Jesse James at a Book Signing for his Memoir, American Outlaw

Having just finished Jesse James’s new memoir, American Outlaw (Gallery Books) , I have to say that I am impressed with the manner in which he handled the details surrounding his marriage to Sandra Bullock, his affair with Michelle “Bombsell” McGee and his subsequent divorce from Sandra (not to mention the media firestorm that followed).

Being a celebrity journalist and interviewing public personalities is not about the glamour aspect to me. I truly love and am obsessed with people’s life stories, and I have a passion for interviewing people and uncovering the intimate details and emotional roadmaps of their lives. It’s why I am a total biography junkie and have to always be reading a memoir or some other non-fiction fare.

I was recently pretty desperate for a good read and relunctantly pulled the Jesse James memoir, American Outlaw, off of the shelf at the Target near my house. I was practically rolling my eyes as I opened the book and began to read. I have to admit I pre-judged Jesse James based on last year’s media coverage and figured he would make a slew of excuses for his cheating behavior and trash Sandra Bullock with the whole, “my wife didn’t get me” routine.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesse painted the picture of a caring, compassionate and loving partner in Sandra Bullock, and he painted himself as somewhat emotionally damaged goods and unable to accept Sandra’s love as a result. He went on to explain that a brief mid-life crisis caused him to act out in the lowest possible way, by cheating on his unsuspecting and totally emotionally available ex-wife.

What Jesse James did to Sandra Bullock is unacceptable and deplorable, but in his memoir American Outlaw, I have to say he took full responsibility for his actions, pointing the finger at himself, and himself alone. I have to respect that. And let’s be honest, he isn’t exactly the first or the last husband to cheat. Plenty of men, famous and not famous, have acted out in this immature and primal way. In fact, according to recent statistics on this topic, so have plenty of married women.

Bottom line, Jesse James: American Outlaw is a great read and dishes a lot more juice on his life and former marriage to Sandra Bullock than all of the tabloids put together did last year. And he doesn’t divulge anything too intimate or sexual about Sandra. The books simply outlines a beautiful friendship and love story gone wrong due to some unresolved issues in James’s life, and how he went about resolving them after the storm he put himself and his family through.

I recommend it.

My entire life breaking the typical rules of how to get ahead, “make it,” or achieve a career goal as always suited me best. Perhaps it is my personal destiny in this lifetime to have to find innovative ways around conventional rules, but that is how I have always lived. The road less traveled… that is the story of my life!

What I can share in this blog entry is that breaking the rules, whether it has been in my public relations career within my pr firm or when it comes to my journalism career, it has gotten me where I am today. I didn’t go through the normal channels that most do to get to the point of placing public relations clients in some of the world’s largest media outlets nor have I gone through normal channels and career protocol to have achieved conducting more than 100 in-depth interviews with some of today’s most well known newsmakers and legends from entertainment, politics, and publishing. I was never some editor or reporter’s assistant, I never worked for a large publication, I never earned my wings and built my rolodex slowly over a number of years all while toiling away doing grunt work in someone else’s office. I am not putting that down, and many people have gone that route and gone on to wonderful careers, both as a publicist and as a journalist, it just was never for me.

I am not afraid of hard work, quite the contrary. I work my butt off my days, but I do it on my terms, not someone else’s; that is the main distinction. I am completely self-made. I think that whether you are trying to publicize your company or yourself (which is why you may be reading this blog), or whether you are simply trying to reach a dream in some other profession outside of the realm of public relations, breaking rules and doing it your way can always apply. Don’t get me wrong, you need to study the proper protocol if you are to be taken seriously within the culture of a specific industry, but try going off of the main path a bit and see where that less traveled road leads you, you may be pleasently surprised.

As I have recounted many times, with my public relations firm I set up shop after some success as an entrepreneur who found great success in publicizing myself to promote my businesses at the time. I then transferred that self-taught knowledge to helping others get their businesses off the ground and gain media coverage. I began doing celebrity interviews for a newswire with no formal journalism education and no contacts to speak of, but rather through countless hours of self-imposed study of how celebrity interviews are booked, orchestrated, conducted, written up and edited. I went to the University of Allison Kugel. I was pretty gutsy and presumptuous and just started going after interviews as if I had been doing it all my life and it was as natural as breathing. More than 100 major interviews with headlinemakers later, it proved to be a good tactic.

If you are searching for a publicist or a larger public relations firm to help promote your business or if you are simply trying to make your way on your own, I encourage you to think outside the box, leave the conventional thinking to others who prefer to spin their wheels in an overly saturated marketplace. Be creative, be spontaneous, take some risks and really put yourself out there. The worst that can happen is that you will learn what Not to do and need to re-group and go back at it again, but no one ever died from hearing the word “no.” Don’t be afraid of that word. I, personally, have disciplined myself to be imperveous emotionally to the word “No,” no matter how harsh the delivery from the other party. You have to do the same. Not being afraid to fail spectacularly will actually help your chances of succeeding. Ironic, yet very true.