As a local creative professional, Paul Salfen is a self-professed serial entrepreneur in the media industry, having started or built up several outlets. He's part TV host, producer, editor, writer and consultant. He co-hosted Drew Pearson Live, co-hosted The ANE Show on iHeartMedia, and is managing editor for AMFM Magazine. He spent the past 15 years interviewing a variety of the well-known, popular stars in film and music, including celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Harrison Ford, Beyoncé, Tyler Perry, Angelina Jolie, Will Smith, Willie Nelson, Ozzy Osbourne, Tiesto, Metallica and Sandra Bullock. He also produced a series of sports, travel and business articles, including features on luminaries like Sir Richard Branson.
Paul's new book, Going For It, begins to harness cosmic tidbits that he's gleaned from those interviews regarding drive and determination on different people's paths to success and fame. Frisco magazine asked Paul about the book just as it about to be officially released.
AS A FRISCO RESIDENT, HOW DID THE REGION OR LOCAL CULTURE INFLUENCE YOUR BOOK?
“I’d lived in downtown Dallas for years. I had to get out and move north like many have to avoid the noise and trappings of city life, so being in the Frisco area brought a new perspective and a calm I needed to really focus and finish the book. I needed to; I’d been working on it for years.”
WHAT'S THE BOOK ABOUT IN ESSENCE?
“It's a collection of the greatest quotes and stories from doing 20-plus years of interviews with the biggest and brightest stars in the world and it's meant to inspire. The book is broken up into three sections: advice, wisdom and Hail Mary Moments. The 'Hail Mary moment' question comes from working with Drew Pearson, my co-host and legendary Dallas Cowboys player who went into the Hall of Fame, and will always be remembered for catching the original Hail Mary. He was also gracious enough to write the foreword of the book.”
HOW DO THE BOOK'S STORIES ABOUT WISDOM AND ENCOURAGEMENT INSPIRE OTHERS?
“This is the book I wish I had as a kid. Growing up, I thought everyone who was rich and famous had it easy, and they had some sort of leg up on everyone else. Then you come to find out that many of them struggled, and through grit and determination, they made it. The stories have inspired me, and I know they will inspire others.”
OVER TIME, YOU'VE HEARD MANY TALES FROM VARIOUS STANDOUT PEOPLE/PERSONALITIES -- WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE ONE OR TWO MAIN LESSONS THAT IMPRESSED OR INFLUENCED YOU MOST?
“If Tom Cruise needed the money, he could teach classes on how to handle people. His eye contact, name recall, attention to detail, friendliness to everyone, and over-the-top care for people that support him should be taught in schools. Really. Then I’d pick up bits and pieces from everyone, but I'd say seeing Sir Richard Branson in action and learning that handling too much is too much and you need the best team to delegate to was something I took to heart.”
HOW MUCH OF THE BOOK IS DEVOTED TO YOUR OWN JOURNEY AND LIFE EXPERIENCES?
“Funny enough, I actually had an entire long story in the beginning that shared my journey of starting in high school, doing it on my own in college, and figuring everything out via trial and error, but I decided I wanted to go right into the good stuff that people really wanted. If they want to know my story later, I've got it ready for them.”
YOU ALREADY HAVE A SECOND BOOK VOLUME PLANNED. WHEN IS IT SCHEDULED TO BE PUBLISHED?
“Well, I suppose that depends on how this [book] one does. The second book is done and turned in and hopefully the message of this one will cause a demand. I'll be ready to go quickly rather than make people wait. But we'll see. It's looking good, though, if pre-sales are any indication. Just feeling blessed that you can find it online via Walmart, Target, Amazon and Barnes & Noble - and it's being considered as a textbook. I didn't see that coming!”
AND A THIRD BOOK PART?
“I'm hard at work on it! This one is going to be the biggest one yet. I just keep going and going and keep making it to more and more interesting people. In fact, I'm doing eight interviews today, four of which are incredibly big people. I think also when people see what I'm doing and they see that their good words will live on this way, it will just keep going and going.”