March 13, 2025 • 42 mins
This episode features an in-depth interview with Larry Namer, the visionary creator of E! Entertainment Television. Namer shares his remarkable story, from growing up in the rough Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn to becoming one of the most sought-after media pioneers in the world. Listeners will be inspired by Namer's perseverance, creativity, and unconventional path to success, as he shares valuable lessons on embracing the future, staying true to yourself, and finding happiness in life's journey.
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Voice Over (00:03):
If you've been stuck in fear, self-doubt, your past
failures and you're ready tobreak through your comfort zones
to finally reach the pinnacleof success in every area of your
life, then this podcast is foryou.
Here's your host, Terry LFossum.
Terry L. Fossum (00:25):
Hey, this is Terry L Fossum and welcome back
to the Comeback Chroniclespodcast.
My guest today is Larry Namer.
Larry created E EntertainmentTV.
He created names like HowardStern and the Kardashians.
He became the single mostsought-after media visionary
across the United States, canada, russia, china, pretty much
(00:47):
everywhere.
He didn't rub shoulders withthe stars, they rubbed shoulders
with him.
He's the author of an amazingnew book, offscript Recipes for
Success.
Very much recommend it.
But that's not the way italways was.
His story began in Coney Island, brooklyn back when it was a
seriously rough, impoverishedarea, not a nice place
necessarily to hang out.
(01:07):
So you can imagine he had a lotof serious setbacks, numerous
disappointments, sometimes somevery dangerous situations.
Here to tell you about hisamazing journey and help you
through your own, larry Namer,thank you so much for coming on
to the show, terry.
Good Thanks for having me.
So you got a job as anassistant underground cable
(01:28):
splicer.
You went from that toeverything else you've done.
Talk to us from there.
Larry Namer (01:33):
Sure, you know family.
You know we grew up in ConeyIsland.
We didn't, we didn't know itwas the hood growing up because
we thought that's the wayeverybody lived and stuff like
that.
And Coney, you know, whileBrooklyn has become very trendy,
brooklyn, coney Island stillhasn't been gentrified yet.
So it's still a hood.
But you know, my parents'aspiration for their children
was get a civil service job andbe able to retire with security
(01:58):
at 65 and do all of that.
But for whatever reason Ididn't pay attention.
So I was the first kid to go tocollege.
I graduated with a degree ineconomics and then quickly
realized there weren't a lot ofjobs for people with degrees in
economics.
So I took what I thought wasgoing to be a kind of a
temporary summer job.
I got a job for this companycalled Sterling Manhattan Cable,
(02:20):
at a time when nobody knew whatcable was.
But somebody we knew was in theelectrician's union and they
said we organized this thing,cable TV.
We doubt whether anybody willever pay for TV, but here, go
see them and tell them the unionsent you.
So I went and they gave me ajob literally as an assistant
underground splicer.
I wasn't even the splicer andyou know it was $90 a week, um,
(02:46):
and stuff.
But I very quickly learned touse all the equipment and they
were like amazed, going, hey kid, how did you learn how to use
the equipment in just a weekwhen it takes everybody else a
year?
And I was like, well, I readthe instruction booklet, you
know.
I mean it wasn't rocket science.
So I, I did that and then Ibecame from the assistant
splicer, I became the splicerand then I moved into
(03:09):
construction and then serviceand installation and stuff.
And then what happened was TimeIncorporated, which was then
before Time Warner, basicallywas a publishing company.
And they made a decision theywant, you know, over 10 years,
migrate from being publishing tobeing media.
And so they bought this company.
And here you had all theHarvard and the Yaleys trying to
(03:30):
figure out like what is itthose guys do when they go onto
the streets every day?
And you know, somebody in HRsaid wait a second, there's a
guy with an economics degree,that's you know, and that does
that and stuff.
So I kind of became atranslator, you know, for the
two different worlds.
And then, you know, they justkept saying to me, larry, we
want you to come into managementand I'm like no, I like my
(03:53):
secure union job.
And then finally, you know,they made me the offer I
couldn't refuse.
So I went into management and Ithink I was 25 when I became
the director of operations forManhattan Cable.
Terry L. Fossum (04:06):
So let's jump back real quick.
25, you became the director ofops.
What were you doing, man?
I mean, you're moving up thechain really quickly.
What do you think it was?
I mean, you're a smart guy.
We got you know that's a givenright and you'd read the
instructions, but what do youthink separated you from
everybody else?
Larry Namer (04:27):
Well, I mean number one, having the educational
background, but number two, youknow, really coming from.
You know this family ofimmigrant stock and we were
working since I'm 12.
Dad drove a Pepsi Cola truckand delivered soda to
restaurants and supermarkets,and mom worked for Department of
Social Services and literallywas working since I'm 12.
Kids and mom worked fordepartment of social services
and literally was working sinceI'm 12, you know, and if I would
(04:47):
have weekends off or summersoff, my dad wasn't letting me
just sit around.
Um, so it was a lot of work,ethic related stuff and and just
this, for whatever reason, isthirst for knowledge.
So I kept reading everythingyou know and even though I was
more on the technical side ofcable, I was like reading
everything you know.
And even though I was more onthe technical side of cable, I
was like reading everything andwatching everything and trying
(05:09):
to learn programming and finance, and you know government
relations and you know all ofthose kind of things and why?
Terry L. Fossum (05:18):
why do you think I mean you're curious, but
I mean work ethic is fantastic.
That's one of the mostimportant things of everything,
but the curiosity.
Why do you think you're doingall this man?
Larry Namer (05:27):
You know, that's the one we can't figure out, you
know and people laugh at thiswhen I say it, but I think it's
a little bit true when I was oneyear old, my mother dropped me
on my head literally, you know.
She put me on the kitchen tableto change my clothes and the
phone rang and she went hey,stay there.
And I literally fell off thetable and broke my arm and my
(05:49):
head and stuff like that.
But there's no logicalexplanation for it.
But you know one of theinteresting things that I've
learned over time.
So I ended up going to thishigh school in Brooklyn called
Abraham Lincoln High School,which really served lower lower
class and middle lower class andupper lower class as a public
(06:10):
school.
Nothing stood out, but to thisday there are more Nobel Prize
winners that have come from thishigh school than any other high
school in America.
There's so much to unpack inthat statement right there, man
Isn't that fantastic yeah it'slike third in the world, first
in the US and still, and thenit's turned out a
(06:32):
disproportionate number of NBAplayers at the same time.
I mean, I think like numberseven high school in America
turning out NBA professionalbasketball players, which is
really a dichotomy.
I mean, you know, from theeducational side to the athletic
side.
But there was just somethingabout growing up in that
neighborhood and thatenvironment that made us all
(06:54):
strivers.
We were all typically childrenof immigrants who were dedicated
to seeing that their kids willhave a better life than they had
, even if they had to beat itinto us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and sometimesthey did.
Terry L. Fossum (07:10):
Well, you know, I'm always looking for lessons
to share with the audience,obviously, and I'm hearing
several Number one doesn'tmatter where you come from.
You know to hear those kind ofstatistics is amazing, so don't
use that as an excuse.
Work harder than everybody elsewhich is what I did in the
military and then be curious,learn more than you have to.
Larry Namer (07:30):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I still.
You know people say well, howdo you come up with all these
crazy ideas?
I probably still read 50magazines a month Now.
I read them on my iPad.
I don't read them in hard copy.
I probably read four books amonth.
Terry L. Fossum (07:49):
What kind of books, what kind of magazines?
Larry Namer (07:51):
Everything from things business related to.
I read stuff on knitting andsewing and guns and ammo and
stuff like that, even though I'mnot into those.
I just want to understand whatpeople who are into them like
what goes through their mind.
What is it that interests them?
Because that helps me.
You know, if I'm programmingsomething is to understand who
(08:13):
I'm programming to makes a hugedifference.
Terry L. Fossum (08:17):
Fascinating and , of course, cooking shows.
I know that's right.
Larry Namer (08:20):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Terry L. Fossum (08:24):
We'll get into that near to the end of the uh
the podcast for sure, becauseI'm going to be.
I told my son today we're goingto be doing some of those
recipes.
So what gave what gave you?
The question was going to bewhat gave you the dream to do
what you did from where you camefrom?
But it's almost like you justgot to work.
You, you put your nose to thegrindstone, learned everything
you could and just kept doing it.
Larry Namer (08:44):
Yeah, well, you know what happened was.
So here I was director ofoperations in Manhattan, 25
years old, 300-something peoplereporting to me, most of which
were older, which created aninteresting situation.
But what happened was, all of asudden big cities began to
realize that cable was more thanjust good reception and they
(09:06):
all wanted cable in their cities, but most of them, you know, up
until then cable was basicallyrural, it was on telephone poles
or whatever.
But big cities didn't wantunsightly wires running on
telephone poles because most ofthem didn't have poles anymore
and they wanted everything to gounderground.
So there was a Canadian companythat won the franchise for los
(09:27):
angeles, the san fernando valley, and it was going to be the the
first two-way interactive 61channel cable system in the
country.
And um or they had to gounderground.
So the canadian company that wontried to recruit me to come out
there and I was like no, I'mnot doing that.
I said I'm, you know, aBrooklyn kid.
(09:48):
I don't, you know, I'm notgoing to La La Land.
And finally they made me anoffer.
I couldn't refuse.
And when they finally said tome, they said well, what would
it take to get you to move?
I basically named four times mysalary.
I used to see on the front ofentertainment tonight.
They used to show Liberace'shouse with the piano shaped
(10:09):
swimming pool.
I said I want you to rent thathouse for me.
It was even before cell phones.
I said I want a car with amobile phone, on and on and on,
and they just told me you're outof your mind.
But then they finally came backand said what you asked for is
crazy, but okay.
And then I hadn't put my mouth.
I had no choice but to do it.
(10:30):
But you know, I come out toCalifornia and there are very
few cities of size in Americathat are dedicated to a single
industry.
I mean we have.
Detroit is the automotiveindustry, la is all about media
and entertainment.
I mean, it's just that, and youknow.
So here you are a Brooklyn kidand all your friends and
(10:51):
neighbors are going to partiesand premieres and doing all of
that.
So I called up the studios and Isaid, hey, put me on those
lists.
And they went oh, you're likethe gas company, you're a
utility.
No, we're not putting you onthe list.
And then finally I ended upgetting someone in marketing I
think it was Paramount andUniversal, I'm sorry.
(11:11):
And I said, hey, you know, themost effective marketing vehicle
that you have is the two-minutemovie trailer.
I said but yet I only see themovie trailer when I'm in the
movies.
I said isn't that backwards?
Don't you want me to see thatwhen I'm in my house, to make me
want to go to the movies?
And they said, yeah, but wecan't afford it.
They go okay, tell you what.
You give me those movietrailers, I'll put them on TV
(11:33):
for free.
You put me on those lists andthey said, yeah, sure, we'll do
that.
So you know, I hired a kid toedit them together and you know
we made a loop and but westarted doing surveys, audience
surveys.
What's your favorite channel?
You know people go, oh, I lovecnn, I love mtv, I love that
trailer channel and I'm goingwait a second.
(11:54):
I mean, I get the best twominutes of a 50 million dollar
movie.
Then movies are only 50 andpeople love it.
And I just filed it in the backof my head.
But then what happened was thecompany that I worked for sold
out and they were going back toCanada.
And they were like, all right,larry, you're going to join us
in Toronto, right?
And I'm like no, I said I'mdone with cold.
(12:15):
I said I didn't go from NewYork to LA to go live in Toronto
and so I stayed there and myfriend Alan and I were kicking
around.
We said we've got to come upwith ideas to keep me in LA.
I said I don't want to go backto Brooklyn and I don't want to
go to Toronto.
Alan goes well, you know I'vebeen playing around with this
idea.
You know MTV and the movies.
(12:37):
And I said wait a second.
I said at that time MTVactually showed music videos and
they would stand a host infront of a green screen and go
and Madonna has a new video.
I said I could get these movietrailers and we could stand a
host in front of a green screenand go and Schwarzenegger has a
new movie.
Yeah, and it's essentially thesame arm movement.
(12:59):
So we thought we were reallysmart.
We wrote a business plan andyou know by that we were talking
about becoming, uh,entertainment tonight 24 hours a
day, because if you follow themodel that you know, you just
have the news on at six o'clockand 11 o'clock at night.
And then cnn came along and itwas news 24 hours a day and the
svm sports 24 hours a day andthe weather channel 24 hours a
(13:19):
day.
We said, why not?
You know hollywoodentertainment 24 hours a day.
And so we wrote the plan.
We thought we were really smartand at that time the cost of
starting a TV network wassomewhere between $60 and $100
million.
Three and a half years of notraising one dime.
And people you know peoplealways say you know, people
(13:41):
don't start TV networks, onlybig media companies start TV
networks.
What you're doing is aninteresting idea, but you're not
Rupert Murdoch and you're notTime Warner and you can't do it.
Terry L. Fossum (13:52):
But then, finally, we met a guy I want to
jump in real quick on there too,man, because that's again
fantastic.
First of all, two and a halfyears Is that what you said?
Two and a half years, Three anda half years, three and a half,
three, three and a half yearsof getting shut down.
Three and a half years, no, no,no.
Door slammed in your face.
You got nosebleeds, you gotpeople telling you you're not
(14:13):
good enough, you're not rupertmurdoch, you're not good enough,
you're not smart enough, you'renot the guy.
And yet what kept you going?
You're going.
Larry Namer (14:17):
No, no, I am the guy, and this is the idea I, you
know some people call itstupidity or naivete, but we
just knew it made all the sensein the world.
I mean, if you really looked atcable world back then, we said
cable is an electronic newspaper, you know.
That's where we went from theprint newspaper to the
electronic newspaper.
(14:38):
We said, ok, cnn is theheadline pages, espn is the
sports you got the WeatherChannel.
Espn is the sports, you got theWeather Channel.
We said what's conspicuouslyabsent is the second most read
part of every Sunday newspaperand that was the entertainment
pages.
So we knew we were on it.
We said, you know, and plus,it's one of the few subject
(14:58):
matters that we said traveledlocally.
People around the world loveHollywood and love Hollywood
celebrities and you know.
So you know, if you're theWeather Channel, nobody cares
about the weather in any place.
But where they live News peopletend to.
You know they don't care aboutthe news in London, they care
about the news in the UnitedStates.
We said this is a subject thateverybody wants to know more
(15:22):
about celebrities and what'shappening in the media world.
Terry L. Fossum (15:25):
So you believed in the project more than you
believed in their opinion.
Larry Namer (15:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know.
We just realized that.
One of the things when you tellpeople something and this has
stuck with me forever when youhave to start your conversation
with, just imagine you've lostthem, they're gone.
People don't, you know, knowthey can't imagine they don't
have what you've got.
You know well whether my motherdropped me on my head or
(15:52):
something else.
There's something that goes onin the brain that the people
don't relate to yeah, yeah so,um, so you know, finally, after
three and a half years and over100 pitch meetings, I mean we
were rejected over 100 times.
100 times the first investor weever got who put a little bit
(16:14):
of money in, who committed.
We had this meeting and we werewaiting in the conference room
and the guy was like an hourlate to come in and we were just
sitting there like it was justgoing how rude is this?
And he just sat there.
The guy comes in the room withthe business plan in his hand
and then you had to print outbusiness plans.
It was, you know, notelectronic.
I mean, this is a 200 pagedocument, spiral, bound and
(16:37):
whatever.
And he just looks at us and hegoes who was the one who had the
nerve to send me this piece ofgarbage?
Oh my god.
And I I went.
Uh, he takes the plan and throwsit at my head larry, that's
amazing that's amazing and,being a brooklyn kid, I go okay,
this guy obviously is notinventing, but nobody throws
business plans at my head.
(16:58):
So we just went 15 minutes backand forth.
You know this is garbage, youknow that.
How are you going to do that?
How would you do that?
Why would you give me somethinglike this and that?
And we just went back and forth, back and forth.
And then he he just looked atus and we had an investment
banker with us at the time andhe just said you know, I love it
, I'm in.
Terry L. Fossum (17:17):
And he walks out of the room but you didn't
take the no, you didn't take himderating you and your plan and
throwing it across the table.
This crap and all this youfought back.
You believe again, you believedin your cause, you believed in
it.
Larry Namer (17:32):
Yeah, that that was .
So.
That was kind of the start.
And then once we had one, andyou know, we managed.
So after three and a half yearswe we ended up putting together
a small little group led bythis investment bank and um, uh,
you know, and they said, well,we're only able to put together
two and a half million dollars.
And we were like, no, we werehoping for the hundred million,
(17:54):
but minimum is 60.
And the guy said, well, we'reonly allowed to sign for two and
a half.
So I'm like, what am I going todo with two and a half?
And finally Alan and I justlooked at each other and said,
you know what?
Yeah, we'll do it.
Two and a half million.
We took the two and a halfmillion.
I had a friend that was teachingradio, television film at
University of Texas in Austinand I called him up and said,
(18:16):
brian, do you have kids thatneed intern jobs?
And he said, yeah, we hadtrouble placing them.
So I said, send me, send methem all.
So he literally sent us 31interns from UT, texas radio
television film program and, um,and people don't realize,
because he is a monster, todayhe is, in 142 countries,
arguably the biggest influenceof pop culture in the world, and
(18:39):
so people think it came fromsome big company and stuff.
But no, it was 11 employees and31 interns.
Terry L. Fossum (18:46):
I love it.
Well, you made it happen.
You didn't.
Oh, we can't do it, then Twoand a half isn't going to do it.
No, no, no, you made it.
You found a way.
There's always a way.
Yep, that we did.
So you've got some recipes forsuccess that you put in your
book and I'd love to talk aboutsome of those, because some of
them, I thought, hit well.
They all hit home really well.
(19:07):
Some of them really hit me bigtime and that I really wanted
the audience to make sure andhear those especially like don't
let yesterday take up too muchof today.
Can you talk more about that?
Larry Namer (19:21):
yeah, I mean I've always been you know person.
I mean I have a lot of friendsthat are still stuck on 80s
music.
I'm always, for whatever reason, saying I don't really.
I mean I could appreciate whatwas and I could learn from what
was, but I want to know what'snext.
I don't want to be what was, Iwant to be what will be.
You know everything I couldpossibly study, and particularly
(19:45):
new technology and how all thisnew technology fundamentally
changes the business of media.
Um, I mean now we're into nftsand crypto and blockchain and
all of that stuff.
It's not here today, but it'sgoing to be whether we like it
or not.
Technology marches on everybody.
Everybody's so worried about AIand I'm going this is one of the
(20:13):
greatest tools for a creatorthat's out there.
I mean, in the example I give,like if you were to say to me,
larry, could you design a TVseries about spoons Not that it
would ever hold up, but it wouldtake me five days of doing the
research and writing it up andgoing what are the episodes and
(20:33):
you know what's the financialforecast and stuff.
But now I mean I've been usingAI literally from even before
GBT and for what used to take mefive days.
I put it in, it takes me 30seconds and then I got to clean
it up.
It's never 100%, so in one hourI'm getting done what used to
take me five days.
And I try to explain to peopleI go.
How do you not love this?
(20:54):
I mean, we're all basicallyhuman beings, you know, with
some deviation.
We all have the same amount oftime on this planet and the most
valuable thing we have is ourtime.
I said so.
I could take those.
I could either do more of thesekinds of projects and make more
money, or I could spend moretime with my little grandkid, or
(21:15):
I could learn how to speakSpanish, or I could go on a
cruise.
I've reclaimed the mostvaluable thing that we as human
beings have and that's our time.
And how do you not love it?
I mean, if you go back and youlook at, you know, late 1800s,
you know horse ranchers were notreal happy when henry ford
decided to build cars, you know,and they were like, no, we're
(21:36):
not going to let that happen.
We're not going to let thathappen.
And I say to people I go, lookout the window and tell me how
many cars you see versus howmany horse and buggies.
I said, technology marches on,whether you like it or not.
Yes, there are opportunity forbad people to do bad things and
you need to put in thosesafeguards that at least provide
a deterrent.
(21:57):
But how do you not lovesomething that's an incredibly
valuable tool?
I mean even now with the book,which is interesting.
I've never written a book before.
I knew nothing about bookmarketing, but I know how to use
AI really well, and so welaunched the book and in three
days we were bestseller in fourdifferent categories, and the
(22:17):
entire social media program wasdesigned by ChatGBT4.
Just wrote everything,separated out the potential
audiences and stuff, and we hit.
We were in the top 1% of salesliterally three days after we
launched the book.
Terry L. Fossum (22:34):
I love it and I extrapolated the.
Don't let yesterday take toomuch of today, not just from the
technology standpoint and theadvancement of many industries,
but also for ourselves.
Too often we get stuck in ourpast and bad things that have
happened to us and we keepmuddling in the mass of
mediocrity and just can't let goof that stuff.
(22:55):
Nah, you know what.
It's time to let it go.
Don't let it take up too muchof today.
Larry Namer (23:00):
Yeah, no, we totally agree.
I mean, what happened in thepast happened in the past and we
can't change that.
We can impact what's going tobe in front of us and another
one I really wanted to hit onagain.
Terry L. Fossum (23:13):
I love so many of them.
Let yourself be who you reallyare.
Yeah, talk to that man.
Talk to that.
You know I've got.
Larry Namer (23:22):
You know, I've done a lot of stuff in the fashion
world.
I mean, we're really the firstones and people never realized
because it was fairly subtle.
We looked at the entertainmentworld not being film, not being
television, not being music, butreally being all of those.
We said music is part of it,fashion is part of it, film is
(23:42):
part, television is part, and Idid a lot of fashion shows.
You know, in E we did fashionand police and we were the first
ones on the runway to askpeople about what they're
wearing, versus, like, whattheir next project is, because
we knew that was much moreinteresting to people.
And you know I mean, so youknow we did that and we just
(24:04):
kept, you know, reinventing thethings that were.
You know, given people thatthis is the way you do it, we
just said, no, that's, that'sthe wrong way to do it.
And you know we turned out tobe right.
Terry L. Fossum (24:18):
You know, on most of that stuff, Well, if you
keep following the crowd,you're going to be in the crowd.
You've got to get away from thecrowd.
Yeah, but also with the letyourself, be who you really are.
A lot of us, me included, a lotof times we don't want to show
who we really are.
When I get around, I'm a scout,I'm a scout leader.
When I get around the kids, I'mgoofy, I'm energetic, I'm
jumping up and down, screamingand yelling, and a lot of times
(24:41):
you get into a professionalenvironment.
Well, you don't want to showthat you're a real person.
Be who you really are.
Be a real person.
Does that make sense?
Larry Namer (24:53):
Yeah, and that's absolutely true, but I think it
was like being very intimatelyinvolved with the fashion world.
The fashion world is fairlyheavily gay or whatever, and we
found the most well-adjustedpeople were, you know,
regardless, gay, straight,whatever were people who just
accepted who they were and werenot afraid to be that person.
(25:13):
Yeah, and those are the mostfun people to be around.
Terry L. Fossum (25:16):
they had the less issues yeah, yeah, and I
did a little bit of acting andin there in those classes I
touched.
Be yourself.
You are good enough as you areand I want the listeners to
understand that Be yourself.
You are good enough in whateveryou're doing.
If they don't like it, you gotthe wrong crowd.
You got the wrong people.
Go around the people that canaccept you as your true self,
(25:39):
because that's going to be yourtrue friends.
Okay, the most important thingin life is to be happy.
The next one, talk.
Here you are.
I mean, you're doing prettywell financially.
You've done some amazing thingsright, but you're saying the
most important thing in theworld is to be happy.
Talk about that, please.
Larry Namer (25:55):
Yeah, I think that's what we all ultimately
strive for.
Well, no matter where we are,no matter what country I go to,
80% of what people feel insidethey're just common goals.
I mean we strive for happiness,for security, you know, for
well-being of our families andour kids and stuff like that.
(26:16):
And I used to have this debatewith my mom all the time because
my daughter was as she wasgetting a little bit older and
she'd go out with a guy.
My mom would say, you know shewas getting a little bit older
and she'd go out with a guy.
My mom would say, you know, itwas Nicole Sirius with the guy.
I go, what do you mean, sirius?
I mean they like each other,they're good and she'd go.
Well, are they going to getmarried?
And I just said, you know what?
(26:36):
My wishes for my children arenot to be married.
My wish for my children is tobe happy.
If being married is part of it,that's great.
But if it's not part of it,that's great too.
If the kids are happy or I'mhappy, that's really what we
need to be Like.
I've been single in LA for Godknows how long now and people
say, well, don't you feel badthat you're alone and I'm going.
(26:59):
No, I'm not alone, I'm reallyhappy with me.
Terry L. Fossum (27:01):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I told my boy I marriedinto three teenage and preteen
boys and I told him as they grewup look, I don't care if you're
famous or unknown, rich or poor, those things don't matter to
me, they're not important.
I demand you're honorable.
You will be honorable, and Iwant you to be happy, whatever
that means for you.
And being happy means adifferent thing for different
(27:22):
people, doesn't it?
Yeah, absolutely.
And being happy means adifferent thing for different
people, doesn't it?
Larry Namer (27:25):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think we all have the rightto follow our path to what makes
us happy and sometimes, youknow, you may not agree with it.
Like I say, from the fashionworld, I made friends with a lot
of people who are part of theLBGQI plus community and stuff
and you know, I realized that,realized that you know, other
(27:46):
than sexual orientation, I mean,we're basically the same.
We're all looking to beourselves and we're all looking
to be happy it, and that's anycountry you're in, no matter
what the culture is.
Terry L. Fossum (27:58):
There's cultural differences, but
everybody feels the same way,don't they?
Larry Namer (28:03):
yeah, like I say well, no matter.
People ask how have you beensuccessful?
I had the number one TV show inRussia for 10 years in Russian.
I had the number one comedy inChina in Mandarin.
It has to do with upbringing.
I learned to be respectful ofbeing.
As my mother used to say you'rea guest in my house.
(28:24):
You have to live by my rules orgo somewhere else.
And that's the way I approachthese other countries is.
I'm not there to change thegovernment or, you know,
overthrow whatever.
I'm there to give people asmile on their face before they
go to sleep and know tomorrow isgoing to be better than today.
Terry L. Fossum (28:41):
Yeah, and everybody cares about their kid,
everybody cares about theirspouse, everybody cares about
the same things we all careabout.
It's understanding that?
No, we really are the same.
We've been brought updifferently in a lot of cases,
but internally we're the same.
Larry Namer (28:55):
We just want to be happy we want a roof over their
head.
So, like I said, no matterwhere I go, no matter what
people I meet, 80% is commonamong every place I go and every
people, 20% is culturalupbringing and stuff like that,
but for the most part we're thesame.
Terry L. Fossum (29:16):
Yeah, yeah.
And therefore, to everybodylistening, also understand that
about each other, but also aboutyourself.
Too often, we strive forsuccess.
We strive for success.
You know what.
Don't strive for success.
Strive for what makes you happy.
That's going to end up beingthe most important thing, and
success may not make you happy.
Do what makes sense, whichleads to the next one that I
(29:38):
love, and this is going to becountercultural, which I really
love.
Following your passion is aroad to starving.
I love that.
Talk about that.
Larry Namer (29:50):
Well, I meet entrepreneurs all the time and
I'm asked to coach people andstuff like that.
And people come up with, likeI'm passionate about knitting
and I'm going, yeah, that's verynice, you're passionate about
knitting, but what are you goingto do with it At the end of the
day?
Yeah, that's very nice, you'repassionate about knitting, but
like, what are you gonna do withit at the end of the day?
We all have these common thingswe have to deal with, where we
gotta eat, we gotta pay the rent, we gotta educate our kids and
(30:12):
whatever.
So, even if your passion isthere, most people hold on to it
too long is you start something?
Go?
Well, I'm passionate about andI have to do it.
Even you know it could be thatthe passion was not something
that could lead to a successfulyou know financial being to
begin with, but it could also be.
(30:33):
Technology has changed, theenvironment has changed,
geopolitics has changed andpeople are afraid to move out of
that.
No, I have to do it because I'mpassionate about it and stuff
like that.
I've always said the smartestadvice I could give to people is
you know, find something thatyou're good at, work your butt
(30:55):
off and become great at it, andthen that will become your
passion, and then the thingsthat were your passion become
like your sidelines, because nowyou have the opportunity to
pursue those, but you've got therent covered.
Terry L. Fossum (31:09):
Please repeat that again, to the best of your
ability, what you just said,because it's so critical to
everybody listening.
Larry Namer (31:15):
Please repeat that again, if you can you know, I
always tell people findsomething you're good at, work
your butt off and become greatat it, and typically it will.
It will become your passion.
It'll provide you with the fuelof life, which is the ability
to pay the rent and eat andeducate the kids and all of that
, and then you have time tospend on those things that we're
(31:37):
passionate about.
You're not depending on thoseto provide the financial
wherewithal for you to live thelife you want to live.
I mean, for me it's real simple.
My passion is the people alwayscrack up when I say this my
passion has been cooking sinceI'm 12 years old and you know,
if I followed my passion, I'd belike probably cleaning pots and
(31:58):
pans in the back of arestaurant now.
Or, you know, at best I wouldbe a sous chef or something like
that.
But because I got very good atthis other thing now, you know,
I said, okay, I'm good attelevision, now I want to be
great at what do I need to do tobecome great at television?
So, but when you achieve that,you then give yourself the
(32:19):
freedom uh, emotionally andfinancially.
So now I, I love cooking and Iread cookbooks.
And you know I don't, I'm notone of the Hollywood people who
goes to a psychiatrist orpsychologist and when I have a
stressed out day I go in thekitchen and cook and I'm good.
Terry L. Fossum (32:39):
And you can see Larry's recipes in his book
that we'll talk about in just asecond here, where you can get
that and everything, because hegot his actual recipes in there,
which I thought was extremelycool.
Okay, One of the last ones here.
Don't take yourself tooseriously.
And now you could get caught inthis trap.
You know again who you are andeverybody's sucking up to you in
Hollywood and everything else.
Don't take yourself tooseriously.
(33:01):
Please talk about that.
Larry Namer (33:02):
Yeah, and you know I say never believe what people
write about you or whether it'sgood or bad, it's how do you
feel about yourself.
And if I feel good about myself, I don't care if you say bad
stuff about my shows or say goodstuff.
It doesn't make a difference.
But you know some of the stuffthat really made E stand out.
And again, we were, you know,this little TV network at one
(33:27):
point and like I say, 11employees and 31 interns.
But my sensibility is silly andI've never let that go, even
though I was supposed to be likemore serious business guy and
whatever I mean.
You look at, the first show onE that cut through was Talk Soup
.
I went and told the crew I saidlisten, I want to do a TV show
(33:50):
that makes fun of TV shows.
People just looked at me andthey said Larry, that's crazy.
You know well, talksoup ran 26years, you know.
And then I met this guy in anelevator in New York and he was
telling us that he's a radiohost and stuff.
And we're like yeah, yeah, yeah, ok.
He says no, you got to come andsee my show.
And you know we did that.
(34:11):
And you know I said you knowwhat this is actually
interesting.
And I went back and told thecrew I want to put cameras in
this guy's radio studio.
And they're like Larry, wethought talk soup was dumb.
But you know, radio has beendead for 40 years.
(34:33):
Well, you and make believe it'srocket science and that's kind
of what drew us out.
I mean, even I think Imentioned it in the book, but
I'm not sure we applied when westarted the network.
We applied for credentials togo cover the Academy Awards and
we got rejected and they were ah, you're some dumb little cable
network.
(34:54):
No, we're not letting you in.
So we literally climbed overthe fence and we're on the red
carpet.
We made it about a half an hourbefore security caught us.
That's hilarious, but it wasinteresting because we were more
interested in where Tom Cruisehad his suit made than what his
next project was.
And then, when people began towatch it, they were like, oh my
(35:16):
God, that was amazing.
We thought we were seeingsomething we're not supposed to
and we're like, yeah, youweren't supposed to.
No, seriously, you weren't, youknow.
But a lot of that just comesfrom, you know, the be yourself.
You know, don't let otherpeople's opinion of you or your
ideas make you rethink them.
(35:36):
If you believe in them, juststick with it.
Terry L. Fossum (35:40):
Absolutely.
Larry Namer (35:41):
Especially now in today's world, you know, with
Gen Z's people looking forauthenticity more than anything
else.
Terry L. Fossum (35:49):
Yeah, and and that's that's very refreshing,
since, again, we're all realpeople, we have real problems,
real challenges, everybody thatyou see on TV.
Again, we're all real people.
We have real problems, realchallenges, everybody that you
see on TV, movies, this podcast,everything else.
We're all real people with ourreal challenges, and it's okay
to be that, it's okay to behuman these days, which is kind
of nice, isn't it?
It is indeed so the final one.
(36:11):
The future belongs to those whoprepare for it today.
Larry Namer (36:18):
Yeah, again, we're great believers in where are we
going versus where we've been.
We jump into stuff early.
I mean now our recent thing isI've gotten heavy into the
podcast world because I thinkpodcasts are the future of niche
media, where you could havesmaller audience but who are
(36:38):
passionate.
You can be, you can do what Icall super serving, no matter
what the subject matter is.
It's a good example, because ifyou look at podcasts now, no
offense, but people typicallyare kind of at the lower end of
the production cycle.
Yeah, most people, they get a40 camera, they put it in their
(37:00):
bedroom and they have a lampright and any new technology.
If you just study this, yourealize that when something is
new, people are very forgivingof production quality, but over
time they be their their eye andtheir brain begins to expect
more and more and more.
So we could have started.
We just started this one calledStall Talk, which is a women's
(37:22):
empowerment podcast doing verywell, but rather than start it
at the low end economically withthe camera, we're shooting it
for cameras, 4k, audio engineer,lighting designer and stuff.
So when you look at it, itlooks like a TV talk show, right
, right, um, it's just a wholedifferent level, so we know
(37:45):
that's where it's going.
So, rather than you know, startoff low and eventually get
there.
We just said we're going tostart off where we know it's all
going and we kind of apply thatto everything.
Terry L. Fossum (37:57):
Right on, right on, and I think for anybody
what you want your future to be,whatever you are envisioning,
you got to get working on itright now.
You can't wait for it to justhappen.
It will not on its own.
You've got to prepare for ittoday.
Yeah, I want to.
Before we close talk more aboutthis book Now.
Do you want to?
Before we close talk more aboutthis book Now.
(38:18):
Do you want to disclose why youactually wrote this book on the
podcast, or let them figurethat out?
It was hilarious.
Larry Namer (38:25):
No, I've refused to do the book for like 20 years.
People have been after itbecause my stories are a little
bit crazy.
Most people who read the bookgo this can't be true.
But everything in that book istrue and I've left out most of
the really weird stuff.
But my daughter had a babywho's now one year.
(38:46):
So I got little grandbaby and Ijust said you know what, I want
them to understand who grandpareally was.
You know, after I'm gone, Iwant them to understand who
grandpa is and was.
And you know all the thingsthat I went through that you
know.
So I I said I got a memoriallicense so I I've always
resisted doing the book.
But then finally I said, okay,I'll do it.
But if you look at my lifepretty much you could break it
(39:09):
up into like seven or eight yearlittle segments.
So there's my brooklyn years,my manhattan years, my Manhattan
cable years, my Valley cableyears, my E years, my China
years, my Russia years, my postCOVID years.
I almost become a differentperson and I said I could break
my life up in that way and Icould do anecdotes of the
(39:30):
stories that happened duringthose times and I can match it
with the recipes that inspiredme during that time.
So the book is unusual andthat's somewhere between a bio
and a cookbook.
Terry L. Fossum (39:41):
Right, right.
I love what you said in thereabout you wanted to get out a
cookbook, but nobody would buyit, so you put your memoirs
together.
Larry Namer (39:48):
Yeah, that's it.
And like I say, people stillread it and they call me they go
Larry.
This can't be true.
And I'm like, yeah, it was, Igo Larry.
Terry L. Fossum (39:55):
This can't be true.
And I'm like, yeah, it was.
And for those that arelistening to the audio again, it
is Offscript Recipes forSuccess by Larry J Namer.
Larry, what words of advice,encouragement, anything that
you'd like to leave for theviewers and listeners.
Larry Namer (40:11):
Well, I think you know, if you've got the passion,
the brainpower and the workethic because a lot of people
think that there's a shortcut toit and there really is no
shortcut to it you know, andthey look at me and they go you
know you must have had richparents or something.
I didn't have any of that.
I was a straight C student inschool.
(40:34):
I was rejected by more collegesthan I got into.
Straight C student in school, Iwas rejected by more colleges
than I got into.
So I think I'm a good exampleof you know, if you put all the
right ingredients together, youcan do.
Whatever it is that you're,whatever it's going to make you
happy, you can get there.
But you know you got to workfor it.
Terry L. Fossum (40:50):
You got to work for it.
You got to be curious.
You got to keep on reading.
You got to keep learning.
You got to look into the future, not today, but tomorrow.
Serious you got to keep onreading.
You got to keep learning.
You got to look into the future, not today, but tomorrow.
And the most important thing inyour life is to be happy.
Larry, thank you so much forjoining me today.
I seriously appreciate it.
For all of the listeners, Ireally really recommend go back
with a pen and paper or computerscreen, however you do it,
(41:11):
re-listen to this podcast andstart writing down the lessons
learned from there, because theyare many and varied and then
apply them to your own life.
Don't just go.
That was really nifty, that wasfun.
Apply them to your own life andthen you can have your own
Comeback Chronicle.
Voice Over (41:30):
So that's it for today's episode of the Comeback
Chronicles.
Head on over to Apple Podcastsor wherever you listen and
subscribe to the show.
One lucky listener every singleweek that posts a review on
Apple Podcasts will win a chancein the grand prize drawing to
win a $25,000 private VIP datewith Terry O Fossum himself.
(41:52):
Be sure to head on over toComebackChroniclesPodcastcom and
pick up a free copy of Terry'sgift and join us on the next
episode.
If you've been stuck in fear, self-doubt, your past
failures and you're ready tobreak through your comfort zones
to finally reach the pinnacleof success in every area of your
life, then this podcast is foryou.
Here's your host, Terry LFossum.
Terry L. Fossum (00:25):
Hey, this is Terry L Fossum and welcome back
to the Comeback Chroniclespodcast.
My guest today is Larry Namer.
Larry created E EntertainmentTV.
He created names like HowardStern and the Kardashians.
He became the single mostsought-after media visionary
across the United States, canada, russia, china, pretty much
(00:47):
everywhere.
He didn't rub shoulders withthe stars, they rubbed shoulders
with him.
He's the author of an amazingnew book, offscript Recipes for
Success.
Very much recommend it.
But that's not the way italways was.
His story began in Coney Island, brooklyn back when it was a
seriously rough, impoverishedarea, not a nice place
necessarily to hang out.
(01:07):
So you can imagine he had a lotof serious setbacks, numerous
disappointments, sometimes somevery dangerous situations.
Here to tell you about hisamazing journey and help you
through your own, larry Namer,thank you so much for coming on
to the show, terry.
Good Thanks for having me.
So you got a job as anassistant underground cable
(01:28):
splicer.
You went from that toeverything else you've done.
Talk to us from there.
Larry Namer (01:33):
Sure, you know family.
You know we grew up in ConeyIsland.
We didn't, we didn't know itwas the hood growing up because
we thought that's the wayeverybody lived and stuff like
that.
And Coney, you know, whileBrooklyn has become very trendy,
brooklyn, coney Island stillhasn't been gentrified yet.
So it's still a hood.
But you know, my parents'aspiration for their children
was get a civil service job andbe able to retire with security
(01:58):
at 65 and do all of that.
But for whatever reason Ididn't pay attention.
So I was the first kid to go tocollege.
I graduated with a degree ineconomics and then quickly
realized there weren't a lot ofjobs for people with degrees in
economics.
So I took what I thought wasgoing to be a kind of a
temporary summer job.
I got a job for this companycalled Sterling Manhattan Cable,
(02:20):
at a time when nobody knew whatcable was.
But somebody we knew was in theelectrician's union and they
said we organized this thing,cable TV.
We doubt whether anybody willever pay for TV, but here, go
see them and tell them the unionsent you.
So I went and they gave me ajob literally as an assistant
underground splicer.
I wasn't even the splicer andyou know it was $90 a week, um,
(02:46):
and stuff.
But I very quickly learned touse all the equipment and they
were like amazed, going, hey kid, how did you learn how to use
the equipment in just a weekwhen it takes everybody else a
year?
And I was like, well, I readthe instruction booklet, you
know.
I mean it wasn't rocket science.
So I, I did that and then Ibecame from the assistant
splicer, I became the splicerand then I moved into
(03:09):
construction and then serviceand installation and stuff.
And then what happened was TimeIncorporated, which was then
before Time Warner, basicallywas a publishing company.
And they made a decision theywant, you know, over 10 years,
migrate from being publishing tobeing media.
And so they bought this company.
And here you had all theHarvard and the Yaleys trying to
(03:30):
figure out like what is itthose guys do when they go onto
the streets every day?
And you know, somebody in HRsaid wait a second, there's a
guy with an economics degree,that's you know, and that does
that and stuff.
So I kind of became atranslator, you know, for the
two different worlds.
And then, you know, they justkept saying to me, larry, we
want you to come into managementand I'm like no, I like my
(03:53):
secure union job.
And then finally, you know,they made me the offer I
couldn't refuse.
So I went into management and Ithink I was 25 when I became
the director of operations forManhattan Cable.
Terry L. Fossum (04:06):
So let's jump back real quick.
25, you became the director ofops.
What were you doing, man?
I mean, you're moving up thechain really quickly.
What do you think it was?
I mean, you're a smart guy.
We got you know that's a givenright and you'd read the
instructions, but what do youthink separated you from
everybody else?
Larry Namer (04:27):
Well, I mean number one, having the educational
background, but number two, youknow, really coming from.
You know this family ofimmigrant stock and we were
working since I'm 12.
Dad drove a Pepsi Cola truckand delivered soda to
restaurants and supermarkets,and mom worked for Department of
Social Services and literallywas working since I'm 12.
Kids and mom worked fordepartment of social services
and literally was working sinceI'm 12, you know, and if I would
(04:47):
have weekends off or summersoff, my dad wasn't letting me
just sit around.
Um, so it was a lot of work,ethic related stuff and and just
this, for whatever reason, isthirst for knowledge.
So I kept reading everythingyou know and even though I was
more on the technical side ofcable, I was like reading
everything you know.
And even though I was more onthe technical side of cable, I
was like reading everything andwatching everything and trying
(05:09):
to learn programming and finance, and you know government
relations and you know all ofthose kind of things and why?
Terry L. Fossum (05:18):
why do you think I mean you're curious, but
I mean work ethic is fantastic.
That's one of the mostimportant things of everything,
but the curiosity.
Why do you think you're doingall this man?
Larry Namer (05:27):
You know, that's the one we can't figure out, you
know and people laugh at thiswhen I say it, but I think it's
a little bit true when I was oneyear old, my mother dropped me
on my head literally, you know.
She put me on the kitchen tableto change my clothes and the
phone rang and she went hey,stay there.
And I literally fell off thetable and broke my arm and my
(05:49):
head and stuff like that.
But there's no logicalexplanation for it.
But you know one of theinteresting things that I've
learned over time.
So I ended up going to thishigh school in Brooklyn called
Abraham Lincoln High School,which really served lower lower
class and middle lower class andupper lower class as a public
(06:10):
school.
Nothing stood out, but to thisday there are more Nobel Prize
winners that have come from thishigh school than any other high
school in America.
There's so much to unpack inthat statement right there, man
Isn't that fantastic yeah it'slike third in the world, first
in the US and still, and thenit's turned out a
(06:32):
disproportionate number of NBAplayers at the same time.
I mean, I think like numberseven high school in America
turning out NBA professionalbasketball players, which is
really a dichotomy.
I mean, you know, from theeducational side to the athletic
side.
But there was just somethingabout growing up in that
neighborhood and thatenvironment that made us all
(06:54):
strivers.
We were all typically childrenof immigrants who were dedicated
to seeing that their kids willhave a better life than they had
, even if they had to beat itinto us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and sometimesthey did.
Terry L. Fossum (07:10):
Well, you know, I'm always looking for lessons
to share with the audience,obviously, and I'm hearing
several Number one doesn'tmatter where you come from.
You know to hear those kind ofstatistics is amazing, so don't
use that as an excuse.
Work harder than everybody elsewhich is what I did in the
military and then be curious,learn more than you have to.
Larry Namer (07:30):
Yeah, yeah, I mean I still.
You know people say well, howdo you come up with all these
crazy ideas?
I probably still read 50magazines a month Now.
I read them on my iPad.
I don't read them in hard copy.
I probably read four books amonth.
Terry L. Fossum (07:49):
What kind of books, what kind of magazines?
Larry Namer (07:51):
Everything from things business related to.
I read stuff on knitting andsewing and guns and ammo and
stuff like that, even though I'mnot into those.
I just want to understand whatpeople who are into them like
what goes through their mind.
What is it that interests them?
Because that helps me.
You know, if I'm programmingsomething is to understand who
(08:13):
I'm programming to makes a hugedifference.
Terry L. Fossum (08:17):
Fascinating and , of course, cooking shows.
I know that's right.
Larry Namer (08:20):
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Terry L. Fossum (08:24):
We'll get into that near to the end of the uh
the podcast for sure, becauseI'm going to be.
I told my son today we're goingto be doing some of those
recipes.
So what gave what gave you?
The question was going to bewhat gave you the dream to do
what you did from where you camefrom?
But it's almost like you justgot to work.
You, you put your nose to thegrindstone, learned everything
you could and just kept doing it.
Larry Namer (08:44):
Yeah, well, you know what happened was.
So here I was director ofoperations in Manhattan, 25
years old, 300-something peoplereporting to me, most of which
were older, which created aninteresting situation.
But what happened was, all of asudden big cities began to
realize that cable was more thanjust good reception and they
(09:06):
all wanted cable in their cities, but most of them, you know, up
until then cable was basicallyrural, it was on telephone poles
or whatever.
But big cities didn't wantunsightly wires running on
telephone poles because most ofthem didn't have poles anymore
and they wanted everything to gounderground.
So there was a Canadian companythat won the franchise for los
(09:27):
angeles, the san fernando valley, and it was going to be the the
first two-way interactive 61channel cable system in the
country.
And um or they had to gounderground.
So the canadian company that wontried to recruit me to come out
there and I was like no, I'mnot doing that.
I said I'm, you know, aBrooklyn kid.
(09:48):
I don't, you know, I'm notgoing to La La Land.
And finally they made me anoffer.
I couldn't refuse.
And when they finally said tome, they said well, what would
it take to get you to move?
I basically named four times mysalary.
I used to see on the front ofentertainment tonight.
They used to show Liberace'shouse with the piano shaped
(10:09):
swimming pool.
I said I want you to rent thathouse for me.
It was even before cell phones.
I said I want a car with amobile phone, on and on and on,
and they just told me you're outof your mind.
But then they finally came backand said what you asked for is
crazy, but okay.
And then I hadn't put my mouth.
I had no choice but to do it.
(10:30):
But you know, I come out toCalifornia and there are very
few cities of size in Americathat are dedicated to a single
industry.
I mean we have.
Detroit is the automotiveindustry, la is all about media
and entertainment.
I mean, it's just that, and youknow.
So here you are a Brooklyn kidand all your friends and
(10:51):
neighbors are going to partiesand premieres and doing all of
that.
So I called up the studios and Isaid, hey, put me on those
lists.
And they went oh, you're likethe gas company, you're a
utility.
No, we're not putting you onthe list.
And then finally I ended upgetting someone in marketing I
think it was Paramount andUniversal, I'm sorry.
(11:11):
And I said, hey, you know, themost effective marketing vehicle
that you have is the two-minutemovie trailer.
I said but yet I only see themovie trailer when I'm in the
movies.
I said isn't that backwards?
Don't you want me to see thatwhen I'm in my house, to make me
want to go to the movies?
And they said, yeah, but wecan't afford it.
They go okay, tell you what.
You give me those movietrailers, I'll put them on TV
(11:33):
for free.
You put me on those lists andthey said, yeah, sure, we'll do
that.
So you know, I hired a kid toedit them together and you know
we made a loop and but westarted doing surveys, audience
surveys.
What's your favorite channel?
You know people go, oh, I lovecnn, I love mtv, I love that
trailer channel and I'm goingwait a second.
(11:54):
I mean, I get the best twominutes of a 50 million dollar
movie.
Then movies are only 50 andpeople love it.
And I just filed it in the backof my head.
But then what happened was thecompany that I worked for sold
out and they were going back toCanada.
And they were like, all right,larry, you're going to join us
in Toronto, right?
And I'm like no, I said I'mdone with cold.
(12:15):
I said I didn't go from NewYork to LA to go live in Toronto
and so I stayed there and myfriend Alan and I were kicking
around.
We said we've got to come upwith ideas to keep me in LA.
I said I don't want to go backto Brooklyn and I don't want to
go to Toronto.
Alan goes well, you know I'vebeen playing around with this
idea.
You know MTV and the movies.
(12:37):
And I said wait a second.
I said at that time MTVactually showed music videos and
they would stand a host infront of a green screen and go
and Madonna has a new video.
I said I could get these movietrailers and we could stand a
host in front of a green screenand go and Schwarzenegger has a
new movie.
Yeah, and it's essentially thesame arm movement.
(12:59):
So we thought we were reallysmart.
We wrote a business plan andyou know by that we were talking
about becoming, uh,entertainment tonight 24 hours a
day, because if you follow themodel that you know, you just
have the news on at six o'clockand 11 o'clock at night.
And then cnn came along and itwas news 24 hours a day and the
svm sports 24 hours a day andthe weather channel 24 hours a
(13:19):
day.
We said, why not?
You know hollywoodentertainment 24 hours a day.
And so we wrote the plan.
We thought we were really smartand at that time the cost of
starting a TV network wassomewhere between $60 and $100
million.
Three and a half years of notraising one dime.
And people you know peoplealways say you know, people
(13:41):
don't start TV networks, onlybig media companies start TV
networks.
What you're doing is aninteresting idea, but you're not
Rupert Murdoch and you're notTime Warner and you can't do it.
Terry L. Fossum (13:52):
But then, finally, we met a guy I want to
jump in real quick on there too,man, because that's again
fantastic.
First of all, two and a halfyears Is that what you said?
Two and a half years, Three anda half years, three and a half,
three, three and a half yearsof getting shut down.
Three and a half years, no, no,no.
Door slammed in your face.
You got nosebleeds, you gotpeople telling you you're not
(14:13):
good enough, you're not rupertmurdoch, you're not good enough,
you're not smart enough, you'renot the guy.
And yet what kept you going?
You're going.
Larry Namer (14:17):
No, no, I am the guy, and this is the idea I, you
know some people call itstupidity or naivete, but we
just knew it made all the sensein the world.
I mean, if you really looked atcable world back then, we said
cable is an electronic newspaper, you know.
That's where we went from theprint newspaper to the
electronic newspaper.
(14:38):
We said, ok, cnn is theheadline pages, espn is the
sports you got the WeatherChannel.
Espn is the sports, you got theWeather Channel.
We said what's conspicuouslyabsent is the second most read
part of every Sunday newspaperand that was the entertainment
pages.
So we knew we were on it.
We said, you know, and plus,it's one of the few subject
(14:58):
matters that we said traveledlocally.
People around the world loveHollywood and love Hollywood
celebrities and you know.
So you know, if you're theWeather Channel, nobody cares
about the weather in any place.
But where they live News peopletend to.
You know they don't care aboutthe news in London, they care
about the news in the UnitedStates.
We said this is a subject thateverybody wants to know more
(15:22):
about celebrities and what'shappening in the media world.
Terry L. Fossum (15:25):
So you believed in the project more than you
believed in their opinion.
Larry Namer (15:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know.
We just realized that.
One of the things when you tellpeople something and this has
stuck with me forever when youhave to start your conversation
with, just imagine you've lostthem, they're gone.
People don't, you know, knowthey can't imagine they don't
have what you've got.
You know well whether my motherdropped me on my head or
(15:52):
something else.
There's something that goes onin the brain that the people
don't relate to yeah, yeah so,um, so you know, finally, after
three and a half years and over100 pitch meetings, I mean we
were rejected over 100 times.
100 times the first investor weever got who put a little bit
(16:14):
of money in, who committed.
We had this meeting and we werewaiting in the conference room
and the guy was like an hourlate to come in and we were just
sitting there like it was justgoing how rude is this?
And he just sat there.
The guy comes in the room withthe business plan in his hand
and then you had to print outbusiness plans.
It was, you know, notelectronic.
I mean, this is a 200 pagedocument, spiral, bound and
(16:37):
whatever.
And he just looks at us and hegoes who was the one who had the
nerve to send me this piece ofgarbage?
Oh my god.
And I I went.
Uh, he takes the plan and throwsit at my head larry, that's
amazing that's amazing and,being a brooklyn kid, I go okay,
this guy obviously is notinventing, but nobody throws
business plans at my head.
(16:58):
So we just went 15 minutes backand forth.
You know this is garbage, youknow that.
How are you going to do that?
How would you do that?
Why would you give me somethinglike this and that?
And we just went back and forth, back and forth.
And then he he just looked atus and we had an investment
banker with us at the time andhe just said you know, I love it
, I'm in.
Terry L. Fossum (17:17):
And he walks out of the room but you didn't
take the no, you didn't take himderating you and your plan and
throwing it across the table.
This crap and all this youfought back.
You believe again, you believedin your cause, you believed in
it.
Larry Namer (17:32):
Yeah, that that was .
So.
That was kind of the start.
And then once we had one, andyou know, we managed.
So after three and a half yearswe we ended up putting together
a small little group led bythis investment bank and um, uh,
you know, and they said, well,we're only able to put together
two and a half million dollars.
And we were like, no, we werehoping for the hundred million,
(17:54):
but minimum is 60.
And the guy said, well, we'reonly allowed to sign for two and
a half.
So I'm like, what am I going todo with two and a half?
And finally Alan and I justlooked at each other and said,
you know what?
Yeah, we'll do it.
Two and a half million.
We took the two and a halfmillion.
I had a friend that was teachingradio, television film at
University of Texas in Austinand I called him up and said,
(18:16):
brian, do you have kids thatneed intern jobs?
And he said, yeah, we hadtrouble placing them.
So I said, send me, send methem all.
So he literally sent us 31interns from UT, texas radio
television film program and, um,and people don't realize,
because he is a monster, todayhe is, in 142 countries,
arguably the biggest influenceof pop culture in the world, and
(18:39):
so people think it came fromsome big company and stuff.
But no, it was 11 employees and31 interns.
Terry L. Fossum (18:46):
I love it.
Well, you made it happen.
You didn't.
Oh, we can't do it, then Twoand a half isn't going to do it.
No, no, no, you made it.
You found a way.
There's always a way.
Yep, that we did.
So you've got some recipes forsuccess that you put in your
book and I'd love to talk aboutsome of those, because some of
them, I thought, hit well.
They all hit home really well.
(19:07):
Some of them really hit me bigtime and that I really wanted
the audience to make sure andhear those especially like don't
let yesterday take up too muchof today.
Can you talk more about that?
Larry Namer (19:21):
yeah, I mean I've always been you know person.
I mean I have a lot of friendsthat are still stuck on 80s
music.
I'm always, for whatever reason, saying I don't really.
I mean I could appreciate whatwas and I could learn from what
was, but I want to know what'snext.
I don't want to be what was, Iwant to be what will be.
You know everything I couldpossibly study, and particularly
(19:45):
new technology and how all thisnew technology fundamentally
changes the business of media.
Um, I mean now we're into nftsand crypto and blockchain and
all of that stuff.
It's not here today, but it'sgoing to be whether we like it
or not.
Technology marches on everybody.
Everybody's so worried about AIand I'm going this is one of the
(20:13):
greatest tools for a creatorthat's out there.
I mean, in the example I give,like if you were to say to me,
larry, could you design a TVseries about spoons Not that it
would ever hold up, but it wouldtake me five days of doing the
research and writing it up andgoing what are the episodes and
(20:33):
you know what's the financialforecast and stuff.
But now I mean I've been usingAI literally from even before
GBT and for what used to take mefive days.
I put it in, it takes me 30seconds and then I got to clean
it up.
It's never 100%, so in one hourI'm getting done what used to
take me five days.
And I try to explain to peopleI go.
How do you not love this?
(20:54):
I mean, we're all basicallyhuman beings, you know, with
some deviation.
We all have the same amount oftime on this planet and the most
valuable thing we have is ourtime.
I said so.
I could take those.
I could either do more of thesekinds of projects and make more
money, or I could spend moretime with my little grandkid, or
(21:15):
I could learn how to speakSpanish, or I could go on a
cruise.
I've reclaimed the mostvaluable thing that we as human
beings have and that's our time.
And how do you not love it?
I mean, if you go back and youlook at, you know, late 1800s,
you know horse ranchers were notreal happy when henry ford
decided to build cars, you know,and they were like, no, we're
(21:36):
not going to let that happen.
We're not going to let thathappen.
And I say to people I go, lookout the window and tell me how
many cars you see versus howmany horse and buggies.
I said, technology marches on,whether you like it or not.
Yes, there are opportunity forbad people to do bad things and
you need to put in thosesafeguards that at least provide
a deterrent.
(21:57):
But how do you not lovesomething that's an incredibly
valuable tool?
I mean even now with the book,which is interesting.
I've never written a book before.
I knew nothing about bookmarketing, but I know how to use
AI really well, and so welaunched the book and in three
days we were bestseller in fourdifferent categories, and the
(22:17):
entire social media program wasdesigned by ChatGBT4.
Just wrote everything,separated out the potential
audiences and stuff, and we hit.
We were in the top 1% of salesliterally three days after we
launched the book.
Terry L. Fossum (22:34):
I love it and I extrapolated the.
Don't let yesterday take toomuch of today, not just from the
technology standpoint and theadvancement of many industries,
but also for ourselves.
Too often we get stuck in ourpast and bad things that have
happened to us and we keepmuddling in the mass of
mediocrity and just can't let goof that stuff.
(22:55):
Nah, you know what.
It's time to let it go.
Don't let it take up too muchof today.
Larry Namer (23:00):
Yeah, no, we totally agree.
I mean, what happened in thepast happened in the past and we
can't change that.
We can impact what's going tobe in front of us and another
one I really wanted to hit onagain.
Terry L. Fossum (23:13):
I love so many of them.
Let yourself be who you reallyare.
Yeah, talk to that man.
Talk to that.
You know I've got.
Larry Namer (23:22):
You know, I've done a lot of stuff in the fashion
world.
I mean, we're really the firstones and people never realized
because it was fairly subtle.
We looked at the entertainmentworld not being film, not being
television, not being music, butreally being all of those.
We said music is part of it,fashion is part of it, film is
(23:42):
part, television is part, and Idid a lot of fashion shows.
You know, in E we did fashionand police and we were the first
ones on the runway to askpeople about what they're
wearing, versus, like, whattheir next project is, because
we knew that was much moreinteresting to people.
And you know I mean, so youknow we did that and we just
(24:04):
kept, you know, reinventing thethings that were.
You know, given people thatthis is the way you do it, we
just said, no, that's, that'sthe wrong way to do it.
And you know we turned out tobe right.
Terry L. Fossum (24:18):
You know, on most of that stuff, Well, if you
keep following the crowd,you're going to be in the crowd.
You've got to get away from thecrowd.
Yeah, but also with the letyourself, be who you really are.
A lot of us, me included, a lotof times we don't want to show
who we really are.
When I get around, I'm a scout,I'm a scout leader.
When I get around the kids, I'mgoofy, I'm energetic, I'm
jumping up and down, screamingand yelling, and a lot of times
(24:41):
you get into a professionalenvironment.
Well, you don't want to showthat you're a real person.
Be who you really are.
Be a real person.
Does that make sense?
Larry Namer (24:53):
Yeah, and that's absolutely true, but I think it
was like being very intimatelyinvolved with the fashion world.
The fashion world is fairlyheavily gay or whatever, and we
found the most well-adjustedpeople were, you know,
regardless, gay, straight,whatever were people who just
accepted who they were and werenot afraid to be that person.
(25:13):
Yeah, and those are the mostfun people to be around.
Terry L. Fossum (25:16):
they had the less issues yeah, yeah, and I
did a little bit of acting andin there in those classes I
touched.
Be yourself.
You are good enough as you areand I want the listeners to
understand that Be yourself.
You are good enough in whateveryou're doing.
If they don't like it, you gotthe wrong crowd.
You got the wrong people.
Go around the people that canaccept you as your true self,
(25:39):
because that's going to be yourtrue friends.
Okay, the most important thingin life is to be happy.
The next one, talk.
Here you are.
I mean, you're doing prettywell financially.
You've done some amazing thingsright, but you're saying the
most important thing in theworld is to be happy.
Talk about that, please.
Larry Namer (25:55):
Yeah, I think that's what we all ultimately
strive for.
Well, no matter where we are,no matter what country I go to,
80% of what people feel insidethey're just common goals.
I mean we strive for happiness,for security, you know, for
well-being of our families andour kids and stuff like that.
(26:16):
And I used to have this debatewith my mom all the time because
my daughter was as she wasgetting a little bit older and
she'd go out with a guy.
My mom would say, you know shewas getting a little bit older
and she'd go out with a guy.
My mom would say, you know, itwas Nicole Sirius with the guy.
I go, what do you mean, sirius?
I mean they like each other,they're good and she'd go.
Well, are they going to getmarried?
And I just said, you know what?
(26:36):
My wishes for my children arenot to be married.
My wish for my children is tobe happy.
If being married is part of it,that's great.
But if it's not part of it,that's great too.
If the kids are happy or I'mhappy, that's really what we
need to be Like.
I've been single in LA for Godknows how long now and people
say, well, don't you feel badthat you're alone and I'm going.
(26:59):
No, I'm not alone, I'm reallyhappy with me.
Terry L. Fossum (27:01):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I told my boy I marriedinto three teenage and preteen
boys and I told him as they grewup look, I don't care if you're
famous or unknown, rich or poor, those things don't matter to
me, they're not important.
I demand you're honorable.
You will be honorable, and Iwant you to be happy, whatever
that means for you.
And being happy means adifferent thing for different
(27:22):
people, doesn't it?
Yeah, absolutely.
And being happy means adifferent thing for different
people, doesn't it?
Larry Namer (27:25):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think we all have the rightto follow our path to what makes
us happy and sometimes, youknow, you may not agree with it.
Like I say, from the fashionworld, I made friends with a lot
of people who are part of theLBGQI plus community and stuff
and you know, I realized that,realized that you know, other
(27:46):
than sexual orientation, I mean,we're basically the same.
We're all looking to beourselves and we're all looking
to be happy it, and that's anycountry you're in, no matter
what the culture is.
Terry L. Fossum (27:58):
There's cultural differences, but
everybody feels the same way,don't they?
Larry Namer (28:03):
yeah, like I say well, no matter.
People ask how have you beensuccessful?
I had the number one TV show inRussia for 10 years in Russian.
I had the number one comedy inChina in Mandarin.
It has to do with upbringing.
I learned to be respectful ofbeing.
As my mother used to say you'rea guest in my house.
(28:24):
You have to live by my rules orgo somewhere else.
And that's the way I approachthese other countries is.
I'm not there to change thegovernment or, you know,
overthrow whatever.
I'm there to give people asmile on their face before they
go to sleep and know tomorrow isgoing to be better than today.
Terry L. Fossum (28:41):
Yeah, and everybody cares about their kid,
everybody cares about theirspouse, everybody cares about
the same things we all careabout.
It's understanding that?
No, we really are the same.
We've been brought updifferently in a lot of cases,
but internally we're the same.
Larry Namer (28:55):
We just want to be happy we want a roof over their
head.
So, like I said, no matterwhere I go, no matter what
people I meet, 80% is commonamong every place I go and every
people, 20% is culturalupbringing and stuff like that,
but for the most part we're thesame.
Terry L. Fossum (29:16):
Yeah, yeah.
And therefore, to everybodylistening, also understand that
about each other, but also aboutyourself.
Too often, we strive forsuccess.
We strive for success.
You know what.
Don't strive for success.
Strive for what makes you happy.
That's going to end up beingthe most important thing, and
success may not make you happy.
Do what makes sense, whichleads to the next one that I
(29:38):
love, and this is going to becountercultural, which I really
love.
Following your passion is aroad to starving.
I love that.
Talk about that.
Larry Namer (29:50):
Well, I meet entrepreneurs all the time and
I'm asked to coach people andstuff like that.
And people come up with, likeI'm passionate about knitting
and I'm going, yeah, that's verynice, you're passionate about
knitting, but what are you goingto do with it At the end of the
day?
Yeah, that's very nice, you'repassionate about knitting, but
like, what are you gonna do withit at the end of the day?
We all have these common thingswe have to deal with, where we
gotta eat, we gotta pay the rent, we gotta educate our kids and
(30:12):
whatever.
So, even if your passion isthere, most people hold on to it
too long is you start something?
Go?
Well, I'm passionate about andI have to do it.
Even you know it could be thatthe passion was not something
that could lead to a successfulyou know financial being to
begin with, but it could also be.
(30:33):
Technology has changed, theenvironment has changed,
geopolitics has changed andpeople are afraid to move out of
that.
No, I have to do it because I'mpassionate about it and stuff
like that.
I've always said the smartestadvice I could give to people is
you know, find something thatyou're good at, work your butt
(30:55):
off and become great at it, andthen that will become your
passion, and then the thingsthat were your passion become
like your sidelines, because nowyou have the opportunity to
pursue those, but you've got therent covered.
Terry L. Fossum (31:09):
Please repeat that again, to the best of your
ability, what you just said,because it's so critical to
everybody listening.
Larry Namer (31:15):
Please repeat that again, if you can you know, I
always tell people findsomething you're good at, work
your butt off and become greatat it, and typically it will.
It will become your passion.
It'll provide you with the fuelof life, which is the ability
to pay the rent and eat andeducate the kids and all of that
, and then you have time tospend on those things that we're
(31:37):
passionate about.
You're not depending on thoseto provide the financial
wherewithal for you to live thelife you want to live.
I mean, for me it's real simple.
My passion is the people alwayscrack up when I say this my
passion has been cooking sinceI'm 12 years old and you know,
if I followed my passion, I'd belike probably cleaning pots and
(31:58):
pans in the back of arestaurant now.
Or, you know, at best I wouldbe a sous chef or something like
that.
But because I got very good atthis other thing now, you know,
I said, okay, I'm good attelevision, now I want to be
great at what do I need to do tobecome great at television?
So, but when you achieve that,you then give yourself the
(32:19):
freedom uh, emotionally andfinancially.
So now I, I love cooking and Iread cookbooks.
And you know I don't, I'm notone of the Hollywood people who
goes to a psychiatrist orpsychologist and when I have a
stressed out day I go in thekitchen and cook and I'm good.
Terry L. Fossum (32:39):
And you can see Larry's recipes in his book
that we'll talk about in just asecond here, where you can get
that and everything, because hegot his actual recipes in there,
which I thought was extremelycool.
Okay, One of the last ones here.
Don't take yourself tooseriously.
And now you could get caught inthis trap.
You know again who you are andeverybody's sucking up to you in
Hollywood and everything else.
Don't take yourself tooseriously.
(33:01):
Please talk about that.
Larry Namer (33:02):
Yeah, and you know I say never believe what people
write about you or whether it'sgood or bad, it's how do you
feel about yourself.
And if I feel good about myself, I don't care if you say bad
stuff about my shows or say goodstuff.
It doesn't make a difference.
But you know some of the stuffthat really made E stand out.
And again, we were, you know,this little TV network at one
(33:27):
point and like I say, 11employees and 31 interns.
But my sensibility is silly andI've never let that go, even
though I was supposed to be likemore serious business guy and
whatever I mean.
You look at, the first show onE that cut through was Talk Soup
.
I went and told the crew I saidlisten, I want to do a TV show
(33:50):
that makes fun of TV shows.
People just looked at me andthey said Larry, that's crazy.
You know well, talksoup ran 26years, you know.
And then I met this guy in anelevator in New York and he was
telling us that he's a radiohost and stuff.
And we're like yeah, yeah, yeah, ok.
He says no, you got to come andsee my show.
And you know we did that.
(34:11):
And you know I said you knowwhat this is actually
interesting.
And I went back and told thecrew I want to put cameras in
this guy's radio studio.
And they're like Larry, wethought talk soup was dumb.
But you know, radio has beendead for 40 years.
(34:33):
Well, you and make believe it'srocket science and that's kind
of what drew us out.
I mean, even I think Imentioned it in the book, but
I'm not sure we applied when westarted the network.
We applied for credentials togo cover the Academy Awards and
we got rejected and they were ah, you're some dumb little cable
network.
(34:54):
No, we're not letting you in.
So we literally climbed overthe fence and we're on the red
carpet.
We made it about a half an hourbefore security caught us.
That's hilarious, but it wasinteresting because we were more
interested in where Tom Cruisehad his suit made than what his
next project was.
And then, when people began towatch it, they were like, oh my
(35:16):
God, that was amazing.
We thought we were seeingsomething we're not supposed to
and we're like, yeah, youweren't supposed to.
No, seriously, you weren't, youknow.
But a lot of that just comesfrom, you know, the be yourself.
You know, don't let otherpeople's opinion of you or your
ideas make you rethink them.
(35:36):
If you believe in them, juststick with it.
Terry L. Fossum (35:40):
Absolutely.
Larry Namer (35:41):
Especially now in today's world, you know, with
Gen Z's people looking forauthenticity more than anything
else.
Terry L. Fossum (35:49):
Yeah, and and that's that's very refreshing,
since, again, we're all realpeople, we have real problems,
real challenges, everybody thatyou see on TV.
Again, we're all real people.
We have real problems, realchallenges, everybody that you
see on TV, movies, this podcast,everything else.
We're all real people with ourreal challenges, and it's okay
to be that, it's okay to behuman these days, which is kind
of nice, isn't it?
It is indeed so the final one.
(36:11):
The future belongs to those whoprepare for it today.
Larry Namer (36:18):
Yeah, again, we're great believers in where are we
going versus where we've been.
We jump into stuff early.
I mean now our recent thing isI've gotten heavy into the
podcast world because I thinkpodcasts are the future of niche
media, where you could havesmaller audience but who are
(36:38):
passionate.
You can be, you can do what Icall super serving, no matter
what the subject matter is.
It's a good example, because ifyou look at podcasts now, no
offense, but people typicallyare kind of at the lower end of
the production cycle.
Yeah, most people, they get a40 camera, they put it in their
(37:00):
bedroom and they have a lampright and any new technology.
If you just study this, yourealize that when something is
new, people are very forgivingof production quality, but over
time they be their their eye andtheir brain begins to expect
more and more and more.
So we could have started.
We just started this one calledStall Talk, which is a women's
(37:22):
empowerment podcast doing verywell, but rather than start it
at the low end economically withthe camera, we're shooting it
for cameras, 4k, audio engineer,lighting designer and stuff.
So when you look at it, itlooks like a TV talk show, right
, right, um, it's just a wholedifferent level, so we know
(37:45):
that's where it's going.
So, rather than you know, startoff low and eventually get
there.
We just said we're going tostart off where we know it's all
going and we kind of apply thatto everything.
Terry L. Fossum (37:57):
Right on, right on, and I think for anybody
what you want your future to be,whatever you are envisioning,
you got to get working on itright now.
You can't wait for it to justhappen.
It will not on its own.
You've got to prepare for ittoday.
Yeah, I want to.
Before we close talk more aboutthis book Now.
Do you want to?
Before we close talk more aboutthis book Now.
(38:18):
Do you want to disclose why youactually wrote this book on the
podcast, or let them figurethat out?
It was hilarious.
Larry Namer (38:25):
No, I've refused to do the book for like 20 years.
People have been after itbecause my stories are a little
bit crazy.
Most people who read the bookgo this can't be true.
But everything in that book istrue and I've left out most of
the really weird stuff.
But my daughter had a babywho's now one year.
(38:46):
So I got little grandbaby and Ijust said you know what, I want
them to understand who grandpareally was.
You know, after I'm gone, Iwant them to understand who
grandpa is and was.
And you know all the thingsthat I went through that you
know.
So I I said I got a memoriallicense so I I've always
resisted doing the book.
But then finally I said, okay,I'll do it.
But if you look at my lifepretty much you could break it
(39:09):
up into like seven or eight yearlittle segments.
So there's my brooklyn years,my manhattan years, my Manhattan
cable years, my Valley cableyears, my E years, my China
years, my Russia years, my postCOVID years.
I almost become a differentperson and I said I could break
my life up in that way and Icould do anecdotes of the
(39:30):
stories that happened duringthose times and I can match it
with the recipes that inspiredme during that time.
So the book is unusual andthat's somewhere between a bio
and a cookbook.
Terry L. Fossum (39:41):
Right, right.
I love what you said in thereabout you wanted to get out a
cookbook, but nobody would buyit, so you put your memoirs
together.
Larry Namer (39:48):
Yeah, that's it.
And like I say, people stillread it and they call me they go
Larry.
This can't be true.
And I'm like, yeah, it was, Igo Larry.
Terry L. Fossum (39:55):
This can't be true.
And I'm like, yeah, it was.
And for those that arelistening to the audio again, it
is Offscript Recipes forSuccess by Larry J Namer.
Larry, what words of advice,encouragement, anything that
you'd like to leave for theviewers and listeners.
Larry Namer (40:11):
Well, I think you know, if you've got the passion,
the brainpower and the workethic because a lot of people
think that there's a shortcut toit and there really is no
shortcut to it you know, andthey look at me and they go you
know you must have had richparents or something.
I didn't have any of that.
I was a straight C student inschool.
(40:34):
I was rejected by more collegesthan I got into.
Straight C student in school, Iwas rejected by more colleges
than I got into.
So I think I'm a good exampleof you know, if you put all the
right ingredients together, youcan do.
Whatever it is that you're,whatever it's going to make you
happy, you can get there.
But you know you got to workfor it.
Terry L. Fossum (40:50):
You got to work for it.
You got to be curious.
You got to keep on reading.
You got to keep learning.
You got to look into the future, not today, but tomorrow.
Serious you got to keep onreading.
You got to keep learning.
You got to look into the future, not today, but tomorrow.
And the most important thing inyour life is to be happy.
Larry, thank you so much forjoining me today.
I seriously appreciate it.
For all of the listeners, Ireally really recommend go back
with a pen and paper or computerscreen, however you do it,
(41:11):
re-listen to this podcast andstart writing down the lessons
learned from there, because theyare many and varied and then
apply them to your own life.
Don't just go.
That was really nifty, that wasfun.
Apply them to your own life andthen you can have your own
Comeback Chronicle.
Voice Over (41:30):
So that's it for today's episode of the Comeback
Chronicles.
Head on over to Apple Podcastsor wherever you listen and
subscribe to the show.
One lucky listener every singleweek that posts a review on
Apple Podcasts will win a chancein the grand prize drawing to
win a $25,000 private VIP datewith Terry O Fossum himself.
(41:52):
Be sure to head on over toComebackChroniclesPodcastcom and
pick up a free copy of Terry'sgift and join us on the next
episode.
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