From Blue-Collar Paper Boy to Comedian to CEO of Pilot Pen, Ron Shaw Shares Lessons Learned on the Long, Hard Climb to Success; Savvy, Risk-Taker Built Pilot Pen of America from $1 Million to $200 Million in Sales
NEW YORK and TRUMBULL, Conn.--(COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Jan 20, 2005--Ron Shaw, president and CEO of Pilot Pen, believes that there is one essential element common to all successful people. It`s not an apprenticeship with Donald Trump, an MBA or insider connections. It`s recognizing that you don`t need someone to give you permission to pursue the life you want. In ``Pilot Your Life: How to Create the Career You Want`` (with Richard Krevolin and Phil Ehrenkranz; Emmis Books, January 2005), Ron Shaw gives college students a one-on-one seminar in how to make it big � lessons that he learned the hard way in his own against-all-odds climb to success.
Shaw`s real-life stories from his 11 years in show business and more than 40 years in the corporate world illustrate how to get ahead by applying lessons he learned onstage and off. His most important advice: Never wait for someone to give you permission to pursue your dreams.
With the New Year motivating many people to turn over a new leaf, this book covers the essentials of what`s needed to excel in ``real world`` careers. Among the many lessons Shaw shares in ``PILOT YOUR LIFE``, here are the top five:
1. Selling yourself is the first step. If people aren`t buying you, they won`t buy anything else from you.
2. Create your own opportunities.
3. Trust your instincts and take risks.
4. Pay attention to your appearance. How you dress, how you are groomed, how you conduct yourself and open doors � or keep them shut.
5. Don`t wait for permission to go after the life you want.
Shaw`s career is one of those great American success stories: raised in a blue collar family, he received early lessons in tenacity and discovered the importance of taking initiative for getting ahead. When Shaw was 10, he landed a job as a paperboy when the required age was 12, then he negotiated a payment plan on a stunning new bicycle. At 11, he asked for an audition and was suddenly in show business, first as a piano player then, at 15, as a comedian, eventually opening for such greats as Dean Martin and Liberace. At 22, newly married and needing a steadier line of work, he left show business to become a pen salesman.
He went on to make it big in business by applying lessons he learned in the spotlight. Shaw, the President and CEO of Pilot Pen Corporation of America, has led the company from $1 million to nearly $200 million in sales. Along the way, he has appeared on ABC`s ``World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,`` CNN`s ``Larry King Live,`` CNN and CNBC and has also been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Business Week, Fortune and Forbes.
Shaw says the key to his success has been two-fold: first believing the product is the best, then employing ``razzle-dazzle`` marketing ideas that were humorous, and creating ``well-orchestrated public relations.`` He adds: ``It`s all about going after your goals and building your brand.``
About the author
Ron Shaw is President and CEO of Pilot Pen Corporation of America. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the parent company, Pilot Corporation, the oldest and largest manufacturer of writing instruments in Japan. Shaw is one of only six Americans ever to be elevated to the Board of Directors of any publicly held Japanese corporation.
For further information and review copies, please contact Carol Klenfner, [email protected]; 212-561-7467. Also, go to www.pilotyourlife.com.
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