“Bill Self & Rob Riggle, ~ Give me that Old Time Business Success Advice of overcoming failure and resilience.”
Dear Bank of Prairie Village Shareholders and Clients ~
Over the past several months, I’ve had the good fortune of being able to listen to several very accomplished individuals speak to smaller groups.
What I found fascinating was despite success in various and diverse fields, their attitudes, mindsets, tribulations, and philosophies were not only similar, but almost identical. Further, their advice for future achievers was almost word for word out of the old personal success books from decades ago. In fact, a couple even quoted and had read the books and listened to the tapes of Zig Zigler, which were popular during my collegiate days.
Let me give you just two such experiences. My first was listening to Legendary KU Basketball Coach, Bill Self, speak to the Economic Club of Kansas City. I expected it would be all about KU Basketball~ and the coming season.
Instead, Coach Self read his audience of virtually all business professionals and their sons and daughters. You could tell on the fly, he changed his presentation to make the most impact.
He started by addressing the young people in the room. He stated, the older business professionals attending had achieved success by taking chances whenever and wherever opportunity presented itself. Further, Coach Self stated it required the discipline and confidence to step out of one’s comfort zone~ to seize upon an opportunity~ even if failure was highly likely.
To illustrate his point, Coach Self explained how he got into Basketball Coaching.
Between his junior and senior year while playing basketball for Oklahoma State, Coach Self worked Larry Brown’s KU basketball camp. (The NCAA in its Classic Wisdom, would not let college basketball players work the camps of their own coaches and their own schools.) Instead, players could only work the camps of other college coaches.
While working at the KU camp for Coach Brown, Self apparently severely injured his ankle in a pickup basketball game. It was a significant enough injury to jeopardize his playing his senior year. Up to that point, Self was majoring in business and planned to sell insurance after graduation.
As he was lying in his bed at the dorm with foot in cast, Coach Brown came by. Brown said how sorry he was because Self was injured at his Basketball Camp. Brown then asked, “if there was anything he could do to help?”
Self said, “like a bolt of lightning I was inspired!” I responded, “Yes Coach Brown there is something you can do to help make up for this injury~ you can make me a graduate assistant on your staff next year after I graduate.” Stunned, at Self’s bold request, Coach Brown “nodded his head, mumbled yes, and then quickly left the room.”
Self’s injury improved and he did play at Oklahoma State his senior year. However, he never heard from Larry Brown that season or after the season was over.
Undeterred and not wanting to give Coach Brown a chance to “crawfish backwards,” Self on the day after graduation, picked up his business administration diploma, packed his car, and drove straight to Lawrence.
On arrival Self walked straight into Coach Brown’s office and announced “Coach Brown following through on your promise for me to be your graduate assistant, I’ve moved to Lawrence. Here I am. Where do you want me to put my stuff and when can I get started?”
Bug-eyed surprised, Coach Brown, who had forgotten all about Self, directed him into a cluttered large closet space with a small desk. Thus, began Coach Self’s Hall of Fame Career.
My second experience was the chance to hear Rob Riggle speak to a group of Kansas Bankers at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
I first became aware of Rob Riggle, about 40 years ago. I was by then a KU alumnus. I had sent several names of young men to my fraternity to be recruited.
I learned almost all my recommendations had pledged another House~ Phi Gamma Delta. I was not happy and angrily called my fraternity’s rush chair to find out what was going on. “Why in the hell are we losing so many recruits to this one fraternity?” I fumed.
The very nice rush chair patiently explained, “Mr. Bolen ~Phi Gamma Delta has this guy named Riggle who is really really funny.” Riggle starts cracking jokes ~keeps nodding his head, and gets the Rush-ees laughing. Before we can even get them to come to our House they end up pledging his house.”
Years later I wondered if “the Riggle guy” I was seeing in comedy movies and on Saturday Night Live was the same funny guy who stole all my rush recommendations. I had to admit; Riggle was very funny. (In fact, I probably would have pledged his fraternity if Riggle was rushing me.)
Going into the Kansas Bankers meeting, I assumed Rob Riggle had led a “charmed life, cracking jokes from the college fraternity into the movies, and then stardom.” I expected his talk to the Kansas Bankers to consist of a standup comedy routine.
Instead, I was shocked to realize Rob Riggle’s presentation was all business. He explained, he went from College into the US Marine Corps. He first had to complete Officers Cadet School (OCS) for commissioning~ then Marine Corps flight training. This resulted in him being a Marine Corps Officer Helicopter pilot.
After his mandatory first 8-year enlistment in the Corps, Rob felt a crushing agony when he realized if he reenlisted again and stayed flying helicopters (which was well paying, a high profile job and just damn fun) ~ he would be in essence forgoing his dream of being a standup comic.
After a great deal of soul searching and reading motivational books, Riggle resigned from the Helicopters and went into the US Marine Corps Reserves~ to pursue comedy. Knowing nobody, Rob went to New York by himself. He moved into a hell hole apartment and started making the rounds of the improvised standup comedy circuit at night while saving money to go to acting schools during the day.
Rob stated the Marine Corps had convinced him he must overcome fears and doubts, trust in his perseverance and always embrace the need to put himself into uncomfortable situations. Recalling nights of telling jokes to only three and four heckling drunks well past midnight in raunchy New York comedy clubs, he said he drew on his Marine Corps Officer training for the perseverance to keep going.
Rob was beginning to get traction in his comedy career, when the 9-11 terrorist attack happened against the World Trade Center. Reserve Officer Riggle was immediately called back into Active Service and sent to Afghanistan where he was sent out to rural villages to try to convince the village elders to tell him where the Taliban were hiding. (I desperately wanted to ask Rob Riggle whether Tribal Elders had a sense of humor and whether this Afghanistan assignment was harder than trying to make heckling New York drunks laugh? I decided I had better bite my tongue.)
Rob talked about the high he had when hired by Saturday Night Live, and the low of getting fired from Saturday Night Live. He also spoke of having to run down the street between shooting comedy TV sets to the US Marine station to report for duty~ and the challenge of changing into his uniform while running.
Rob said his low point was being fired from the Saturday Night Live team and ~having to watch the show while studying in the Spartan Bare Officer’s barracks to pass his Marine Corps Strategic Assessment. He thought his world could not get any lower and he was a failure. Seven movies later he realized the benefits of perseverance.
In short, Rob Riggle’s path from Fraternity funny guy to television and movie stardom was anything but the “walk in the park” I had imagined.
By pure determination and resilience, Riggle achieved both his goals. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves and he starred in numerous movies. One Banker asked Rob if being funny helped him in his Marine Corps career. I loved Riggle’s response. “The Marine Corps values a great many physical and mental traits~ however, funniness is not one of them.”
Rob has written a book entitled “Grit, Spit & Never Quit” detailing his military and comedy lessons.
Perhaps like the old motivation books of Zig Zigler, which both Rob and I read in college, Rob Riggle’s book will motivate the next generation of college students who want to walk the very hard, sometimes lonely road of trying to achieve success.
As we go into this wondrous Holiday Season, let’s not only be thankful for the blessings we have been given, but also the blessings which must be earned by resilience, opportunity seized and determination. If this formula worked for Bill Self and Rob Riggle, it will certainly work for us.
Our Very Best for the Holidays~
Dan Bolen ~ Chairman
Bank of Prairie Village
“The Bank of Prairie Village ~ Home of Blue Lion Banking” ~ cited March 2020, April 2021, April 2022, April 2023 and April 2024 by the by the Kansas City Business Journal as one of the “Safest Banks in Kansas City for Your Money.”
Small Batch Banking ~ Once Client at a Time.
