EBITDA (2026 edition): Earnings Before Iran, Tariffs, and Donald Announcements.

On May 2, 1972, Bruce Springsteen auditioned for the record producer John Hammond. Hammond had signed icons like Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin—two of Springsteen’s heroes. “I would’ve been in a state of complete panic," Springsteen said, "except on the way up in the elevator, I performed a little mental jiu-jitsu on myself.” “I thought, ‘I’ve got nothing, so I’ve got nothing to lose...If nothing happens, I'm going to walk out of here the same person as when I walked in.’” With this mindset, Springsteen said, instead of panicking, he walked into the audition feeling confident. He performed his song, “It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City.” “When I was done I looked up,” Springsteen writes, “and I heard him say, ‘You’ve got to be on Columbia Records…That was wonderful.’” Springsteen signed a ten-album deal and would go on to record with Hammond and Columbia Records for the next fifty years. Takeaway 1: What Springsteen called “mental jiu-jitsu” is known in psychology as “cognitive reframing." Whether it's public speaking, a big game, or a potentially life-changing audition, it can be helpful to reframe the situation as something that isn't actually *that* important. Another one of my favorite examples of this is the way the snowboarder Shaun White would reframe an Olympic half-pipe run. Right before dropping in, White said, “I say to myself, ‘Who cares?’ At the end of the day, who cares? What’s the big deal? I’m here, I’m going to try my best, and who cares? I’m going to go on from this regardless of what happens.'" Takeaway 2: Four months after the audition, John Hammond was interviewed by the magazine, “Record World," and he was asked, "What are you doing now?" "Well," Hammond said, "I latched onto a young folksinger a few months ago who I just think is going to be absolutely a giant. He’s Bruce Springsteen...He’s one of the greatest talents I’ve ever come across.” While Hammond could see, after just one song, that Springsteen was a generational talent, Springsteen himself was full of self-doubt. It made me think of Bill Russell, one of the greatest basketball talents ever. Once in an interview (well into his NBA career), Russell made a comment that he never got any positive feedback from his college coach. The coach heard the comment and wrote to Russell, saying that Russell had so much talent he didn't need positive feedback. "The hell I didn't," Russell said. "[Everyone] wants to be told they are doing a good job...It never hurts to say a good word." - - - “Sometimes it takes another person to believe in us." — Steven Pressfield Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!

@AprioAdvisors's @simwallis, CFA, recently participated in a webinar with the American City Business Journals to share insight into economic trends that business owners should be tracking. Click on the link below to read the key takeaways. hubs.ly/Q01Mjt6F0