Anyone of a certain age will know the name Evel Knievel. He was an icon and hero for kids growing up in the 1970’s. For anyone who the Evel Knievel has passed by, he was a famous American motorbike stunt driver and daredevil, known for tearing it up and causing a spectacle both on and off his bike. While most of us do not aspire to have our faces printed on children’s lunch boxes, there is a lot we freelancers can learn from his story!

1. He wasn’t the best, he was the best known - Evel Knievel wasn’t the first, he wasn’t the best, but if you think of motorbike stunts then you probably think of him. As freelancers we often strive to develop our skills without realizing that promotion is just as important. How can you make your name the first customers think of?
2. He wasn’t unique but he was remarkable - If you think being remarkable is all about being unique or innovative then think again. It wasn’t what Evel did that made him remarkable but the way he did it.
3. His biggest talent was showmanship - In many biographies of the man the experts do not actually rate his skills as a stunt man all that highly. Why did the public embrace him so? As well as creative and fantastic shows of courage, he was a communicator, working the crowds and talk show circuit. He captivated audiences with his stunts and his words.
4. Positive mental attitude saves the day - People know him for breaking bones as much as records. He lived with pain daily. Often he would badly hurt himself but still insist on walking away rather than being stretchered. Facing your fears and putting up with some pain to achieve success and eventual rewards is a trait any one of us would do well to emulate.
5. Merchandise! - Knievel had revenue streams that would challenge George Lucas. Everything from toys to underwear. It is worth remembering that with some thought and creativity you can earn income outside of billing clients. Check out the FreelanceSwitch book for one such idea!
6. When work dried up he found new markets - I have worked with freelancers in the past who have given up at the first sign of a dry spell. Rather than finding new markets they have gone back to the 9-5. When fame started to fade for Mr Knievel he made took his lemons and made lemonade, selling out a 90k+ ticket show at Wembley Stadium to conquer Europe and becoming more famous than ever before.
7. His finances were as bad as his crashes - One thing he did not have a talent for was money management. When the millions were rolling in he spent it as fast as it arrived, with multiple speed boats, posh cars, even a helicopter. As soon as the income stopped he ran out of money and declared bankruptcy. It’s worth remembering that when things are going well is precisely when you need to be most careful about your cash-flow.
8. You can’t control what people say about you - How do you deal with negativity, criticism, trolls and rumors? Evel Knievel took a baseball bat to his most vocal critic, previously his publicist. The publicist was battered near to death, as was Evels reputation as he was sent down for a jail sentence.
9. It wasn’t work that was his downfall - We all would like to be judged on the basis of our work. The relative merits of what we do though is not the whole of the package. How we behave is just as important. When people hire us they hire us, not just our output. In the end it was his behavior that was his downfall. All the time people looked up to him and respected him as a hero, he was anything but in his private life. As the saying goes, be nice to people on the way up, you might need them on the way back down.
10. 30 years on and people remember him - Even for all his faults he has left a lasting legacy. He died on 30th November 2007, at 69 years old. Many people only recall his successes, and in fact magnify and distort those stunts as being bigger and better than they actually were. People think he achieved things he never even attempted (for example he never did jump the Grand Canyon on a motorbike). The legend was bigger than the man. If this does not demonstrate the power of marketing, I don’t know what does!

You do not have to face a canyon jump on a steam powered rocket to show courage or break bones to suffer through adversity, just being in business can be challenge enough. As I think Evel Knievels story shows, sometimes it really is less what you do and more how you do it that matters, both in character and results.