10 Top Jordan Belfort Lessons For Success
[With Examples]
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Jordan Belfort Lessons: Jordan Ross Belfort is an American motivational speaker, former stockbroker, author, and convicted felon who pled guilty to crimes in relation to fraud and stock-market manipulation in 1999. That led to him having a heart-stopping $-100 million.
Belfort published The Wolf of Wall Street in 2007, a memoir adapted into a film in 2013.
Anyone who has amassed this amount of wealth has to have a good story to tell.
Today, we’re going to explore IBS’s take on the 10 Lessons For Success you can learn from Jordan Belfort.
We’re going to be diving deep into Jordan Belfort’s lessons and will be covering:
So, if you want the lowdown on how Jordan Belfort became a millionaire at a young age and how he was able to spring back up financially, then this article is for you!
Ready?
Let’s jump right in.
Who Is Jordan Belfort ?
Jordan Ross Belfort is an American author, motivational speaker, and former stockbroker who published the famous book-turned-into-movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
The future Wolf of Wall Street was a businessman since his school days.
He and his childhood friend, Elliot Loewenstern, earned over $20,000 just by selling Italian Ice, a sorbet-like dessert, at a local beach.
Not bad for high schoolers!
Jordan initially planned to use his Italian ice earnings to study Dentistry.
But on his first day at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, the dean told him that if he’s looking to make a lot of money, then it’s the wrong place to be.
He left the next day – and that’s the start of his serious business ventures.
Jordan became a door-to-door meat salesman which he claimed was quite a success.
He also became a trainee stockbroker before he was laid off due to the firm’s financial difficulties.
Jordan then went on to become his own boss, having bought the Stratton Oakmont (a franchise of Stratton Securities) from the original owner.
During his Stratton days, Jordan enjoyed having wild parties and flings and even overindulged in drugs and other vices.
Stratton Oakmont functioned as a boiler room that sold “penny stocks” and used the “pump-and-dump” type of sales to fraud their investors.
The company was in constant investigation by the NASD until, one day, the firm was ordered to shut down.
Belfort served 22 months in jail.
While living behind bars, his cellmate, Tommy Chong, urged him to write a book. It was what would be the bestseller memoir The Wolf of Wall Street.
Thanks to the royalties and earnings from the books and movies, Belfort was and is able to gradually pay for the damages made to the victims.
He offered to give 100% of his book deal money to his victims, but the government refused.
Today, Belfort is worth around $-10 Million because of his debts. But despite that, he had since been reinventing himself.
Realizing his grave mistakes and greediness in the past, Jordan is now touring as a motivational speaker and sales trainee.
His per-engagement fees are worth around $30,000 to $75,000 while his per-seminar fee can cost about $80,000 and up.
| Net Worth: $-100 Million |
| First Job: Italian ice seller |
| Biggest Break:The Wolf of Wall Street book in 2007 |
| Date of Birth: July 9.1962 |
| Nationality: American |
| Current Business: Working as a motivational speaker with Global Motivation Inc. |
1. Be business-minded at all times.
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-01.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>Jordan’s being business-savvy can be seen as early as his high school days.
He had his first big earnings while he was finishing high school just from selling Italian ice at a local beach!
Jordan tried to go the more traditional route for college by enrolling in a University’s Dentistry School.
But his passion for money-making just can’t be kept at bay!
He left on the second day of school upon learning that “the golden age of Dentistry is over” and that there wasn’t much to earn in the field of Dentistry.
That’s when he just unleashed the entrepreneur in him.
After becoming a meat salesman and being bankrupt by age 25, he went on to penetrate the world of stock market.
The absorbent sponge that he is, he became his own boss by acquiring a franchise of Stratton Securities.
We all know the rest. The cute sheep became the Wolf of Wall Street.
Even after his company’s downfall, he’s still using the knowledge he learned from his past but for a good cause now.
The biggest takeaway of Jordan’s downfall and rise?
He just sees business in every opportunity, so he’s never really down.
2. Enjoy the process.
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-02.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>Running a business or a company can be really draining, especially if your goal is as great as Belfort’s.
Jordan’s memoir told of a lot of lavish partying and just living the high life. That was all before the downfall came.
Although these parties might have some illegal practices with it, it made everyone happy after all.
The employees were happy – their business partners were happy and the bosses were happy.
And in the end, although it was a really regretful affair, they had fun – they have good times to look back to.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to give out extravagant parties to make everyone in your company happy.
The Wolf of Wall Street shows that we shouldn’t take life too seriously all the time.
Running a business or the like is stressful enough and constant worrying will certainly not help.
Enjoy the process and the journey. After all, a positive mentality bears positive ideas.
“As you search for a person, place, or thing, be prepared to continue your quest, should the end result not yield your desired outcome. Enjoy the process and you’ll avoid disappointment.” – James A. Murphy
3. Rise up from the ruins.
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-03.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>We’ve seen some of the biggest personalities go bankrupt and fall from the high places they were in. It was almost cringe-worthy to see.
Most of the time, some of them never got back up.
Aside from the financial difficulties, it’s also the embarrassment to have your dirty laundry exposed for all the world to see.
But not for Jordan Belfort.
Even if he was in jail, Jordan Belfort was already planning his next moves…
… but with better intentions this time.
Random House even gave him $500,000 in advanced payment for the book that he was currently writing. He had also known that it would be turned into a movie as well.
But aside from the fame and book and movie royalties, Jordan reinvented himself as a motivational speaker.
In most of his speeches, Jordan often goes back to the 1990s not to reminisce his lavish lifestyles but to teach the dos and don’ts he had learned along the way.
He was remorseful and regretful for what he’s done and isn’t afraid to be vocal about it.
Now, he’s slowly rebuilding his life and finances by spreading motivational lessons around the globe.
“Persevere like a seed; even when people try to bury you, flourish.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
4. Bank up on your knowledge
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-04.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>Just when everyone thought it was the last glory for Jordan Belfort, he proved everyone wrong when his book first came out.
Turns out, it was only the start of his real success.
Thanks to his cellmate, Tommy Chong, who encouraged him to turn all that he has learned into a book, Jordan was able to take advantage of his stock knowledge.
Aside from being entertaining and knowledgeable, aspiring stock brokers can also learn a thing or two from his memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street.
Aside from that, he has also gone to write another book, Catching the Wolf of Wall Street: More Incredible True Stories of Fortunes, Schemes, Parties, and Prison.
Thanks to these literary works, he’s still earning a little more coins in addition to his motivational speeches.
So, if you know you’re an authority in something or just have an incredible story to tell, don’t hesitate to print them.
Having at least a couple of books in the market – even if they’re digital books – can guarantee you an additional stream of income without even doing anything.
5. Ethics before skills
5. Ethics before skills
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-05.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>Although his past business and dealings were really sinister, as a boss, Jordan was actually quite good.
He was good to his people as well as to their partners. Even then, it’s clear that he values work ethic more while skills only come second.
It only got intensified after his eye-opening downfall and comeback.
When Belfort first became a motivational speaker, he focused enormously on motivation and ethics before moving his focus on sales and entrepreneurship.
From the company camaraderie to the treatment of your customers, Jordan is all about courtesy and honesty these days.
He believes that if you sow good things, you’ll reap nothing but the best. And looking at the course of his career today, we can safely say that it’s working!
6. Dress the part.
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-06.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>Actually, not really the part.
Just dress what you dream to be.
Jordan Belfort has always been quite dashing in his signature businessman suit. Wherever the cameras spot him, he always looks like he’s ready to sign a million-dollar deal anytime.
Even when he’s just a young trainee, Jordan made sure he looked like a boss.
Even if you’re not qualified for the part, dress like you are.
It reflects your reputation and how you value your work. It also makes people trust you more. It shows respect to your clients or future bosses.
So, the next time you’re going to a job interview, blind them with an expensive-looking suit (doesn’t have to be real expensive, though) and go get that gig!
7. Be persistent
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-07.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>Jordan Belfort’s motto in the early days of his “pump and dump” career was “Don’t hang up until the client buys or dies.”
Simply, Jordan never takes “no” for an answer. Within the confines of his infamous boiler room, he and his fellow wolves have mastered the art of persuasion in a graceful way.
They persisted until their product was sold.
Being a business owner or an entrepreneur, persisting in a graceful manner is important. This field doesn’t take soft hearts to the top.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we have to convince people with false and misleading positive comments just to be able to sell our products (lesson learned for Belfort).
Take the persuasive quality and magnify all the good things about your product – that’s one of the ways towards successful deal-making!
8. Be Wolf Hungry
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-08.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>Young Jordan Belfort in his 20s was a very hungry man.
He was hungry with greed for the high life and a steady flow of money – and it fueled his mind into making big-scale ideas that made him into the Wolf of Wall Street that he was.
For a time, the outcome was great. It was more than he ever dreamed of. He got the lavish parties he dreamed of, as well as wealth that can sustain him for life.
But we don’t have to be as greedy – just being hungry is enough.
Dire times result in creativity. It only teaches us to always be motivated and driven towards a goal that we’re hungry for.
Without hunger, we won’t probably move as fast enough and as efficient enough.
“For me, life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
9. Take care of your team
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-09.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>In the book and in the movie, we saw how great the camaraderie was in Jordan Belfort’s team.
Oh, and by the way, his team was consisted of some initially incompetent people with backgrounds that were barely qualified for their jobs.
But they were hired anyway because Jordan saw their potential beyond their resumes.
And for that, they were eternally grateful.
Aside from his wise hiring of staff, Jordan and his company also cultivated a healthy working environment where everyone felt appreciated.
As a result, everyone was willing to put their lives on the line and go down with Jordan.
It goes to show that when you care for your people genuinely, rest assured that you have them for life.
A good company works by having a happy and motivated team behind it.
10. Success begins in your head
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<a href="https://bouncemojo.com"><img src="https://bouncemojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jordan-Belfort-Lesson-10.webp" alt="Jordan Belfort" ></a>“I believe in total immersion. If you want to be rich, you have to program your mind to be rich. You have to be rich. You have to unlearn all the thoughts that were making you poor and replace them with new thoughts-rich thoughts.”
What better way to learn than to learn from the rags-to-riches master, Jordan Belfort!
And his belief that success starts in your head is not the Law of Attraction type of thinking.
In some of his motivational speeches, he explained it in a scientific way.
He says that the secret lies upon the part of your brain called the reticular activating system (RAS).
As this bestselling author puts it, “The RAS acts as a sort of a gatekeeper and file organizer for the brain.”
All you have to do is feed your RAS cues relating to success like images, thoughts, and feel pointing to success.
And remember, the more specific, the better.
Your RAS will have an easier time capturing your new reality, and your subconscious mind will internalize visions of success and confidence.
And now, your mind’s primary focus is that success.
You’ll feel more driven and motivated to take action moving towards your goals instead of forever waiting.
Well, we learn something new everyday.
Thanks for that, Jordan!
Conclusion: 10 Top Jordan Belfort Lessons For Success
So there you have it – Jordan Belfort’s thrilling financial journey from the ruins to genuine success.
He may have been the bad guy in the past, but we just can’t deny it – the man has great work ethic and takes care of his team sincerely!
The 10 lessons here are all about drive and motivation – which one was your favorite?
Tweet us @xxxx to tell us which lessons struck a chord with you today.
I’m sure there’s a lot we can learn both from his mistakes and his successes.
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