Playing The Bigger Game - PART 2

The MEGA World of Lil Mogul

by Lil Mogul

STEP 2: Get Honest with the Truth of Who You Are (And The Value That You Provide)
Maybe you’re not playing a bigger game because of fear about who you are – you’re stuck in the “I’m not good enough” or “People are going to think I’m a fraud.” Let me tell it to you straight:

Unless you are committed to being a quitter, “I’m not good enough” is BULL you’re hiding behind. First of all, you’re better than you give yourself credit for because I know you’re taking yourself for granted. Second, you can’t tell me you can’t get better. Maybe you’re not willing to, but that’s “won’t,” not “can’t.” Practice and training can make anyone with a pulse better.

Unless you actually trying to defraud people, you have no reason to see yourself a fraud. You have certain skills you can offer the world, and whether or not you don’t appreciate them, other people can. You may not see yourself as a 10 on the old sliding scale, maybe you’re a 5, but let me tell you this: To people who are a 0, 1 or 2, your 5 might as well be a 10. You have value they need.

So let’s talk about value: It all comes down to what you can do for other people, and it has absolutely nothing to do with all that emotional baggage and drama you’ve wrapped yourself in. I don’t care who is a better __X___ than you are. I don’t care if ___X____ has a bigger following than you, more credentials than you or whatever.

If you can provide value (which you can), you need to get honest about that. Honest with yourself. Because that’s the only way you’re going to get other people to see it, and pay you for it. The MEGA Motto: People Believe What They See and Buy What They Believe!!! You may not be good enough for you (oh, the drama!), but if you’re good enough for them, freakin’ give yourself credit already.

Imagine: You know CPR well enough. Someone stops breathing, and what do you do? Do you start asking yourself if there are better CPR practitioners than you? Do you wonder if your certification came from a prestigious enough teacher? Or maybe you have no certification at all, someone just showed you how to do it (correctly)? Are you going to dredge up every loser feeling you’ve had about yourself and dwell on that while that person slips off into the great unknown?

No!!! You’re going to get on your knees, do that CPR thing, and save that person’s life. Without a second thought, because the situation calls for value, and you have value to offer. Even if other people are better at CPR than you are, you could possibly save a life TODAY. Now quit imagining, and get real. You can do things other people find valuable, but since they come naturally to you or you’re just used to having the skills and hanging around people with the same (or better?) skills than you have you’re feeling sorry for yourself. Dra-ma. PLAY A BIGGER GAME!!! It’s not about what everyone everybody else is doing, it’s about what you can do for people who need what you can do. Don’t make it more difficult than that.

You can build a six-figure business catering to people who need 5s. Why are you worrying about being a 10. It’s not worth it. Be the best 5 you can be, serve the people who need 5s, and if you want to go upwards, do what it takes to become a 6, 7, 8, and so on. But quit with the drama already. Your skills are not worthless and you can absolutely add value. When I started out as a model talent agent with my small entertainment management company, could I compete with Ford Models, William Morris or Bad Boy Productions? NOPE and sticking with that drama killed my bottom line for years. But once I realized “Hey!!! , I don’t have to compete with them. I still know how to scout, develop and manage talented people and get them to be more productive,” I was able to go out there and fill my talent roster (faster than I thought). Was it because I was a 10? Absolutely not. I was a 5, and believe me, the people who were 2s and 3s got a lot of value out of what I provided. Now they are 5s. Win.

Seriously, if you want to play a bigger game than get a bigger view of who you are and what you offer. Start defusing the lies you’ve been telling yourself about why you’re not good enough and everyone is better than you are. Draa-maa.

I’ll walk you through this process in so you can get into gear so you can appreciate what value you truly have to offer and ultimately get people to pay you what you’re worth. Game on.

Until Next Week… Have a most valuable week.

Lil Mogul

Dirty Laundry alumnus gets GREAT PRESS in 2010

In 2008, Director, Producer and Actor Maurice Jamal released the independent award winning movie Dirty Laundry. A modern-day prodigal son story with a twist follows Patrick, a magazine writer, who seems to have the "perfect life," until one day and there is a knock at the door. On the other side stands a secret that brings him face to face with the traditional southern family he hasn't seen in over 10 years.


Actors, Aaron Shaw who played Gabriel, Erica Watson as Clarine and Loretta Devine, Evelyn, the monarch of the family have continued to receive great press in 2010.



AARON SHAW makes his debut in the critically acclaimed and 20th Season of NBC’s TV Drama “Law & Order,” Boy on Fire Episode Air Date, 10pm EST, Monday, March 8th.

When a 16-year-old student's burning body is found, Lupo and Bernard question his young mentee, who was the last person to see him alive; the investigation draws attention to a vicious high-school rivalry. Cast includes: S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterston, Alana de la Garza, Jeremy Sisto, Linus Roache, Anthony Anderson and new comer Noel Rodrigurez.

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf. The Emmy Award winning show premiered on September 13, 1990, and is currently in its twentieth season, which began airing on September 25, 2009 on NBC. Law & Order is currently the longest running crime drama on American prime time television and is tied for longest running drama with Gunsmoke. It was renewed for a 21st season and will become the longest running American prime time television scripted drama.

Aaron first drew national attention with his starring role as Gabriel opposite fellow actors, Rockmond Dunbar, Loretta Devine and Jenifer Lewis in “Dirty Laundry”. Several commercials and smaller roles later, he landed the role on of Oliver on HBO’s Original Series “In Treatment” as a second season regular in 2009.

Watch your skinny backs Sandra Bernhard, Margaret Cho and John Leguizamo --ERICA WATSON is coming to claim her crown as Queen of the theater/standup hybrid show with the New York Premiere of FAT BITCH! After workshops in NYC and Chicago, this new solo show written and performed by Watson runs February 11- 25, 2010 at The Laurie Beechman Theater.


FAT BITCH! is a funny, provocative glimpse at the American “fat and sassy” black woman stereotype. Plus-sized performer Erica Watson explores society’s obsession with weight, race and class and how black women’s bodies have always been subjected to both admiration and ridicule. Drawing upon iconic images including “Mammy” and “Hottentot Venus,” Watson illustrates how media images have impacted her self-esteem as she touches on PETA’s “Save the Whales” campaign aimed at overweight women, the “war on obesity,” and the controversy surrounding President Obama’s nomination of a plus-sized black woman for Surgeon General.

Born and raised in Chicago, Erica Watson is an actor, stand-up comedian, and film/television director. Currently, she can be seen in the Oprah Winfrey/Lee Daniels film Precious. She has also starred in the feature film Dirty Laundry. Watson is currently featured in two Gracie Award-winning commercials for the Oxygen Network called "Tresstify" and "Kiss & Tell,” as well as the March Madness Comedy special on MSG-TV. She has appeared on NBC's "Last Comic Standing," and was a commentator and pundit for five BET specials including “Top 12 BET Award Show Moments,” “Countdown to 2009: BET Year in Review,” “The Evolution of Mary J. Blige,” and “The Evolution of Jay-Z”. Additionally, Watson is a recurring politics and pop culture panelist on the BETJ talk show "My Two Cents,” director of the reality TV Series "My Model Looks Better Than Your Model" on the BETJ Network and a blogger for the Huffington Post.

FAT BITCH! runs February 11- 25, Thursdays at 7:00pm. The Laurie Beechman Theater is located inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 47th Street -- at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2,3 trains at 42nd Street. Tickets are $15, plus $15 food/drink minimum, available at 212-352-3101 or www.SpinCycleNYC.com.


Award winning actress LORETTA DEVINE stars in Don B. Welch’s hit gospel stage play, “Hallelujah Mahalia (HM).” Ms. Devine joins recording artist and gospel sensation Tamika Patton. Ms.Patton, who has been starring in Hallelujah Mahalia since the mid 1990’s, cris-crossing the country in the lead role told the Philadelphia Tribune, “Her life (Mahalia’s) is so similar to mine in many different ways. It just seemed like she was always striving to get that message of love and peace and gospel in any way that she could, and it was in her own unique way”.

The production also stars Barry Lyons, pastor of The Living Waters of The San Fernando Valley Church in the role of Thomas A. Dorsey, (known as the “Godfather of Gospel) and legendary musical director, Rev. Alexander Hamilton. HM also stars: Contrella Patrick Henry, Kim Yarbrough, Charmaine Charles, Nei-Ce Knight Pruiett, Lisa C. Thompson, Delores Lakey Stewart & Andrea Jones.

“HM pays tribute to the music and legacy of America’s greatest gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson. Welch’s stage play chronicles the life and music of Jackson, from her humble beginnings in Chicago to her untimely death in 1972. Audiences can expect to hear all of the Mahalia classics such as: “Move On Up A Higher”, “How I Got Over”, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands”, “Precious Lord”, & “Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen” among others. Along with little-known historical facts like it has been rumored that Mahalia sat with The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King the night before, as he pondered which of the two speeches he had prepared to give on the March of Washington the next day. “Give ‘em the I have A Dream speech Martin! That’ll stir them up”.

“Hallelujah Mahalia” premieres Saturday, February 27, 2009 5:00 p.m. and The Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, Ca.

High Heels, 1. Model, 0

The down-for-the-count model gets a helping hand at the Vivienne Westwood Fall/Winter 2010/2011 menswear show in Milan. Photo: AFP/ Getty Images

Good news for the girls... It looks like runway tumbles are an equal-opportunity employer.

Just ask this male model at Vivienne Westwood during the menswear fashion shows in Milan. The catwalker hit the floor during the show and had to be helped up by a fellow model. And to really add insult to injury, he had to wear bright orange pants in public. (Side note: Is it just us or is everyone in the front row smirking and smiling? Ice-cold!) Of course, given that the theme for Westwood's Autumn/Winter 2010 show was the Homeless (really!), we wouldn't be surprised if the trip was all part of the act. The madcap designer also sent models down the runway with shopping carts and plastic bags, so we wouldn't put it past her.

It's been a bad week for runway models. This catwalker slipped out of her shoes at Berlin Fashion Week.

High Heels, 1. Model, 0

Model Barbara Meier suffered an embarrassing misstep (literally) as she walked the runway at last week's Lena Hoschek A/W 2010 show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, accidentally losing one of her high-heeled pumps mid-catwalk. But what she lacks in sticky feet, Meier -- who won the second season of "Germany's Next Topmodel" -- made up for in poise, calmly stepping out of the wayward shoe and then removing the second pump before completing her runway turn.

On her way back the model picked up the runaway heels and tucked them behind her back like a champ. We'll cop to a whiff of disappointment after failing to see yet another case of runway roadkill, but mostly we're impressed at Meier's ability to keep her cool. Guess she was "sole"-trained? Next time, maybe she'll Krazy Glue those suckers.

Meanwhile, see the terrifying heels that made three models quit the Alexander McQueen show.

There comes a time when a gal's just gotta put her foot down. Or not, as it were.

So when Alexander McQueen called on his Spring/Summer 2010 runway models to slip on his death-defying, 10-inch-tall Armadillo shoes, catwalkers Abbey Lee Kershaw, Natasha Poly and Sasha Pivovarova quit the show in protest, Kershaw tells Frockwriter. Who says models are dumb?

Kershaw can't be blamed for erring on the side of caution. The model stumbled at Rodarte last September, had to sit out part of the Fall/Winter '09 shows due to a knee injury caused by another footwear-related near-miss, and even fainted thanks to a suffocating corset at McQueen's Spring/Summer '09 show last year, according to the source.

Yikes!!! We hope the poor thing has insurance.

But while Kershaw, Poly and Pivovarova may have 86'd McQueen's controversial kicks, style stars like Daphne Guinness and Lady Gaga have braved the monstrous heels sans bloodshed. Heck, Guinness even marveled to Fashionista at the time that the straight-from-the-runway shoes were "quite light." We'll just have to take her word for it. Those beasts give us nightmares. Meanwhile, the Armadillo isn't the only shoe getting snubbed. Find out why Stuart Weitzman is ditching his million-dollar shoe.

However, remember back when in 1994 Naomi Campbell tumbles for us... again it was that sneaky legendary designer Vivienne Westwood.

WE ARE THE MEDIA: Paparazzi

So as the month winds up so does the remainder of the buzz of this month's hottest event... Ok I really hate to brag; however Paparazzi was obliviously the event to chat about. I am so excited that my 1st annual 25th birthday was a HUGE success and I am so excited that I had so many close friends and supporters of my work to come and share it with me. Here is the LIVE coverage from the VIP MEDIA LOUNGE that was hosted by SKORPION of The Skorpion Show and The FUTURE's very own Cornelius Jones Jr. ENJOY!