The other day, I watched the movie “This is it”, which would have been Michael Jackson’s never ending world farewell world tour. After I was done with the movie, I thought to myself for a second about some things that Michael Jackson does 100% right. I would even venture to say these are part of the reasons to his enormous success.

1.) It is all in who you surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with influential and talented people, you can make yourself look better. A lot of the time, it is the team that you essemble that really make you look amazing. Think about it, would Michael look talented without the best musicians, the hottest dancers, and some of the greatest minds in music business? I think not.

2.) Set the par high, and your team will exceed the higher standard. Now, I am not saying that everyone on the planet is as driven and determined as Michael can be. If you think about it for a second, he always brings his A-game to the practices. He comes to all of his rehearsals and practice sessions, pre-rehearsed and confident. This makes you look the perceived image as the leader of the pack.

3.) Don’t go our looking for people’s best, let them bring their talents to you. If you let people bring their greatest talents to the table, they will not only make you look better, but they will also be more willing to give you more of a vested interest in what you are trying to achieve. They will want your success to reflect on their own.

4.) Don’t follow in someone footsteps, create your own world, and become well know for it! If you really take a second to really think about it, you can say that Michael has always marched to the beat of his own drum. His dance and music is unique and a style all his own. I am sure that I will see generations of people that will try to mimic his style, but no one will ever be him. Break away from the norm!

5.) Always set the highest expectations of yourself, and expect the same out of your creative partners. I think that this sentence really speaks for itself, if you set the bar high for yourself. Your team will naturally want to meet or exceed your expectations. This makes for some really powerful music and production.

It is sad that we never got to see Michael’s final performances, I am sure that they would have been something amazing, just seeing how the rehearsals were run. None the less, we have been fortunate enough to be left with this movie and some great hidden life lessons.