How about some honest talk about the time I screwed up in front of a live television audience of hundreds of thousands of people? Yeah. That was a fun day.
About eight years ago, I was invited to go on CNN and discuss some current events in the world. As always, I dropped everything and cleared my schedule to make it happen. The producer sent me three articles on the topic about which I was discussing. I’d read the news that morning, so I didn’t bother to read the articles.
We go live, and the very first question from the reporter is this: “So what did you think of the editorial that the Governor wrote in the Wall Street Journal this morning?”
Of course, that was one of the three articles I’d been sent, and of course, I hadn’t read it.
I stumbled through an answer, the rest of the interview was awkward to say the least, and that specific producer has never asked me to work with her again. While she’s no longer at CNN, (I don’t know where she is,) I’m grateful to her, as she taught me one of the biggest lessons I’ve ever learned, and that’s this:
If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.
Never believe that you know everything. YOU DON’T. Rather, soak up as much knowledge about everything, whenever you get the chance. ABL: Always be learning. You never know when you’re going to need the information. Information learned is never learned in vain. It can always benefit you.
With that, I built a course that teaches you everything I’ve ever learned about how to get on TV, in the papers, and quoted in all sorts of press. It’s six lessons, designed to get you MORE PRESS. If you want to become a media superstar, this course is where you start.
