"Had a lot of influences": When Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary recalled his mentor Jerry Patterson

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary appeared on Erika Kullberg's Podcast Episode 46 on August 22, 2023. The episode titled Lessons from the Shark: Kevin O’Leary’s Top Tips for Business Success saw Kevin opening up about being a good leader, his "relationship with money, and business tips."

In one of the segments, when the host, Erika, asked Kevin if he had any specific "traits" that had led him towards becoming successful, he responded:

"I learned something years ago from a mentor named Jerry… Jerry Patterson. I've had a lot of influences in my life, and I think mentorship becomes more valuable as time passes. You understand its value. It's lessons learned early. Jerry said to me once, you know, Kevin, if things go well, a lot of stuff is gonna be thrown at you."

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Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary opens up about how to focus on fulfilling goals, handle criticism, and shut out noise

During his appearance on Erika Kullberg's Podcast, the Shark Tank mentor talked about how people receive "all kinds of stuff" from every angle. He mentioned it was "noise" and referred to it as criticism. Kevin mentioned that successful managers can focus solely on the "goal" while shutting out the noise, as it is unnecessary.

Kevin O'Leary stated that he learned that from Jerry:

"I mean, he was so right. And so what I try and do each day is… is to focus on three things I wanna get done. And I've got a lot of different things going on, but each day, there's three paramount things. And I don't listen to criticism. I don't care about it. I… I don't wanna be crass. I don't listen to the noise because it's irrelevant towards getting your goal done."

Further, Mr Wonderful stated that achieving goals is not just "your goals," but that's how individuals help a"lot of other people" by building their businesses. Mentioning that he is an "investor," he knew better about getting a lot of "heat" and "criticism."

Shark Tank's mentor also recalled how he is often referred to as a "mean guy." However, whenever he is approached in such a way, he mentions not giving s*it because it doesn't matter to him.

"So because of Jerry, he taught me that. You just forget about that because there's more important things that you should focus your energy on," the Shark Tank mentor shared.

The host then asked Kevin how one can decide what was noise, what was important, and which one should focus on.

Responding to her, Kevin recalled having a "fantastic" team. He then revealed how he, along with his team, "assess" their situation every day. Shark Tank's mentor stated that there are many opportunities, with more than 50 companies each day.

He mentioned how sometimes situations become a "roller coaster." However, he doesn't let such thing situations become "catastrophic."

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Kevin O'Leary appears as one of the investors on ABC Network's Shark Tank. Fans can stream the latest episodes of the reality series on ABC.