5 Key Ways to Stay Sane While Working Toward Success, According to Hollywood’s Top Pop Manager
Scooter Braun is the founder and executive owner of one of the most successful entertainment and media management companies in Hollywood, boasting international sensations such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande and has “broken more new artists than any other music executive in the last decade.”
From his star-studded clientele and Hollywood empire to his lucrative investments in Spotify and Uber, it seems that everything Scooter touches turns to gold.
What is at the center of this Hollywood empire is someone that speaks up for valuable life lessons such as honouring integrity and family, and looking at a wholesome life not through a bank account but through a loving community.
Being grounded in a glitzy fast-paced world is integral to Scooter’s success in Hollywood. Here are five ways he manages to stay sane and hold onto his integrity throughout life on the red carpet, according to his set of values listed on SB Projects.
Family is everything
View this post on Instagram
To Braun, family is the cornerstone that holds the ultimate value in his life. The monetary success and fame are not comparable to what he shares with the company of his loved ones.
“We should be looking at success as a very different thing. Are we happy? Do we have quality of life? Are we surrounded by loved ones?” Scooter asks in a recent interview, “Are we able to take time to actually enjoy the victories? Do we even know what the victories are?”
“I can tell you with all the monetary success that I have that if it wasn’t for my wife and children, I would be so lost. Family and friends, that’s your real value. Each birthday I have, I don’t look around and say gosh, I wonder how much money I got. No I look around and think, ‘God, look at the people I’ve collected in my life, look at the family I’ve collected.’”
Do well by doing good
When Scooter was younger, he had a conversation he had with his father after he had been grounded for lying. His father told him that he was a liar and that even though he had no doubt that Scooter would have success in life, he would always be a liar. It was these words provoked a deep transformation in Scooter, and making him determined to draw a new moral high ground for himself.
Scooter describes his choice to live with integrity as being what makes his victories fulfilling, and is what keeps a person completely at peace with all the success they have attained, especially for someone in the star-studded world of celebrities and scandals.
His decision to be a better person and do good for himself and others around him has manifested not only in his character decisions, but in his numerous philanthropic endeavours: Scooter Braun’s organization has reportedly granted more wishes for the Make-A-Wish foundation than any other organization in the history of the charitable foundation, and supporting Pencil of Promise foundation which has built more than 200 schools in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Always maintain an underdog mentality
The underdog mentality is about being humble enough to know the odds may be against you, but knowing that through hard work and perseverance you can achieve your goals.
“Homes of success and failure were right next to each other,” Scooter says of the turbulent times early on in his career, “If I would have given up, I would have never known that success was waiting for me next door. And to me, that is success. It’s who’s going to keep swinging.”
Empower others, make leaders
While Scooter Braun’s formal title is manager, he insists his role goes beyond a rigid corporate title and instead considers himself partners with his clients. Scooter’s approach to managing is nurturing a close knit, emotional relationship with his clients, and by doing so, he can gain his client’s trust and work towards ensuring their wellness.
“I think ‘manager’ is a stupid word,” he told Variety magazine, “It’s an old model that shouldn’t work today. Why so many huge artists die and go through hardships is because they don’t have people around who can have an honest conversation with them. We actually just care. I’d rather use the word partner — someone you can trust, that you can turn to. I’m the majority shareholder of the company, but Allison Kaye is my partner. Scott Manson is my partner. Justin Bieber is my partner.”
Why be normal?
What was the considered a normal relationship for manager and client was a professional centered, arms-length relationship. Braun decided that the normal relationship others boasted wasn’t heading towards success for either party.
It was more important to be open and vulnerable to others in order to completely invest in each other’s success. Choosing the best way he could attain success, rather than the normal way, lead to a career that fulfilled more than just financially, but cultivated meaningful relationships for life.
