15 May Five Things I Learned from Prince

Five Things I Learned from Prince

Whenever someone famous dies, we remember where we were at the time of their death. I was attending the #Pericon16 conference when I learned that Prince died. Hearing about his departure put a temporary cloud over my day, but it ended with me coming up with a list of five things I learned from Prince.

These are five things that Prince did during his career that I believe can be used to make myself a better entrepreneur.

Be Unique

Prince’s style was influenced by entertainers like James Brown and Jimi Hendrix, but he did not copy everything they did. He studied his idols and used bits and pieces from them to create his own style. He wasn’t the first artist to dress in an androgynous way. He just did it differently.  Prince, along with his band mates, are also the ones who made the distinct Minneapolis sound known to the world.

Be Your Product

Although his full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, he went only by his first name. After the conflict with Warner Bros., he was not allowed to perform as Prince. He created a unique symbol to identify himself and chose The Artist Formerly Known As Prince for his new name. This dispute contributed to Prince creating Paisley Park so that he would retain ownership of his work. He also chose purple as his signature color, which led to him being known as His Purple Badness.

Be Prolific

Prince released almost 50 albums, and more than 100 singles and 130 videos. He had the ability to quickly create music. After his death, the world was shocked to learn he had “recorded enough music to release one album a year for the rest of the century.”  This music has the potential to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars if ever released from its vault.

Be a Giver – Prince was extremely generous to others through his various charities and also personally. Federal tax records show that he donated to many causes.  People also have stories of how he gave without being asked, and there are even more people who he helped who won’t talk about it.  Apparently, Prince often asked people not to tell because he wanted his giving to remain private.

Be a Friend – Prince had lots of friends.  He maintained life-long relationships with several of his childhood friends.  He also befriended others who became his close confidants.  There are lots of stories about Prince’s sense of humor and how he loved to throw parties.  He also had a spiritual side, and he had friends that shared his beliefs.  Prince was considered a good friend by many, and he was even able to renew friendships with friends that he had disputes with in the past.

 Questlove Talks About Prince

There are many lessons that can be learned from observing Prince’s life that can be applied to business and relationship building.  He will be truly missed.