Entrepreneurship: The “Gospel” According to Ted Turner, Founder, CNN

Seven inspirational lessons from the World’s Media Mogul

"We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event . . . we'll play 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' before we sign off."  Your guess is as good as mine! Those were the  words when CNN was launched in thundering words from the mouth of the man who is reputed to be the one the greatest media men ever in history.  He is known as the founder of the Cable News Network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel and also owns the Superstation TBS, TNT, the Atlanta Braves and Hawks sport organizations and other channels like the Cartoon Network. Ted Turner is one of the top 50 wealthiest men in the world according to Forbes.  Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III born November 19, 1938, is an American media mogul and philanthropist. He has been nicknamed severally; "Terrible Ted", "Captain Outrageous", and "The Mouth from the South” amongst others.  1.THINK AND GROW RICH  He is the creator of the classic that shook the world, Captain Planet.  Look at how he generated the idea for the classic animated series;  “Our children can inherit a legacy of wastefulness, or an action plan that can save our planet. That is why we created Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Recycling may be a chore for us, but it can be a natural action for our motivated and informed youth. We need a super hero for the Earth. Let’s call him Captain Planet.”   The historic and award-winning program animated television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers which he conceived with Barbara Pyle together was developed in 1989 and produced by Barbara Pyle and her team, Nick Boxer and Thom Beers, in partnership with DIC Enterprises in the US.  When the series finally launched to worldwide acclaim, the 113-episode series rockets to the top of the charts as the world’s first ever edutainment ‘eco-toon and has been syndicated in over 220 U.S. markets and in over 100 countries worldwide. 2.NEVER QUIT UNTIL YOU WIN  Ted once said that:  “You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win." He is a man who has actually lived the principles he preaches. He has been criticized many times but he has remained undeterred and persevered even though Cable News Network struggled from the its early beginnings.  Here him:  “All my life people have said that I wasn’t going to make it. They laughed at me when I started with CBS. They laughed at me when I started CNN. They laughed at me when I bought the Braves. They laughed at me when I bought the Hawks. They laughed at me when I bought MGM." “You can never quit. Winners never quit, and quitters never win... Watch me. I’m like a bulldog that won’t let go... Why do you think my own racing yacht is name ‘Tenacious’? Because I never quit. I’ve got a bunch of flags on my boat, but there ain’t no white flags. I don’t surrender. That’s the story of my life." After being expelled from University and divorced by his wife Turner's life took a turn for the worse when his father killed himself. Only 24 years old, Turner took over the family business, an outdoor advertising company that was deep in debt. Nobody believed he could turn it around. But he did!  3. SET GOALS BEYOND YOUR REACH Take a look at the goals that you've set for yourself. Does reading them over get you excited to start the day and get to work? Running a business can be a grind and it's easy to get lost in the day to day activities and lose sight as to why you started the business and what your bigger picture is. You need to have an ambitious vision that will inspire you and the people around you to give their very best. Hear him: "I like to do things that are bigger than me... You should set goals beyond your reach so you always have something to live for... Do something. Lead, follow or get out of the way." 4. STRIKE  THE BALANCE BETWEEN  MONEY, HAPPINESS AND HEALTH  Turner has been married and divorced three times: to Judy Nye (1960–64), Jane Shirley Smith (1965–88), and actress Jane Fonda (1991–2001). He has five children. One of Ted's daughters, Laura Turner Seydel, comes from the same environmental conservationist mold of her father currently serves as the Chairman for the Captain Planet Foundation.   It is clear that Ted could not handle his marriage the same way he did to business. But sacrificing ones marriage and family life on the alter of business can be costly! What does it profit a man if he gain all the money and loses his own health, family, happiness and peaceful mind? Now, you can think about that!  5. HARDWORK ALWAYS PAYS!  Nobody will tell you that starting or running a business is easy. Successful companies are created by entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a difference in their industries and country. They put in the time to make a unique product or service, market it effectively, overcome the hurdles that are put in their way, and eventually achieve success. You have to be smart about how you work but you also have to work hard. Reports have it that Ted Turner is an admitted overachiever and a workaholic. He frequently put in 18 hour workdays, slept most nights at CNN headquarters, and CNN staff regularly saw him leave his office to grab a cup of coffee in his bathrobe. Staff regularly worked six or seven days a week alongside Turner, with one worker claiming, “[Turner] was much more than a cheerleader. He was the kind of guy you’d want to run through a wall for.” Acknowledging that “the best way to lead is by example”, Turner inspired his staff to work just as hard as him to achieve their common goal. He once said: "CNN came out of my heart and soul. In 20 short years, by all the surveys, we became the world’s most respected news source. The New York Times had been there for 100 years. We did it in 20... Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise." 6. IT PAYS TO START EARLY!  Born 1938,  Turner began his career in the advertising business with his father selling space on billboards. Tragically, his father died but the memory of his father lived on and many believe his father to be the inspiration that gets Ted through the hard times. Profiting from the billboard business, Turner's jump start came in 1970 when he purchased Rice Communications which he later re-named Turner Broadcasting System. Losses in the first year totaled nearly $700,000. Turner was able to turn WSTG around and brought it to a #1 regional ranking. After nearly 9 years of traditional "wattage" broadcasting, Turner capitalized on the idea of satellite transmission communication to homes all over the world.  7. LEAVING A LEGACY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION The popular scripture in proverbs 22:13, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children” seems to have worked in the life of Ted.  Whichever way one looks at it, Ted Turner has transformed the world of telecommunications and brought the nations of the world closer through t his broadcasting business ventures and philanthropies. Through his nuclear threat initiative the turner Foundation, he now concentrates  his considerable energies  on defending life  on earth  from the multiple threatens  posed by environmental degradation  and weapons of mass destruction.  Turner serves as Chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors which donated his $1 billion gift to support.  In 2008, Ted wrote his autobiography with Bill Burke titled, “Call Me Ted” . He has had several books written about his life’s achievements by numerous authors. With his environmental consciousnesses and the desire to make the earth amore habitat friendly, you don’t need a prophesy to know that the now 74 year old will live for many more years!