Oprah Winfrey got a lot of attention last weekend as she swept into town with her “The Life You Want” tour at Verizon Center. But the man who owns the Verizon Center has his own list of tips for “living a life of purpose.”
Ted Leonsis didn’t fire up a turbo-charged hype machine ala Oprah (he could, if wanted) in advance of his Tuesday evening talk, held at Capital One Financial’s headquarters in McLean instead of his downtown District venue.The invitation-only event ( versus $300-600 tickets for Oprah) was a part of a consciousness-raising evening for the Global Good Fund, the Arlington-based nonprofit that helps develop young entrepreneurs in socially-responsible endeavors.
After a dinner of salmon and crab cakes in the bank’s spacious and leafy atrium, about 200 guests were funneled to the building’s auditorium. There, Global Good Fund co-founder and CEO Carrie Rich introduced Leonsis and joined him at a pair of sofa chairs placed at the center of the stage.
The next hour was more of a monologue than an interview. Leonsis — the former AOL executive who founded Monumental Sports & Entertainment; he’s also part of Revolution Growth in D.C. — outlined his working-class roots in Brooklyn and Lowell, Massachusetts. He talked about his days at Georgetown University and early success in business. Then he detailed his near-death experience in a plane crash that resulted in his “reckoning” and making a life list of 101 goals for happiness.
While Oprah and other self-help gurus are inclined to emotionally exclaim and animatedly bound across a stage in their presentations, Leonsis never left his seat. His voice was moderated. The only dramatic touch of the evening came when he picked up and intentionally dropped an unopened bottle of water, then stomped on the floor to demonstrate the behavior of sports fans at the Verizon Center.
Leonsis said it has been on ongoing process for him to become more meaningful and intentional about his life rather than just making money in his businesses.
“Being successful doesn’t mean you are going to be happy, but happy people have a higher rate of success,” he said.
He pointed to the late Michael Jackson as an example of “the formula of success not leading to happiness.”
Here are five of Leonsis’ top tips, which are adapted and evolved from his 2010 book “The Business of Happiness: 6 Secrets to Extraordinary Success in Life and Work.” He suggested:
- Participating in multiple communities of interest: Don’t wait to make money before devoting time and money to good causes.
- Having high levels of self-expression: Leonsis said he blogs before daybreak.
- Developing high levels of empathy: He once worked with the cleaning crew at Verizon Center immediately after hosting President Obama at the venue.
- Getting out of I and into we: There’s no “I” in team, he said, echoing nearly every high school sports coach.
- Pursue higher callings: Leonsis said one of biggest goals is creating lifelong memories for other people, such as winning a Stanley Cup or NBA championship (he owns the Washington Capitals and Wizards, in case you were unaware).
Or landing the 2024 Summer Olympics.
