story4

Now comes lesson 10...this is a big one.....those who call you friends
are not always your friends ..... when you enter the world of entertainment
and business many things are not what they seem to be especially
people.. so watch out for some of these people and keep your eyes
open...there are many who would try to deceive you at the same time
while they are smiling in your face ...especially agents....sounds a little
cynical doesn't it?... but it's not meant to be...just remember if you stay on
a positive path and true to yourself you will always overcome whoever and
whatever obstacles come before you.

Ahhhh here we are the year is 1991 we have now been performing at
Universal Studios for a almost a year I have a weekly appearance on
television as a weekly guest dance instructor on Nickelodeon my group is
sponsored by a clothing company named Zubaz (for you who missed
this era or should I say error in clothing it was workout clothes made in
zebra prints in funky colors almost every football team was wearing them
during training)... I submit our show to the National Basketball Association
because a little team called the Magic just found a home in Orlando so I
send them a promo pack it turns out they want to use us but the Miami
Heat call us first so we head to Miami ( more about Miami later in the
story) ....also my agent just signed me to a 2 year $500,000 exclusive
development deal ( Now let me set this straight, it doesn't mean I get
$500,000. it just means he thinks I can get it with his help...a big
difference) okay here is a good time to teach you about the word
exclusive in a contract...this is a BAD word...for one.. you just about give
away all your rights as a person and performer to one company and if
they chose to sit on their Fu!@# As@#....and do nothing with your career,
well you are on lock down....plus most agents can not get you enough
work to be able for them to have exclusive rights to you...save yourself
from learning like I did..it was one lesson I will never forget it ended up that
no matter if he got the gig for us or not he would be getting a cut of the
money ...and he wasn't doing anything cause we were just bringing him
the work thru people handing me cards after performances...not only that,
but along that time we found out our agent rep was ripping us off...this
ended up with a group visit to our rep not a pretty picture cause one of us
was carrying a baseball bat...it ends some what peacefully and we end up
getting a new rep at the agency...you think getting ripped off was bad just
wait till more of the story...so things go back to some what normal...and
we continue doing our shows....now back to Miami and the Miami Heat,
this is our first NBA performance and yes 20,000 people in an arena
watching you do a halftime show can be quite intimidating...it's a rush to
say the least... when you hear the roar of the crowd its like that of a giant
tidal wave you just don't hear claps its this unbelievable roaring
sound...and when you know it's for you..man there is no other feeling...we
finish our performance and it turns out we are one of only a few acts to
ever get a standing ovation in the hard core crowd of the Miami
Arena...word spreads like wild fire to the other teams thanks to the
halftime coordinator a great lady ( Jane Klein and if your reading this
thanks again)...and now things seem to be really moving we get sent to
North Carolina and we do it again...remember the year is 1991-92 at this
time breaking was suppose to be out of date and no one liked it...but here
we are getting another standing ovation...lesson 11 to do the impossible
just believe it is possible....okay now about that time I'm thinking we need
to get sponsored by some shoe company because we are definitely being
seen by enough people to set up an endorsement deal..again i talk to my
agent and what do i hear?....Mike you don't understand the business all of
that takes time ...don't worry we'll get around to it...we know better thats
what we do just leave it in our hands....hmmmm......I'm thinking.... yeah
right sure your going to do it!...I give them 4 weeks to at least see if they
start on it and of course nothing!!! So Lesson 12 if you want to have
something happen you have to take the initiative and be responsible of it
yourself...don't wait on anyone else or let them put down your ideas
because they believe they know the way because of your age or their so
called expertise...the greatest ideas come from people who challenge the
norm and come up with new ideas and see opportunities where most
never look ...look at Bill Gates...while most of the so called older experts
of the time where thinking all the money was in computer hardware... Bill
thought it was in software...they even laughed at the idea of software ever
being more of a value than hardware....guess who's having the last
laugh....Bill is the richest man alive...again do what you need to do and
when you feel it is right... go for it...100%.........So what do I do? Well, I
decide that I will go it on my own and see if it really takes as long as what
my agent is telling me...so I call up Reebok myself and ask to speak to
someone about sponsorship..I get connected to about three secretaries
and finally a guy gets on the phone named Lu and I tell him who I am and
the company I represent and that I have an idea about promoting
Reeboks thru our company....Lu says he will be in the Orlando area in 2
days and wants to set up a meeting.....he drives down from Georgia and
meets with me...okay folks here is the scenario..I am a young 20's guy
never been to college, no business degree, no marketing degree, not an
agent, learned everything I know about business on my own and now
meeting with the top official from Reebok about a corporate
sponsorship...did i tell you lesson 8?