Saskatchewan Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs hosted Gene Simmons (and life partner Shannon Tweed) today at TCU at their annual luncheon. Highly inspirational talk given by the KISS-master himself (“Sir Tongue”) on branding, self-marketing, image and making an impact in the market…. followed by a Q&A moderated by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.
Gene-isms of the day:“It’s a combination of the right product, at the right place at the right time… if one of these elements is missing, you miss the mark.”
“You need to develop your OWN life model… you can’t live your life by everyone else’s standards.”
“You don’t need to understand the intricacies of how a widget works to make an investment… you invest in people first and foremost.”
“Shannon… are you OK with what I am saying here?” (His KISS-ness seeks, with great respect and love, his life partner’s approval from her place the audience)
“What kind of tax incentives you got?” (When asked by Brad Wall, if he would be willing to move one of his businesses to Saskatchewan)
“Building brands is about relationships, about moving people… it’s about getting in touch with people’s emotions.”
And this one… which was appropriate for today – – – ‘Lest we Forget’….
“The next time you see a man or woman in uniform… walking down the street… a soldier, a police officer, a fireman – stop and shake his or her hand. The reason you are here, the reason you are enjoying the freedoms that you have are because of the bravery of these people who have made sacrifices for you.” (Gene Simmons was verklempt… his emotions moved me to tears…)
Another Gene-ism:Follow up on Gene and Shannon (actually, it was from Tuesday) – and their visit to Ottawa…Apparently a “Shannon Tweed Day” was planned and then subsequently cancelled by acting Mayor Doug Thompson. Tweed responded graciously to the cancellation stating, “…I came here to have a friendly reunion with my friends and see his concert and nothing has changed.”However, not wanting to miss the opportunity to stir things up, Gene quipped with, ““It’s really OK, not everybody loved Jesus either!”Hilarious! Shannon had to put her hand over his mouth to keep Gene from saying anything further!http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Gene+Simmons+hits+Hill+stirs+things+with+Jesus+comment/1790700/story.html
Another Gene-ism… almost forgotten…”Don’t rest on your laurels.. they will sink you.”