Michael Ovitz

When I grew up, failing was not an option for me because failure was death, frankly, because I grew up in a very low-end neighborhood and My dad worked his ass off, but never could make anything of himself, and I didn't want that life. And failure was not an option. So it was kind of a life or death decision. And I approach everything.

When I grew up, failing was not an option for me because failure was death, frankly, because I grew up in a very low-end neighborhood and My dad worked his ass off, but never could make anything of himself, and I didn't want that life. And failure was not an option. So it was kind of a life or death decision. And I approach everything.

I approach my relationships with people, like I told you about my friend. He's my friend, and he was being wronged. And I'm not a judge, but I'm a judge in that situation for him. I'm his advocate. Am I right or wrong? I think I'm right. But if I'm wrong, frankly, I don't really care. Unless he did something egregious, I'm right.

I approach my relationships with people, like I told you about my friend. He's my friend, and he was being wronged. And I'm not a judge, but I'm a judge in that situation for him. I'm his advocate. Am I right or wrong? I think I'm right. But if I'm wrong, frankly, I don't really care. Unless he did something egregious, I'm right.

Let me give you the foundation for that answer. Every Sunday for 50 years, I do the same exercise. Hell or high water, I've never not done it. I look at my calendar the week before, and it's funny because in my early days, I had a paper calendar, a thing called a day timer. It was a little book with 30 pages, 31 pages, and you carried it in your suit pocket, and we all wore suits in

Let me give you the foundation for that answer. Every Sunday for 50 years, I do the same exercise. Hell or high water, I've never not done it. I look at my calendar the week before, and it's funny because in my early days, I had a paper calendar, a thing called a day timer. It was a little book with 30 pages, 31 pages, and you carried it in your suit pocket, and we all wore suits in

And it had everything you did every day. That's how I wrote my book, by the way. I had all those. Oh, wow.

And it had everything you did every day. That's how I wrote my book, by the way. I had all those. Oh, wow.

Cool. I look at that every Sunday. I sit down at my desk. I open my calendar. Now it's on Outlook. And I have my Outlook calendar on the left screen and my Outlook calendar on the right screen. The one on the left screen has the week before. The one on the right screen has the coming week. And I go through every single meeting I had, every transaction, every human I met could be social.

Cool. I look at that every Sunday. I sit down at my desk. I open my calendar. Now it's on Outlook. And I have my Outlook calendar on the left screen and my Outlook calendar on the right screen. The one on the left screen has the week before. The one on the right screen has the coming week. And I go through every single meeting I had, every transaction, every human I met could be social.

And I decide if they go on what's called the Sunday list, which is on Sundays, since I don't do anything, I put names of people I want to get to know better. And then I parse through the week the names from the week before that I want to re-engage with. They're either people I found wildly intelligent, people I thought were doing really interesting things outside the scope of my expertise.

And I decide if they go on what's called the Sunday list, which is on Sundays, since I don't do anything, I put names of people I want to get to know better. And then I parse through the week the names from the week before that I want to re-engage with. They're either people I found wildly intelligent, people I thought were doing really interesting things outside the scope of my expertise.

People I made money with and people I lost money with and people that I thought bored me to death. And then I have some people I meet that it's just, I could tell in five minutes it's a giant mistake. They don't go on the list. And then the list gets carried forward. And I've done that my whole life. I want... to basically achieve a state where I'm happy doing what I'm doing.

People I made money with and people I lost money with and people that I thought bored me to death. And then I have some people I meet that it's just, I could tell in five minutes it's a giant mistake. They don't go on the list. And then the list gets carried forward. And I've done that my whole life. I want... to basically achieve a state where I'm happy doing what I'm doing.

I have no interest in retirement. I hate golf. I do my art and it's more stimulating I don't know how to say this. When you have less time, things are more interesting because you gotta get it done and it's more fun. I don't want too much time on my hands. I wanna be stimulated. I wanna meet interesting people. I wanna have interesting dialogue. For me, it's about achievement, learning.

I have no interest in retirement. I hate golf. I do my art and it's more stimulating I don't know how to say this. When you have less time, things are more interesting because you gotta get it done and it's more fun. I don't want too much time on my hands. I wanna be stimulated. I wanna meet interesting people. I wanna have interesting dialogue. For me, it's about achievement, learning.

I wanna learn something every day. I'm a voracious reader. I wanna do interesting things. I don't wanna sit idle. And I don't want to not work. Work for me is therapeutic because I'm helping. At this stage of my life, I'm not building a career. It was a different phase for me. I am helping people. And I want to do that. I help young people with companies, and I really like it.

I wanna learn something every day. I'm a voracious reader. I wanna do interesting things. I don't wanna sit idle. And I don't want to not work. Work for me is therapeutic because I'm helping. At this stage of my life, I'm not building a career. It was a different phase for me. I am helping people. And I want to do that. I help young people with companies, and I really like it.

I help the people that work with me. I'm very excited because my son just joined us in the venture side, and he's really proven to be. In two weeks, he's taken a load off me that's unbelievable. But the reason it's unbelievable is it gives me more time. And time is my most precious commodity.

I help the people that work with me. I'm very excited because my son just joined us in the venture side, and he's really proven to be. In two weeks, he's taken a load off me that's unbelievable. But the reason it's unbelievable is it gives me more time. And time is my most precious commodity.