk about the “Wolf of Wall Street”, whom do you think of? Leonardo DiCaprio? Most people would picture a man who made millions of dollars through securities fraud and money laundering, who spent his time and money living outrageously. The Wolf of Wall Street is Jordan Belfort, and yes he did make millions of dollars, he did live life outrageously and he did make questionable decisions, however; when he came to speak in Vancouver he came with a clear goal of captivating the audience with his “Straight Line Persuasion System”.
Hundreds of business individuals, entrepreneurs, students and success seekers were in attendance for Jordan Belfort’s seminar. From the short period of time we had with Belfort, he provided us with tools that could help pave the path to success and wealth. For me, the most interesting portions of his seminar were about motivation and persuasion.
Belfort spoke of two types of people: the reason people and the results people. A reason person will come up with excuses or “reasons” that will hold them back from success. A results person is motivated, having both a goal and a vision that will push them through excuses and doubts. Comparing the two types of people, becoming a results person is the optimal goal. As straightforward as this seems people often find themselves creating reasons that hold them back. Belfort insisted that society is telling us to “just get by” and strive for mediocrity. This is not the mindset of a results person. Whether it is to get your dream job or to become a successful entrepreneur, a results person will “mix motivation into strategies” to get what they want.
Jordan Belfort also spoke about the persuasion of self and the persuasion of others. Persuasion of the self is important in our drive towards success. Belfort said “the voice in your head starts with selling yourself”. It gives us motivation and confidence to then be able to persuade others. Persuading others according to Belfort is not evil, rather he says it is necessary. Specifically, he said that it empowers people and gets them what they want at the same time. But what is most important about persuading others is persuasion with ethics. When Belfort ran his boiler room brokerage firm years ago, ethics was out of the picture. Belfort spoke about making money the right way by combining sales and marketing with the rules of business in order to create monetizing value.
The “Wolf of Wall Street” had the ability to capture the room during his seminar. He was known to give motivational speeches that sparked his employees during his leadership at Stratton Oakmont and it was no different this time in the room at the Vancouver Convention Centre. People were motivated and intrigued by Belfort’s story and advice.
Brandon is in his final year pursuing a BBA Honours and an International Experiential Learning Certificate. He has been able to immerse himself in all aspects of Beedie, focusing on his passion for marketing, creativity and exploration. He has co-oped with SFU”s International Co-op Office, participated in JDC West, represented Beedie at the UBSLC Conference in Atlanta, chaired SFU Beedie’s FROSH and traveled to Copenhagen and Berlin for an international exchange and field study, respectively. He values unique opportunities and his involvement at Beedie has allowed him to develop himself as an individual and as a business professional.