Maria Bartiromo Shares Secrets of Success

A standing-room-only crowd packed into the Westport Public Library's McManus room Tuesday night to hear CNBC anchor and host of "The Wall Street Journal Report" Maria Bartiromo discuss her new book, The 10 Laws of Enduring Success.  

After being delayed by traffic on I-95, Bartiromo arrived 10 minutes late and launched into a discussion of the process of writing this book, the current state of the nation's economy, and her views on what American business needs to do to once again become a leader on the world stage.

"What does success really mean?" 

That was the question Bartiromo said she asked herself as she watched Wall Street executives — some colleagues and friends —walk away from their towering offices carrying boxes that contained the remnants of their careers.

"I asked myself, 'How is this possible?  These people did everything right.'  Now they are in complete uncertainty," she explained.  "That's why I wrote this book.   I wanted to explore and gain insight into what is really important in light of what is happening in the world."

For her second book, The 10 Laws of Enduring Success, written with Catherine Whitney, Bartiromo interviewed titans from the worlds of finance, sports, and business to find the common traits that ensure enduring success. From those interviews, she culled the most important attributes that contribute to long-term successful careers.  

"I found that success is not an external thing.  It's within.  It's all possible," she said. "This book was a departure for me; I feel smarter.  I feel like I've applied these laws to my own life."

Among the many people she interviewed for the book was former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, who advised that young people have not one but 100 mentors, and should avoid "hanging your star on one person."

From Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, Bartiromo learned that one of the most important laws of enduring success is to "know yourself – know what you're good at, and do what you love."

Chess champion and political activist Gary Kasparov told her that when most people have failures they replay them over and over in their minds, wondering where they went wrong. Kasparov also told her that he looks at every success in the same way, analyzing it to determine what he could have done even better, she said.

John Surma of U.S. Steel reminded her that it's important to remain humble.  Bartiromo warns, "The easiest way to lose it all is to think that you are special.  Remember, luck was involved."

Bartiromo went on to discuss the state of the nation's economy and commented on what she felt were the critical issues that America needs to tackle to remain competitive in a global market. 

"China wants to innovate and design," she said. "We are faced with an environment with so many competitors.  In order to be a leader in the world, you must innovate and China is not doing that."

In her opinion, America must continue to be innovative in developing new products and creating a demand for those products globally to remain a player in world markets.  China, she says, is great at copying our products and making them cheaper, but feels that America will remain strong as long as it continues to develop new products.

Bartiromo's success, she says, came from a strong family and an early understanding that you had to work for what you wanted.  She explained that her mom taught her this from a very young age and told of her father, Carmine Bartiromo's, 1919 voyage to America from Italy on a ship named The Rex.  Bartiromo said that watching her father do the books for his restaurant, "instilled something" in her. 

Even now, Bartiromo says that when she complains to her mother about working so hard, her mom will comment, "Maria, you're not chopping down trees," putting things in perspective for her.

The evening concluded with a question and answer period from the audience.  Some residents expressed an opposing view on economic policies and America's ability to innovate. One gentleman suggested that it was not only the ability to develop innovative new products, but businesses' ability to manage the process of getting the products to market. 

A book signing followed the lecture, with many residents eager to meet Bartiromo and purchase her new book.

A podcast of the lecture will be available next week and may be downloaded from the Westport Library's website www.westportlibrary.org