By Stone Martindale Apr 8, 2007, 17:15 GMT
Who is Bill Boggs? The reporter is a four-time Emmy Award-winning TV host and entertainment industry insider. He has been a major figure in the lifestyle, food, travel, consumer, sports, news, and celebrity reporting arenas for more than 25 years; as host of the New York based "Midday Live with Bill Boggs" and NBC'S "Weekend Today In New York," and the long-running Food Network hit, "Bill Boggs Corner Table.
Designer Diane Von Furstenberg is seen at her Fashion Show during the Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week in New York City, Sunday 04 February 2007. EPA/PETER FOLEY
Bill Boggs believes in the power of storytelling, and has released a new book in the culled actual stories of highly successful people's lives— that are described as instructive in a way that a traditional self-help book—lifestyle coach or business person—can't really address.
Boggs organized the material around central themes. There a common thread that the will to prevail based on believing in themselves, whether times for them were good or bad runs through all Boggs' collected success stories.
In his book, Boggs shows the value of failure. It appears that people who don't fail much, don't take risks, do not learn coping skills needed in order to succeed big time.
In a recent interview with dingbatmag.com, Boggs revealed the most difficult person he ever interviewed was the late actor Lee Marvin, "who was so ridiculously drunk, that he had to be helped both on and off the stage—and it was 1 o'clock in the afternoon. He didn't have much to say—wish I'd been with him for lunch, though."
Many notable titans in their respective fields shared their thoughts about getting ahead in life in Boggs' personal growth book titled "Got What It Takes?" out next week from Collins Books.
" Maria Bartiromo says: "Stamina, for me, is just coming back and coming back and doing it again and again," the CNBC Bartiromo. "You have to be mentally tough," she says. "You must keep the finish line in focus . . . You call it emotional endurance."
* Donald Trump says: "I don't drink alcohol, so I don't have impaired speech or make mistakes due to inebriation, and I don't have hangovers. I'm always ready for the next morning, seven days a week."
* Matt Lauer tells Boggs that talent makes up just 40 percent of the equation for success, the other 60 percent being a combination of "luck, serendipity, timing, flukes."
* Diane von Furstenberg equates success to good cooking, luck and timing being critical ingredients. "But at the end . . . it's like making a chocolate cake. You forget the sugar, it doesn't taste the same. You bake it too long, it doesn't taste the same."
* Former Gov. Mario Cuomo says: "Just sit there and say to yourself, 'I've got a limited number of years. What do I want to do with them? Do I want to change the world? Do I want to have a family? Do I want to have fun? . . . Try thinking yourself into a commitment to some purpose. Just try it."
* Novelist Anna Quindlen said looks play no part in success: "I think I look like a generic woman . . . You know, no one looks at me and thinks, 'God, if I were thin and blond, I could write a best-selling novel, too.' "
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