Revisiting Dick Jenrette

I stubbled upon this behind the scenes photo of a 1993 Fortune shoot in my storage space recently. I remember liking this fellow so I searched his name online.

His Wikipedia page indicted that he died two years ago, and had a short breakdown of his business career, but it also linked to his “24 Rules of Life for Success.” 

I’m putting the full list below, but I should mention that I enjoyed photographing him because he was so engaged and playful. I remember that he kept trying to get that book of James Polk’s diaries into the pictures, and when I called him on it he enthusiastically explained how Polk is an important and underrated President. We struck a compromise, featuring the book in some of the portraits and not in others, but with this bit of prospective I can’t help but think that he was exhibiting a bit of rule number 7 in our interaction.

 Dick Jenrette’s 24 Rules for Success

1. Stay in the game. That’s often all you need to do – don’t quit. Stick around! Don’t be a quitter!
2. Don’t burn bridges (behind you)
3. Remember – Life has no blessing like a good friend! You can’t get enough of them. Don’t leave old friends behind – you may need them
4. Try to be nice and say “thank you” a lot!
5. Stay informed/KEEP LEARNING!
6. Study — Stay Educated. Do Your Homework!! Keep learning!
7. Cultivate friends of all ages – especially younger
8. Run Scared — over-prepare
9. Be proud — no Uriah Heep for you! But not conceited. Know your own worth.10. Plan ahead but be prepared to allow when opportunity presents itself.
11.Turn Problems into Opportunities. Very often it can be done. Problems create opportunities for change — people willing to consider change when there are problems.
12. Present yourself well. Clean, clean-shaven, dress “classically” to age. Beware style, trends. Look for charm. Good grammar. Don’t swear so much — it’s not cute.
13. But be open to change — don’t be stuck in mud. Be willing to consider what’s new but don’t blindly follow it. USE YOUR HEAD – COMMON SENSE.
14. Have some fun – but not all the time!
15. Be on the side of the Angels. Wear the White Hat.
16. Have a fall-back position. Heir and the spare. Don’t leave all your money in one place.
17. Learn a foreign language.
18. Travel a lot — around the world, if possible.
19. Don’t criticize someone in front of others.
20. Don’t forget to praise a job well done (but don’t praise a poor job)
21. I don’t like to lose — but don’t be a poor loser if you do.
22. It helps to have someone to love who loves you (not just sex).
23. Keep your standards high in all you do.
24. Look for the big picture but don’t forget the small details.