The Mel Robbins PodcastThe Business Expert: How to Make More Money, Beat Self-Doubt, & Reinvent Your Life
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
70 min read · 13,987 words- 0:00 – 4:24
Meet the Guest
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Gave me $1,000 to start my business. That was the lucky break. When he said, "You'll never succeed without me," I knew I'd rather die than not succeed. Thank God he said that. He was wrong. I sold my business for $66 million about 20 years later, and he was out of business in three years.
- MRMel Robbins
Today, our guest is the one and the only Barbara Corcoran. She is one of the original sharks on Shark Tank. She's a real estate mogul, one of the most influential self-made women in business. She's gonna look you straight in the eye and call you out on every single excuse that you've been hiding behind, and if you've been telling yourself you're too old and it's too late, you better buckle up because she's got some things to say to you.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
When I was building my business, The Corcoran Group, in New York City, you have to appreciate that all the businesses are owned by men. None of the big boys watched me, and I creeped up on them, bit their [censored] from behind. They never knew what was coming.
- MRMel Robbins
How did you become a judge on Shark Tank?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, I was hired and then fired before I had a chance.
- MRMel Robbins
Wait, what do you mean? Why did they fire you?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, they fired me because they... I actually had a very happy childhood. I was very poor, but I was happy. My mother had 10 kids. It was crowded, and it was competitive. I was always competing for my mother's attention, so I got good at talking. That's a gift I got out of being dyslexic. Oh, I think dyslexia made me successful. I don't think I would've been successful without it. You can create exactly what you want, but I think the key there really is moving on something, anything, just get yourself moving, and then the idea becomes itself.
- MRMel Robbins
Barbara Corcoran, welcome to The Mel Robbins Podcast.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Thank you very much.
- MRMel Robbins
I have been looking forward to this because I have met you in passing a number of times. I admire you so much. I'm a fan of Shark Tank. I've heard your keynote address. It's extraordinary. How might my life be different if I take everything to heart that you're about to share with us and teach us today, and I apply it to my own life or my business?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I would love people to appreciate and believe that you're far more capable than you think you are.
- MRMel Robbins
Mm.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I've never met a person who wasn't more capable than they gave themselves credit for, and I'd like people to really understand that you don't have to do it the way everybody else does it, not the way that you're gonna do it. You're free to do it exactly as you please.
- MRMel Robbins
I know that so many people are gonna listen to this, and they're gonna share it particularly with the women in their lives-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm
- MRMel Robbins
... that are doubting themselves, that don't think they're capable. So could you speak directly to the person who maybe received this from a friend or a sister, and they're feeling full of doubt. They've lost some confidence. They're feeling a little stuck. What do you want to say to that?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, I think everyone feels stuck. I'm probably feeling stuck four or five times a month.
- MRMel Robbins
Really?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
It's not important whether you feel stuck or not. Just assume it's a human [laughs] condition. We all feel that way. But I think you can do a lot to change yourself to being unstuck, and one of the best ways to do it, or at least I started with it, is to change the tape in your head. I had a tape in my head, like, intimidation all the way until I decided to change it from, "Barbara, you're overstating. Barbara, you can't get there. Barbara, you can't, can't, can't, can't, can't," and replace it with, "Barbara, you're incredible."
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Now, did I believe it? No, but I made the habit of changing it every time my mind went down that hole. I changed it to, "Barbara, you're incredible," and eventually I started believing it. We all have lousy tapes in our head left over from childhood. Man, I have a little... I think the, the woman that gave me the worst tape in my head was Sister Stella Marie, the nun from hell, in third grade, who said, "You're always gonna be stupid 'cause you can't read." It took me probably eight years to get over that, and I said, "I'm not gonna be stupid," and that's... I decided not to be. I mean, it's a shame that. How dare someone make you feel less than you are. You've gotta come back strong.
- MRMel Robbins
Well, and oftentimes, Barbara, and I think you know this too because you just talked a little bit about how you were like, "Barbara, you're doing this. Barbara, you're doing that," and you started saying, "Barbara, you're incredible," and then the more you repeated it, you started to believe it. But oftentimes the person that's beaten us down the most is ourselves.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, very much.
- MRMel Robbins
And so for the person who's listening right now who feels like, "Okay, Mel, Barbara, I love both of you ladies, but it's too late for me. I have screwed up too many times."
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Wow.
- MRMel Robbins
"I have not gotten myself together. It's too late. I'm too old." What do you wanna say to
- 4:24 – 11:29
It’s Never Too Late: Reinventing Your Life at Any Age
- MRMel Robbins
that person?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I'm, uh... It's never too late, obviously. You know that. I know that. But I think you just have to pause and realize, I have always done a, a, a simple exercise. I've counted the years I have left and think of how many more mes can I get in those years. So when I was 46 and sold my business, I thought I sold the golden goose, and I thought I would never, ever create another business again like that. I thought I had sold my best business, not that I didn't want to. I wanted to. But then I realized I was the golden goose. You can create exactly what you want. I mean, I laid eggs again and again, and I reinvented myself over and over again. But I think the key there really is to believe that you really have to get good at trying. 'Cause the minute you try, an opportunity is right there, and you go, "Whoa, I didn't think of that." But it's when you're in that still position, or at least for me when I'm in a still position, I could sit at my desk and try to invent an idea. Forget it. It's about moving on something, anything. Just get yourself moving, and then the idea becomes itself. And by the way, about failing at stuff, which I find just stops a lot of people. They feel they've had two or three failures, and, "Oh, I'm not gonna do it," I just don't believe in that. I think they just didn't hang around long enough-
- MRMel Robbins
Mm
- BCBarbara Corcoran
... to see the flip side of failure. 'Cause all my good stuff happened after a big failure. It almost seemed like, for me, the bigger the failure I had, the bigger the upside. But I was dogged enough to just stay there and see there's gotta be something, you know? There's gotta be something. And I think just waiting around for the something to find it and believing there's something there, I don't think you're ever wrong. I think there's always something there, and you can get something started again.
- MRMel Robbins
You said something that really caught my attention, which is you do this thing where you count the years you have left.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, I do.
- MRMel Robbins
So do you have a number in mind for how long you're gonna live?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah, about 105.
- MRMel Robbins
Okay, 105. So let's just take that away as something you can grab from Barbara. You're gonna live to 105. You've got that many years left, and I love what you-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
That's a lot. 35 years.
- MRMel Robbins
That's a lot. How many mes can I pack into?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Probably about another two, but they've gotta be different. They've gotta suit who I am at that juncture in my life.
- MRMel Robbins
Ooh, I love that.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I could never build another real estate business with the energy it took, the people I had to hire, the financial stress I went through. I'm older now. I just can't handle that. It's gotta be appropriate to who you are and true to yourself at that point in time because your experience changes you. You're still the same Barbara, but you're slightly different, so it's gotta fit you very well.
- MRMel Robbins
How do you know what fits you and what doesn't?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
It feels right.
- MRMel Robbins
Mm.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I don't have a plan necessarily. I might have a vague plan, but I have confidence that I'll find something and that it will feel right when I see it. Like I did this last go around when I sold the Corcoran Group. I tried cooking lessons. I was gonna be a chef. I tried artistic lessons. I, nah, I was gonna be an art- I have all those capabilities, but nothing felt right. I started a PR company for about three months. It didn't feel right. I threw that away. And the fourth one I landed on, I became a, an expert in real estate on the Today Show, and all of a sudden I was getting work. And I said, "Hey, this feels right. Let me do it. I'm good at talking on TV." And off I went.
- MRMel Robbins
And that right there is an example of exactly what you just told us to do.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm-hmm.
- MRMel Robbins
You have to try. You're also known as one of the most accomplished investors and founders today, but what people don't know is how the story begins. And so what I wanna do is go all the way back to growing up in New Jersey and talk about what life really-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Let's have
- MRMel Robbins
... looked like. I got a little photo for you of you and your siblings.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Oh, sure. I love this photo. That was my sister Ellen's idea. Thank God we posed for it.
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs] Yeah.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
You don't get those opportunities easily enough.
- MRMel Robbins
Talk about what life really looked like when you were growing up in New Jersey.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, I actually had a very happy childhood. I was very poor, but I was happy. My mother had 10 kids. Her father was m- my father was her 11th child. I think [laughs] she, he was the hardest to manage of all of us. But it was crowded, and it was competitive. I would say those two words come to mind always. Crowded, so you had to make do all the time and finesse all the time. And competitive, you had to compete for my mother and father's attention. We each got very little attention. It was doled out in tiny little pieces, and I really believe that's the reason I've needed a lot of attention my whole life, making up for that or something.
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
But it was chaotic. But my mother had a great ability for systems. She had a system for everything in the household, and with her systems, we were always well-dressed. We were always, had good meals. We always celebrated holidays, and we felt like we were the rich kids in town, really, but we weren't. But what a great upbringing I had, really.
- 11:29 – 15:08
How to Make Being Underestimated Your Advantage
- MRMel Robbins
I, you told the story about that awful nun who said you were stupid when-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
The nun from hell
- MRMel Robbins
... the nun from hell. And what you didn't know at the time is that it wasn't that you couldn't read. It was that you had dyslexia.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
And lightning-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
They didn't have a name for that, I don't think then.
- MRMel Robbins
They, they definitely didn't because they really weren't talking about it much when I was in school, and I'm a couple decades younger than you. Just a couple.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
They had a special class and that.
- MRMel Robbins
They did, down the hall.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Ah.
- MRMel Robbins
Yes. But I found out that I had dyslexia late in life, just like you did.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm.
- MRMel Robbins
Because our sons were being diagnosed.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, that's usually when you find out.
- MRMel Robbins
So do you think being underestimated or-Having to figure out different ways to solve problems is part of what's made you successful?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I think dyslexia made me successful. I don't think I would've been successful without it. You know, a lot comes with being dyslexic. You look at the world differently. You interpret it differently. You over prepare constantly, or I am. I'll prepare, like, seven hours for a one-hour speech. It's ridiculous. Do I know this stuff? Of course I do, but I'm so insecure because I never wanna be called on again and not know the answer. You know, nothing's worse than being a dyslexic child and being judged by how well you could read or write. The worst thing for me was being asked to read out loud in front of the other kids. You're the, the, the. You're definitely looking stupid. But you know what it brings with you? A different way of thinking. I sat in that classroom six hours a day and just imagined things. I never paid attention. And it's right that today I could think of an idea a minute. I could just think of solutions really fast. That's a gift I got out of being dyslexic. I think also that with dyslexia, people underestimate you.
- MRMel Robbins
Mm.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
So you don't read at the board meeting, and they write you off because you're, you're stumbling, but they don't know your imagination, what you're thinking about, and how you express yourself with your mouth as a result of not being able to write. I mean, I got very good with my mouth. I got very funny.
- MRMel Robbins
You and I are h- so similar.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Really?
- MRMel Robbins
Yes. And if you can't do what's being asked of you, you find other ways-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes
- MRMel Robbins
... to matter. You find other ways to express yourself.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, you do.
- MRMel Robbins
I mean, it's not s- there's no way-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
You get a bigger muscle somewhere else.
- MRMel Robbins
Yes. Do you think... It's interesting because I think a lot of people are afraid of being underestimated. But for-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
No
- MRMel Robbins
... you and me-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Come on, you know better
- 15:08 – 19:23
How to Find the Right Career For You
- MRMel Robbins
jobs-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, I did
- MRMel Robbins
... before you started that real estate business, including being a receptionist, a waitress. I want you to walk me through that chapter, and what did those early jobs teach you?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
The early jobs are invaluable. And, you know, today people think they should know what they wanna be when they grow up, and they get right into that track. I think it's such a terrible mistake. I spent those 22 jobs most importantly learning what I was good and what I was bad at. So I was a great waitress. I at times had three waitress jobs at once, but I could charm anybody. I could serve them faster than anybody. Get that coffee there. Call the guy handsome if I couldn't remember his name from the day before. And it helped me tremendously. I was a nurse's aide, and I had to post temperature charts, and I got the numbers mixed up. I knew I didn't belong in a business [laughs] with numbers at all.
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I learned that I could sell more hot dogs at a hot dog stand than the next kid 'cause I had the gift of gab. I learned exactly what I should be in, and I learned really most importantly I was great at sales, and that's what I wound up being. When I went into the real estate business, I knew nothing about real estate and never really learned anything about real estate, but I knew how to make people happy with their real estate and talk them into things they really loved and were afraid to make the choice about.
- MRMel Robbins
What, what do you think makes someone good at sales?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I think it's being genuine.
- MRMel Robbins
Mm.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I don't think you can fake it. I think people know when you're selling s- selling them something they don't wanna buy, talking them into it. I think you just have to make someone comfortable with what they're gonna choose anyway. Give them reasons why it's a great choice. Make them feel justified in going up to a higher price, that they deserve that apartment at a higher price, or they deserve the better view, whatever. I think it's making them feel comfortable with you. It's really more what sales is about, comfort.
- MRMel Robbins
I agree.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
And I think that's a lot of what comes through those early jobs-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah
- MRMel Robbins
... is getting comfortable with yourself and comfortable with people of different moods as you're serving them.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm. But thank God I had the chance to try out 22 jobs. You know, when I went into Bloomingdale's to buy my first coat, which was an extravagant coat, with my first commission check, I didn't know what I'd look good in. I tried on a million coats, and it's kinda the same way with jobs. I think you gotta just try on a million stuff to see what you're good at. It just doesn't come naturally.
- MRMel Robbins
You know, I have a photo of you, um, [laughs] -
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Where are you getting these photos? I haven't seen this since the k-
- MRMel Robbins
When you're 23 years old.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Oh, wow. That's the coat I was telling you about.
- MRMel Robbins
Are you kidding me?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah, I swear to God. Isn't that a nice coat?
- MRMel Robbins
That's the first coat you bought at Bloomingdale's with your-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah, it was $330, and I had a $340 commission check. [laughs]
- MRMel Robbins
Okay, hold on a second. So you earned $340 on your first real estate transaction-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes
- MRMel Robbins
... and you spent 330 of it on a coat.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah, I blew it.
- MRMel Robbins
And so what would you tell that version of you, the 23-year-old Barbara, about what's possible?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I would've told myself, "You're dead on. You look and feel like a million bucks, you're gonna act like a million bucks." I wanted to be the queen of New York real estate on day one in the business. I saw it like I could taste it, touch it, saw it in living color. But I had a ratty outfit on, you know?
- 19:23 – 21:31
Barbara Corcoran’s Success Story: From $1,000 to 66 Million
- MRMel Robbins
So let's fast-forward seven years. You're 30 years old. Your boyfriend, who also becomes your business partner. Why the hell are you in business with your boyfriend, Barbara?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I was a diner waitress, and he came in one night, and he was charming. He had jet black hair, aviator shades on. He was sexy. I had never had a boyfriend, so at 23 I really wanted a boyfriend.
- MRMel Robbins
Yep.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
And he later, two months later, once I was his, his girlfriend, gave me $1,000 to start my business. Where the heck would I get $1,000?
- MRMel Robbins
That's true.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
That was a lucky break. That was a lucky break. And I started the company first with him. I needed him. I didn't have the confidence at the time to think I could really do it, but he told me I could, and then I believed it. He told me. He was successful in business, he was charming, and he said, "You'd be great at real estate sales." So I said, "Okay, that's good enough. I could always go back to the diner." And that's exactly what I did. I started the business.
- MRMel Robbins
So he left you.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes.
- MRMel Robbins
Married-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
My secretary, that bitch.
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
[laughs]
- MRMel Robbins
Well, now you wanna thank her probably.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah, probably.
- MRMel Robbins
But he also told you that, "You'll never succeed without me."
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, I don't blame him.
- MRMel Robbins
Why?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
'Cause I was going out the door, I divided the business in half and left him on a Friday afternoon, and took my half of my business out with me. And I think he was angry. I don't really think in the hindsight when I think about it that he meant it, but thank God he said it. 'Cause when he said, "You'll never succeed without me," I knew I'd rather die than not succeed. And when I was in bad times and didn't know how to keep the business through all the upheavals in New York City, going bankrupt, the stock market crash, 9/11, when I was always be out of cash, I would think of his words. They would just come back on me, and I would always think of some other angle to keep in business. So thank God he said that. He was wrong. I sold my business for $66 million about 20 years later, and he was out of business in three years. So go sh- go figure.
- MRMel Robbins
Go f- I, you, what you almost said, I heard, so. [laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
[laughs] Yep, yep,
- 21:31 – 26:25
How to Build Unshakable Confidence (Even After Failure)
- BCBarbara Corcoran
yep.
- MRMel Robbins
So how do you build confidence when you're scared or when you're unsure?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
You know, I have all my confidence from one thing only, and I don't think people appreciate it. They think if you're successful at what you attempt, even in a particular chapter in your life or a day in your life, you grab from that your confidence, and you have more confidence for the next time. It's never worked for me that way. I've tried everything. I've failed, you know, most things, but most things in my real estate business were flops. But when I had a success, I found my confidence wasn't built. But what did build my confidence and made it rock solid is I knew I could outwork and outtry anyone, and I knew I'd be back. If I failed, I just knew in my heart I was gonna stand right back up. And knowing you'll always stand back up and try again, you're confident. You, you look confident because you are confident. You might not win again, you might fail again, but the next one will be a win. So I just keep trying, trying, trying, trying. I try so much shit. Anything that's new out in the social space, I try it. That's where I get my confidence from.
- MRMel Robbins
That's the best definition of confidence, because I think most people say, "My confidence is in the thing I'm accomplishing." And you just said, no, confidence, true confidence is knowing that you can count on yourself to keep going and to pick yourself back up and to keep working hard.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Nobody takes that away from you.
- MRMel Robbins
That's right, nobody can take that away from you. What is the biggest failure that you've had?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Oh, God, I've had so many.
- MRMel Robbins
You keep talking about failure. What's the one that was like, "Whoa. God."
- BCBarbara Corcoran
The, the... Well, any of my failures, the biggest ones, were always my biggest success. Probably the one I, what, lost the most money on would you say was a failure?
- MRMel Robbins
Sure. What was that?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Okay. That was homes on tape. I announced to my salespeople, "You know, we're gonna take all your apartments and put them on videotape." This was before the advent of the internet.
- MRMel Robbins
That sounds brilliant.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
It sounds brilliant. They cheered me on. I felt like a goddamn genius. So I put everybody on videotape, including my sales people. Did their makeup, did their hair, made them look beautiful, and no one handed out the tape. I, I couldn't believe that it re- I spent $77,000, which was my first profit, on the, what I thought was a great idea. It failed miserably, but I was with my husband that weekend right after the failure and feeling sorry for myself for about a minute, and he mentioned he was playing war games on this new government thing called the internet in real time. And I took my tapes and put them on the internet that Monday morning, and I registered all my competitors' URLs so I own them.And we sold two apartments in, out of London in one week. Boom, boom. It just hit. And that was the advent of the internet, which was gonna change the real estate business more than any other thing has changed it. But I had almost two years to play around on the internet before my competitors woke up, and when they woke up, they always called me asking for the URLs back. That's how I knew they were waking up, you know? [laughs] But now look at that. That was the worst disaster money-wise, 'cause it was my whole profit. But in the long run, or even the short run, it was my biggest success. The internet took me from tw- maybe 12, 13th position and made me number three.
- MRMel Robbins
Wow.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Boy, I was coming within shooting range after the internet.
- MRMel Robbins
Yes.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
'Cause I was there early, and it was simply happenstance. I hung around. That's all I did. I hung around and used it.
- MRMel Robbins
What's your advice to somebody who's listening right now who's just starting their career, who's trying to figure out their future?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
You're not gonna figure it out from afar. Just try a lot of stuff on. Forget about what Mom and Dad said or whatever. Just figure out, I think a good guide is to figure out what you're good at, and figure out what you're not good at. And if you don't know, get out and play in the traffic and find out. See if you're good at this or that, and that makes for a happy and successful career. If you could wrap a career choice around something you're naturally good at, you have nothing to do but win. You really will win with it. 'Cause that's what I did. I only, I only us- utilized in my business a few traits that I have, and that's good enough.
- MRMel Robbins
What are the few traits?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Judging people, marketing, and salesmanship. That's what I do well. When I sold The Corcoran Group, I sat down with a legal pad and wrote down everything I was good at and everything I was bad at to try to think of what I would do. And there were only three things I could do. One of them was TV, one of them was a PR agency, and one was an advertising agency. Would utilize my traits of being good on camera, being a good salesman, and liking g- public speaking. Those were the three that were on the list. And I went into the TV business, thank God. I could have done it in the PR and advertising space, I think, just as well.
- MRMel Robbins
Well, you said you tried it-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
But I knew right off the list
- MRMel Robbins
... but you didn't like it. It didn't feel right.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah, I didn't. Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
That's why you gotta get in traffic and play around because then you're gonna figure out what actually feels right and what doesn't.
- 26:25 – 29:42
How to Get Ahead at Work
- MRMel Robbins
You know, there's a lot of people that are losing their jobs right now, and also I read this stat that 69% of Americans would quit their job today if they could afford to.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Wow, is that true?
- MRMel Robbins
Yep.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I didn't realize that.
- MRMel Robbins
'Cause they do not like what they do. What do you think the single most valuable skill right now is that someone should focus on learning?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, technology, of course. AI in particular. I've, I can't imagine running my business without it [laughs] , and I've just gotten on it six months ago or so. You know? That's important. But I think far more important for anyone thinking of how they should spend their time, I think when you pick a job, you shouldn't be choosing what job you want, but you should be looking for a good person to work for.
- MRMel Robbins
Yeah.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
When you've got a great boss, it's far, far more important-
- MRMel Robbins
Yeah
- BCBarbara Corcoran
... than a great job. 'Cause the boss has got your back. He pushes you ahead. He believes in you, and you have a heck of a fun time working for him. But most people choose a position over the boss, or the chances of promotion over the boss. When you have a good boss, you got the right thing in your own corner.
- MRMel Robbins
How do you know who is a good boss? Like, what would you look for? If you were going out and you're not... Well, obviously, you're Barbara Corcoran, so you're not going out looking for a job. But if-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I may be.
- MRMel Robbins
Well, maybe. Who knows?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
[laughs] Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
But if you were looking and assessing, you know, who do I wanna work for, what would you want that boss, him or her, to have in terms of making them a good boss?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I would say the most important trait is have them speak about who works with them. Who do you have working for you now? Who's your favorite person? What do you do with them? You know, how long have they been here? Like, you're actually finding out if they're working for the people versus the people working for them, which I think is really the key to being a good boss is to work for your people. You want someone who's gonna say he's got, this guy got promoted, blah, blah, blah. If you just get a guy who wants you to do your job and that's it, and you don't prod him to tell you about the people, you really won't learn about his attitude toward people.
- MRMel Robbins
Mm.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
And you don't know what you're working for.
- MRMel Robbins
What do you think the difference is between somebody who's a boss versus somebody being a good leader?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, I guess a boss tells you what you oughta be doing, which is, uh, valuable. You wanna know what your job is. But a leader inspires you and gets you to believe in their dream and see things the way they do.
- MRMel Robbins
Mm.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
And makes you willing to climb up the mountain behind them. I think being a leader is not easy. It doesn't come to everybody.
- MRMel Robbins
Yeah.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
But I think it has to be 100% genuine, and you have to be on the employee's side. I- they, if they feel that, they'll follow you anywhere. They really will.
- MRMel Robbins
How can you be a good leader? Like, for somebody who's listening that wants to be better in a leadership role or to just be a good leader, what are some of the things that you would tell them to think about and to practice?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I think the most important thing is to speak genuinely. I mean, you know when you're being conned, and bosses are great at conning you. But if you're a great leader and you speak genuinely as to why what you want them to do is good for them, not for you, they'll listen to you, and they'll follow you. I think you have to put it in their terms why it's good for them, because the b- the good leader is always working for their employees, if they have their head on straight.
- MRMel Robbins
Now-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
And that's
- 29:42 – 31:42
The #1 Toxic Employee Trait
- BCBarbara Corcoran
how you get it done
- MRMel Robbins
... what are the characteristics that would make you fire somebody? Like, you're out.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Oh. Only one thing. I don't mind ineptitude. I don't even mind people who aren't putting in the effort. I can change that. I can inspire them and change it. But I can't change a complainer. If you're a complainer, I get rid of them. It's like a cancer in a company. One complainer feeling sorry, oh, poor me, means oh, poor you. And it, it's contagious. It catches on and becomes incestuous in the company. I don't tolerate complainers. I got rid of them as fast as I could 'cause they were dangerous and they were attacking my people. I felt the negative attitude was attacking my positive people, so I got rid of them.
- MRMel Robbins
And, you know, why does teamwork matter so much? You've talked so much about team.Why does teamwork matter, and how do you build trust with your team? Because especially, like, if you think back to building your real estate company, people go between real estate companies all the time.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
They get poached all the time, and it takes trust-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, it does
- MRMel Robbins
... to stay somewhere.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, in the real estate business, there's tremendous turnover, roughly 60% a year. I never had anyone leave unless I fired them. They never wanted to leave. They were having the most fun at my company. They liked me more than any other boss out there, and they most importantly liked each other. It was their family, so they stayed around. And how do you inspire that? By letting them know at every turn along the way that you're for them. "I'm here to serve you. What do you need lately? How can I make your job easier? What would you like to be when you grow up? Where do you wanna be promoted to? What do you wanna do?" I just had their viewpoint in my head. It didn't make a difference what I thought. But what happened naturally was they became ferocious and on my side. And besides which, you know why you basically need a team? Because you can't build a business without it. I've never seen anything without people building. So you have to inspire your people.
- MRMel Robbins
Well, I think people forget that companies are actually people.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
They sure do.
- MRMel Robbins
It's made up of the people that work there.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
It's easy to forget the higher you're
- 31:42 – 33:39
How to Ask for a Raise (Exact Script + What to Say)
- BCBarbara Corcoran
up.
- MRMel Robbins
It's very easy to forget. What is the most effective way, Barbara, to ask for a raise?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Tell the person what you were hired for with a list of what you did, what you were hired for, specific, as specific as you can be. If you have 30 items, put it on a list. Walk in and show them that list compared to the list you're actually doing. 'Cause people are always hired for less work than they're actually given. And you say, "I'm doing all these other duties now, 20%. I'd like a raise," and you name the amount. You name the amount. Most girls don't name the amount. Most girls don't ask for raises. Men ask for raises, women don't. That's been my experience. In running The Corcoran Group, we had 1,000 people, 1,025 or so working there, and I can tell you twice did a woman ask me for a raise-
- MRMel Robbins
Wow
- BCBarbara Corcoran
... in the 15 years, yet the men always asked for raises and told them how, told you how great they were. And I had women that were much better than the men. You just have to get in there, make the appointment, show them what you're doing, and ask for a specific amount. And you can't fall for the typical thing that big companies say is, "There's no, not in the budget." Someone's getting a raise, but it's not you, but someone's getting a raise.
- MRMel Robbins
You know, one of the things that, um, I always think about a lot too, 'cause I think that's excellent advice to document everything you're doing-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm-hmm
- MRMel Robbins
... because your boss has no clue.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
No.
- MRMel Robbins
And you're doing a lot more than anybody realizes.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
And you're usually feeling sorry for yourself over it.
- MRMel Robbins
Yes. And if you don't have a big list, you have no business going and asking for a raise.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
No. I don't wanna pay you more for the same thing you did yesterday.
- MRMel Robbins
Yeah, or less than what I'm actually expecting you to do.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
But I also see people making the mistake of doing one of these Glassdoor searches and looking at comparable positions in a company-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
It's helpful, though
- MRMel Robbins
... and then coming in. Well-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Gives you a barometer
- MRMel Robbins
... maybe. I wanna see what you're doing.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
I wanna actually see what you're doing because if you've got evidence of all the things that you're doing, now I know what the value is.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
Not title to title.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
No, you don't, you're right. You don't wanna walk in and quote the average price that people are being paid for your position. That's what you mean by that, right?
- MRMel Robbins
Yes.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- 33:39 – 37:23
Starting a Business With No Money
- MRMel Robbins
Yes. If you... I'm sure you must get asked this question a million times, which is, "I have no money, I have no connections-"
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm-hmm.
- MRMel Robbins
"... but I wanna start a business." Where do you start?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Start online. You don't even have to have a product. You could have a drawing of a product and sell it, and make it once you get orders. I mean, the world is open to you. Everything is equal today. When I started, you needed to have the right competit- the right person supporting you, the right money, the right connections. Uh, today, it's really not worth anything. I hear more people say, "How do I get the right connections?"
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I'm like, "The right connections? It's not such a thing." You know, everybody you meet, for me, was a connection. I talked to everybody, but when I was talking to them, I really wasn't talking to them, I was interviewing them. I wonder what they could do for me. I wonder what their talent is. How could I use them? And then I would take them into my firm and employ them in the best use of them.
- MRMel Robbins
I wanna make sure that as you're listening and watching-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Okay
- MRMel Robbins
... that you got that amazing piece of wisdom that Barbara just dropped. She basically said, "Stop obsessing about connections-"
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Crazy
- MRMel Robbins
... "because every human being you're talking to is a connection."
- BCBarbara Corcoran
You've got the best one on the internet, a connection to the whole world.
- MRMel Robbins
Yes. But what I love that you said is you're like, "When we were talking, I wasn't talking. I was listening and I was interviewing them."
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, everyone.
- MRMel Robbins
"I'm interviewing them from, how could this person help me? H- are they interesting? Are they not? Are they a waste of time?"
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I'm interviewing you now, even though you think you're interviewing me. [laughs]
- MRMel Robbins
Ooh. What are you looking for?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I'm gonna hire you as my assistant.
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
[laughs]
- MRMel Robbins
I don't know if you can afford me. No, I'm just kidding.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
No, I can. Oh.
- MRMel Robbins
I, actually, you wanna know something?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
I'd be a horrible assistant.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah, you probably would.
- MRMel Robbins
No, I would be a horrible assistant.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
It's probably not your skill set at all.
- MRMel Robbins
Not my skill set. I'm terrible with managing-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
But, boy, can you talk.
- 37:23 – 41:22
How to Come Up With a Million Dollar Business Idea
- MRMel Robbins
what is the way to generate ideas around a business to start?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I think you could do, anything you do in your day-to-day life, stop, examine everything that's happening, and think, "Is there a better way to do this?" Not just by yourself, but what other people are doing. If you're at a local store and it's taking too long to check out the, on the cash register, or if you're... You know, whatever you're, you're encountering in your daily life, just look at it and say, "How could I do that better?" And within that are great products. All the great products that Shark Tank are better ways of doing the same old, same old. Even it's just making a pizza pie with a new pizza box. I mean, as ridiculous as it is, I invested in it because it was a better way of delivering pizza. You know, that kid, that's his only idea, and that's what he ran on Shark Tank with, and that's why he's built a bus- business, just making pizza boxes. But he was trying to solve a problem better than the last guy, and that's always where you find your solution to a new business.
- MRMel Robbins
So Barbara, what do you think the worst advice is that you could give somebody starting a business?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Oh, the worst advice, the same advice my mother gave me, and yet my mother usually gave me great advice. She told me when I was a waitress when I announced I was starting my own business with Ray Simone. She said, "Why don't you hold onto your job? You change so often. You need a resume. Build up your resume, and if you still feel that way in a year, go out into business, but you should have a good resume." She was preparing me for a mundane job, actually. She didn't know it, but that's what she was aiming at. You know? I ignored her and started my business. You know, it's so sad. I meet so many entrepreneurs that plan and plan their business for months, and the best time to do is the second you have the thought. And the minute you get out in the field, you find out what's wrong with your plan and change everything. But you don't have to get it right. You just have to get it going, and my mother did not understand that mantra. She thought I should wait a while. Boy, if I had waited a while, I would've thought of five reasons not to do it, but I didn't wait. I jumped right off and did the business, and I was successful from the beginning.
- MRMel Robbins
And what would you say is, like, the best advice you can give to somebody that is starting a business?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Get going. I s- give that advice all the time. Even with a half-baked plan, I say get going because I know when you're in the field, you find out the real plan, what's gonna work and what's wrong with your idea and what's wrong with you and everything else that comes out. Because it's the real world. You can't plan things. I think business plans are so overrated. My God. But to plan from afar and think I've gotta get it right before I jump out, forget it. It just never happens. You think of reasons why not to do it, and you've wasted all that valuable time.
- MRMel Robbins
You know, one of the things you said earlier is so true and it's brilliant, which is with all the technology and the internet today, you don't even have to truly, quote, "start the business."
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes.
- MRMel Robbins
You can create a prototype that's even built by AI. You can create a wait list.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
You can.
- MRMel Robbins
And so somebody comes to you with an idea. They say, "We've got 100,000 people that have signed up for the wait list to be notified when the product is about to drop." That wait list demonstrates that people are interested in the offering, whether it's a service or it's a product. And so th- th- that was not even possible a couple decades ago.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
No, not at all. What really happens on Shark Tank is entrepreneurs will come in once in a while with nothing more than a prototype, and they'll pitch how great it's gonna be. They have no proof of sales. They don't know who they're gonna sell it to. They don't know what they're gonna do with it. But they believe in it, and if I believe in the person, I'll buy in. Now, once they're on Shark Tank, people call in to order. They go in the line, and they order thousands of copies of whatever they said. They don't even have it, but people will wait. They say, "Oh, I'm sorry. We've had overwhelming response. We'll have it ready in three months." And they'll... That's exactly when they'll build the product. And their business has started, late you might say, but they had the courage to get out there with the prototype or a drawing or something like that, and people believed in it. And that's a great barometer that they're gonna be successful right from the get-go.
- 41:22 – 49:02
How Barbara Corcoran Got Hired on Shark Tank
- MRMel Robbins
How did you become a jug- judge on Shark Tank?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, I was hired and then fired before [laughs] I had a chance.
- MRMel Robbins
Wait, what do you mean? Why did they fire you?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, they fired me because they landed on another woman. They said they preferred her. After I signed the contract, which I reminded them, and they said, "Yes, but we didn't sign it." I had already told all my friends I'm going to Hollywood. I was so embarrassed. I bought two new outfits, new luggage. There I was, going to Hollywood, and it was canceled. So I suggested to the producer that all my good luck came after rejection, and I considered his rejection a lucky charm. And I wrote a short, terse email to him and suggested he invite me out with her and compete for the seat, and that's exactly what he did, thank God.
- MRMel Robbins
You're kidding me.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Really. I turned my good fortune around by doing what I did best, what I always do best, getting back up, taking another swing. Just took another swing. Do you know what? The first day on Shark Tank, my producer said, "You know, we rejected 42 men that wanted the position in the other seats." I said, "You're kidding." He said, "Not one wrote to me. Not one wrote to me objecting to the rejection." I... These are successful millionaires, billionaires.That's amazing that they didn't
- MRMel Robbins
You know what I find interesting is so many people are not willing to ask for what they want, and that's one thing about you. You do ask for what you want.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, I've learned. Not easily. Not easily. Women have a hard time asking for anything. You know what happens, I find? You could wanna climb a mountain with your team. When the men are halfway up, they'll say, "I'm the king of the mountain," and they'll brag about it. Women will climb all the way up, set up the tent-
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
... make sure the kids are fed, everybody's happy, and say, "I had all the help of my team to get here." Women don't take credit. They don't ask for help. They're s- shy. What a waste. Open your mouth. My God, opening your mouth gets, got me everything I got. Without opening my mouth, I would have nothing.
- MRMel Robbins
How many seasons have you been on Shark Tank? Like, you're one of the OGs.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Oh, God, 1,000. Like, 18 something, whatever.
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Out, from the beginning.
- MRMel Robbins
So I would love to have you kind of put us right at the scene, because every single pitch is a founder-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes
- MRMel Robbins
... and an idea. And, yeah, you got a sales story or not.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes.
- MRMel Robbins
But when you're sitting there as an investor and a judge-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes
- MRMel Robbins
... what are you evaluating?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I'm just evaluating the entrepreneur. I couldn't give a damn about the picture of the business that they're painting.
- MRMel Robbins
Really?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Usually, very often, the numbers are exaggerated. Everything, you know, you're, you're getting a sales pitch. I'm looking at that entrepreneur and saying, "Do I believe them?" And in most instances, I'm not believing the sales pitch, but now I'm looking at the person and focusing on the person as to whether they're a capable entrepreneur. And what I look for is something they've done in their life that was hazardous, something they did in their life that they failed miserably. They have a father who was drinking, so, a mother who damned them to hell, something that they have to prove. And if I find that fire in them, they might not have anything but that, but I buy in because they will always be successful. They wanna get even. They haven't had a chance. They wanna get even, and that burns so deep that I believe in them. And they're great partners, because when the business is sold, they're so appreciative of their success, their dream come true. They're so thankful, and it's so satisfying for me to see that full circle of success.
- MRMel Robbins
When you are listening to a pitch, what is the difference between somebody that has that fire in their belly and they're really confident versus somebody that is so overbearing?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, one is, do you wanna spend any time with them? Was, when someone's overbearing, that's the last thing I need in my life. They're out right away. I won't say I'm out right away. I have to stay in the show. But, you know, I have a, a simple test I do many times on Shark Tank. When I'm not sure about the person, I think, "Would I put my baby in their arms, and could I come back and find my baby in good shape?" [laughs] And that's my test. I think, yeah, I would trust them, so they become my partner. I make a bid.
- MRMel Robbins
That's actually an excellent way-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah
- MRMel Robbins
... to judge anybody.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, it sizes everything up.
- 49:02 – 52:19
The One Habit That Separates Top Performers
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
Because you and I are both people that will outwork anybody. Preparation, preparation, preparation. Why is that such an underrated habit and skill to understand that overpreparing-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm
- MRMel Robbins
... is a key to being successful?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Do you know why I think? When you overprepare, you don't realize it, but you're building your confidence. And when you build your confidence, you come across more naturally, more believably, and you usually get the order. I've overprepared for everything in my life. I remember going and speaking with The Corcoran Group agents at junctures along the way, where I had cold sores over both my lips 'cause I was so nervous preparing for two weeks for a one-hour presentation.
- MRMel Robbins
To people who work for you.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, I did. They were gonna accept whatever I said, but I wanted to impress them. I wanted them to be motivated. How will I do it? Will I say it this way, that way? I had to go on vacation right after as a salesman, or I would've had a heart attack. But I overprepared so I could stand up there with confidence. And did I come across with confidence? You betcha. Did I cover all the millions of points I wanted to cover? No. Did I motivate they, motivate everybody there? Yes, I did. Because I was confident. They wanted to be me.
- MRMel Robbins
And you were confident because you prepared. And I think it's such an important story because here, these are people that work for you.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
And you're not winging it. You're preparing because it-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Never
- MRMel Robbins
... matters to you, and you wanna do a good job.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, the more you know people, the more difficult it is to impress them, because you take it more personally.
- MRMel Robbins
You know, one of the things I'm curious about is, you know, having such a big public career-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm-hmm
- MRMel Robbins
... and being somebody who's so competitive and entrepreneurial, how have you been able to have successful re- romantic relationships, marriage-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Oh
- MRMel Robbins
... when you're out in the world? This is something that a lot of women navigate these days. Like, how do you balance Barbara out there in the world versus Barbara the mom and Barbara the wife?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Honestly, it's probably the largest challenge to a successful woman. Now, I married Bill in a second marriage, and he was the right husband. Bill is Bill. He's not gonna change whether he's talking to a pauper or a pope. Bill is Bill. And when I got really heady at times, he would squeeze my head in and tell me to, "Keep it in. Don't get too confident." So I loved him for that. But the thing that worked the best out of everything I tried was getting a separate bedroom, honestly, and getting a separate bed from Bill. 'Cause I would invite him in, and it added the romance into the marriage. And that's really the best advice I could give. It's really hard to be powerful and have a man who's not demasculated. You have to pick the right guy.
- MRMel Robbins
It's so true.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
You know, my, my husband Bill would call me and pretend he was a New York Times reporter if he wanted to speak with me.
- MRMel Robbins
[laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
I so expertly separated business from home. You wouldn't dare call me when I'm working. And my kids didn't dare call me unless they were dying, and then I would hear from them. I don't think they ever died. But likewise at home, people at work would never call me at home. It's my family time. So separating the two pieces was the only way I survived. And I didn't do a great job of it, but I did the best job I could.
- 52:19 – 1:06:12
Women in the Workplace: Bias, Confidence & How to Compete
- MRMel Robbins
I'd love to talk a little bit more about your just insights about women and success.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- MRMel Robbins
And being successful, 'cause there is a lot of pressure. There is bias in the workplace. But you have always seemed to just pick yourself up, shake it off, and plow forward regardless of what was going on around you. You built one of the most successful real estate businesses in a male-dominated business. How do you f- want women to think about both the very real things that are against us in terms of the way that business is structured, but the opportunity that that creates, and what kind of mindset you need to have?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, you know, there's always real things against you, but I did it a little differently than most. I never thought of myself as a woman. Not a single day did I think of myself as a woman. I thought of myself as a competitor, just like a man. I was a competitor, and I was gonna put you under the table, without a doubt, by the time I finished. All right? So not having that liability or thinking I was weak or at a disadvantage of some kind or another was an advantage to me.
- MRMel Robbins
You know, I'll say that when we started this podcast, I had my own goal. I'm like, "Okay, I wanna be the number one ranked female podcaster-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, look at you
- MRMel Robbins
... in the world." But what happened is a friend of mine said, "But why female? Why not just number one?"
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm.
- MRMel Robbins
And then I was like-
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Great comment
- MRMel Robbins
... actually, yeah, why am I putting myself in a category? Why am I not just saying, "No, I'm gonna go out and be number one," which I'm proud to say we were for 81 days last year.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Good for you.
- MRMel Robbins
And I just, you limit yourself in that regard, and I see so many women.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Mm.
- MRMel Robbins
I was doing it to myself doing that. Like, I'm only just a mom, or I'm only gonna be able to compete against women, or I'm only limited to this amount of success because I'm thinking about it in a certain way.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah.
- MRMel Robbins
How does thinking about you just going out and competing...
- BCBarbara Corcoran
It freed me. Because when the boys would ignore me, I could've done two things. I could've said, "Oh, they're not being respectful 'cause I'm a female and there's all men in this room." That would only make me weak. I'd take my chips and go home. But when I stood there and said, "You'll be sorry. I'm gonna out-compete you, and I'm gonna take your bacon," that was a whole different... I, I conducted myself differently. I acted differently. Imagine how different it would've been if I said, "Treat me with disrespect 'cause I'm a woman. That's unfair. How am I gonna change that?"But I'm a competitor. I have the ability to get even, and I did get even. Not ... I make it sound like a vicious thing. It's just I didn't wanna be put down or curtailed against what I was capable of. So the minute they wrote me off, boy, that fired me up.
- MRMel Robbins
Is that what gave you the confidence to go, to keep going? 'Cause you, you literally started with $1,000 and built a company that you sold for, what, $66 million?
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, 66-
- MRMel Robbins
That's a lot of money
- BCBarbara Corcoran
... cash. I wanted the cash in my pocket.
- MRMel Robbins
That's a lot of cash.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yeah. It stayed in the bank for three years. I didn't spend a dime. [laughs]
- MRMel Robbins
Not even on a coat? [laughs]
- BCBarbara Corcoran
No, I already had the coats. By then I was a good coat person.
- MRMel Robbins
So was it that I'll show you that gave you the fire and the confidence? 'Cause I think so many people don't have the uh to keep going.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Well, it egged me on because each look at me or each demeaning way they treated me was so insulting, I wanted to get even, 'cause I was vicious and competitive by nature. But that didn't give me the confidence to go on. The confidence that gave me was everything I tried, even if I tried 10 things, five would be incredible. And they had never thought of them, and they would look and say, "How silly," until it was working. Then they all imitated me, and they were too late. By the time they imitated my Corcoran Report, which I was publishing for four years, and collecting press on it, and becoming the sweetheart of the New York press, they started all publishing reports. What a joke. The space was taken, not by a girl, but by a competitor, myself. And that's just the way I saw myself. I chose not to see myself as a woman ever.
- MRMel Robbins
Well, you know, as soon as I see people imitating me, that's when I know it's time to pivot.
- BCBarbara Corcoran
Yes, you're absolutely right, which is gonna happen soon, I think.
Episode duration: 1:06:12
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