Book Review: I've Seen Lots of Famous People Naked by "Body by Jake" Steinfeld

The man who invented the Hollywood personal trainer concept pens a tell-all book with "Famous People Naked" in the title—and Steven Spielberg writes the foreword.

I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked isn't an alternate-universe tale, it's about Jake Steinfeld—Body by Jake—and what he has to share: what he learned about business from these powerful people. That's why he immediately follows the title phrase with "and They've Got Nothing On You."

I did see a lot of famous folks naked, but not in the buff, unclothed nekkid naked. Instead I saw them stripped of the trappings of fame and fortune. No entourages. No public relations flaks. No makeup. No Gucci. No Armani. No bull.

You can almost hear the personal-trainer persona, "You can do one more rep, come on!" as Jake talks about entrepreneurial spirit, and the street-smarts that led him from body-building to his business success today. He keeps coming back to the simple truth he realized in "seeing famous people naked," that any of us can find success by using the correct approach.

First, you need to find the opportunity that matches you. A checklist of yes/no questions helps you decide if something will fit you. For example, if the answer to "Can I see myself doing this for the next five, ten, twenty years?" is no, Jake advises, "do something street-smart. Go to work for somebody who has a similar business... Spend at least six months checking it out... If at the end of that period, your no has turned into a yes, get rolling!"

The chapter on street-smarts is followed by a close examination of the process of getting into the game. Plenty of solid advice (like: get it out of your head, and onto the paper) is leavened with humor, and sledgehammered quotes that you can't miss or ignore: "Make sure you can deliver on the promises of your plan!"

Next, Jake covers how to put together your team. He cautions that, no matter how street-smart you are (or how much you learn from his book), you probably can't do it all. So he provides a guide to the kind of associations that every business involves. Partners (do you need one?), employees (pick the right ones), advisors or a board of directors, a network of cooperative people in similar or supporting businesses, and even family and friends who provide emotional support. My favorite PT-prompt in this chapter was "If details aren't your thing, hire a micro-manager."

Article Author: DrPat

DrPat is the blog signature used by an old coot who hoards books, dances Argentine Tango, cooks a mean venison chili, and is happy to be along for the sag while my spouse does a marathon bicycle ride. …

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