What I have learnt from Better Call Saul — — Christos Galanis
Recently I had the chance of finishing the well known tv series called ‘Better Call Saul’. As a fan of the Breaking Bad series I had high expectations about it, and Saul Goodman was one of my favorite tv — figures that I have ever seen.
So here comes a small review of the five seasons of the show (There is a sixth coming in 2021). As a disclaimer, I am not a professional Critic, so these are my simple thoughts and lessons that were taught by Mr. Saul Goodman. This is going to be as spoiler free as possible. So if you are unfamiliar with the show, I hope you invest your time in it after reading this review, and for the ones who already watched I hope that I have covered the most major points. You are all welcomed to comment and discuss together your thoughts.
First things first, the series sets a bundle of beautiful contradictions for matters like family, power and lets you think if Saul should or should not go to jail. That can be summed up in the fact that, the law or the legal way of doing things is always against Saul. Even though he wants to help those close to him or himself, the illegal way seems easier than the legal and many times the price that he has to pay for the aftermath is major, driving big emotional spikes to his audience. I had found myself cheering for him for doing illegal activities, and then I would defend him to myself as a good man even though his action would not present him as one. To sum up, expect strong emotional scenes to take place.
Secondly, it wouldn’t be a rise higher post if there was no entrepreneurship in it. Thus, the show consists of many beneficial tips for new entrepreneurs. Those being made through the different characters been presented in it. It is true, and I strongly believe you would agree with me, that the main characters are well built, with solid background stories that fully justify their action in the series timeline. For the sake of new commers, the names of the characters will not be mentioned.
So, instead of just giving some examples, I will give you a list of the top 10 tips, as I had the fun of finding them out while watching the show:
1. Careful Planning: There are many things to consider in your journey, planning things up, beforehand, is a major thing to do, so that you can visualize the final goal and the way to reach it.
2. Expect Failure: Even careful planning won’t predict some failures when starting out. These can be because either you overestimate your own powers/resources/time or a drastic change happened. In the 21st century everything moves fast, so being able to withstand failures will keep you from giving up.
3. Team: Needles to say in your journey, you are going to need someone to support you, either is financially, mentally or physically. Making a strong team will secure that you can work faster, steadier and cover the ‘know-hows’ of things you do not know and do not have time to learn.
4. Consistency: Hard work and have the courage to do things in a consistent basis will secure your victory, hard work and smart work are key factors for success.
5. Trustworthy: If people cannot trust you, you possess a very strong drawback.
6. You do what you must do: This trait will assure others that you actually are trustworthy and also an asset for their team.
7. Critical Thinking: Many times we react instinctively, but many times this lead us to wrong decisions. It is important to take time, stop and recall before acting, this will lead to better decision making process. Having this skill can be vital when roadblocks come in your way.
8. Passion: Waking up in a burning desire to work on that project or idea that you have, Saul gave his days and nights to build his network and brand, so that he can generate the results he wanted.
9. Take Risks: Not with the law though. Yes, Saul Goodman had many times broke the law in the names of justice and fairness. You, on the other hand, have to trust your guts, take the leap of faith and add some accountable risks, you are in the right spot, just remember the word accountable, do not overdo it. Saul Goodman was not top tier at episode 1, but much later on, same goes for other main characters in the show.
10. Salesmanship: As Grant Cardone nicely highlights in his book ‘Be Obsessed or Be Average’ — — ‘Sales affect everything: every person, every company, every industry even entire economies’. Better Call Saul is a avid supporter of this quote. Saul grinds each day and night to sale everything and mostly him self in order to collect capital for his later-in-the-show actions, but also to survive for the next day. So, you have to understand that either you like it or not, you and your company/start-up, will need an effective sales plan to secure your success and continuity, while also providing you motive and food for the table.
That were some of the tips I got from the show. I can safely say that the high ratings that it has receive for most of the 5 seasons’ episodes align exactly with the plot, characters and twists it contains. Before I say goodbye, I would like to add a bonus tip:
11. Networking: Meeting new people and collaborating with like-minded people, offers a great motive and also lets you get ahead from solo-entrepreneurs, because you can create a powerful team and succeed faster. Remember what Porter Gale says ‘Your network is your networth’.
Thus, I would like to invite you to join our Facebook group — Rise Higher — So that you can find likewise content and people with the same interests as you. We are waiting for you!
Christos Galanis is content creator of Rise Higher team
