3 Lessons From Harry Mudd, The Most Famous Intergalactic Solopreneur
Before Q, before the Ferengi, before Kivas Fajo… there was one man who served as a constant foil to Star Trek’s bold vision and heightened sense of nobility.
Fans of the original Star Trek, as well as the new Star Trek: Discovery series, may recall the troublesome and questionable character of Harcourt Fenton Mudd… otherwise known as Harry Mudd.
A scoundrel, liar, cheat, forger, sociopath and overall general con-man, Mudd is, at the same time, one of the funniest and most beloved of all Star Trek characters outside of the bridge crew.
Captain Kirk: Oh, do I know him? Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Thief.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd: Oh, come now.
Captain Kirk: Swindler and con man.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd: Entrepreneur.
Captain Kirk: Liar and rogue.
Harcourt Fenton Mudd: Did I leave you with that impression?
Originally played by Roger C. Carmel, Mudd now has the distinction of appearing on the new Discovery series, played by Rainn Wilson.
Mudd originally appeared in two episodes of The Original Series (“Mudd’s Women” and “I, Mudd”) and a third in The Animated Series (“Mudd’s Passion”). The character was slated to appear in another episode (“Deep Mudd”), as well as numerous comics, books and video games, but we’ll stick with the televised episodes, which now includes two additional Discovery episodes (“Choose Your Pain” and “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”).
Throughout all, Mudd demonstrates a singular drive and ambition that, if it weren’t for his complete lack of morals, could be considered inspirational!
Particularly today, with the “State of Solopreneurship” being so challenged, it’s critical that we take what lessons we can, from wherever we can.
Time Is Your Most Valuable Asset
Our first lesson and example is from the most recent appearance of Mudd in “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” during which Harry uses a device to keep re-living the same 30 minute time period over and over.
While time travel is an oft-used trope in Star Trek, this premise is actually more akin to Groundhog Day.
You see, Mudd was left behind in a Klingon prison by the Captain of the U.S.S. Discovery, Gabriel Lorca. (Mudd had been passing intelligence to the Klingon captors to save his own life.) To get revenge, Mudd used the time repeating device to practice everything he would need to do to take over the Discovery and sell the ship to the Klingons. Much like Bill Murray used living the same day over and over to figure out how to rob the local bank.
With the benefit of being able to learn from his mistakes and presented opportunities, Mudd was able to completely overcome starship security, technical challenges, and human obstacles. “I’ve got all the time in the world,” he says.
While none of us have a time device like that, the lesson is still clear: Time is important!
And since we aren’t able to redo any instant we please, it becomes even more important for us to jealously guard our time and always strive to learn from our mistakes.
That is, in fact, one of the most important reasons behind my publishing, “How To Start A Blog.” More than just a quick technical manual for installing WordPress, that article goes out of its way to make the argument that careful forethought is required before starting an online blog or business in order to save precious time later.
Make The Most Of Your Opportunities
Our second lesson comes to us courtesy of Mudd’s first meeting with Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. Kirk and crew stumbled on Mudd’s cruiser in distress and rescued the scoundrel… along with three gorgeous women. Mudd claimed to have been escorting them to a colony where women were in short supply and potential wives were highly sought after.
The problem was, without their own ship, Harry Mudd and his women were forced to travel with the Enterprise, which just happened to be headed to a lithium mining colony run by three lonely, wealthy men.
Of course, with Mudd, not everything is as it seems. The women are actually old and ugly, and have been taking a drug that makes them beautiful for a while. It’s all a con designed to make Harry rich.
The point — Mudd’s con notwithstanding — is that when faced with the catastrophe of losing his ship and his only means to transport his precious cargo, this intergalactic solopreneur kept his wits about him and seized the first opportunity that came his way.
By the same token, it’s imperative as real-life solopreneurs that the rest of us make the most of our opportunities. The trick though is in recognizing them.
Which leads, which prospects, which conversations are going to lead to golden opportunities? It’s hard to predict, but here’s a truth that I’ve discovered:
The more time you spend building and strengthening positive, professional relationships, the more opportunities are likely to come your way.
For instance, each Spring I make it a point to attend Social Media Marketing World in San Diego. It’s one of the largest and most popular conferences in the marketing industry. It’s filled with hundreds of workshops and presentations on everything from Facebook Ads to the latest in AI developments. But I don’t go for the sessions. I go for the networking. SMMW is an unparalleled opportunity for me to meet and spend time with friends, both old and new.
By being open to whatever conversations and meetings might occur, I’ve created an environment rich in opportunities, and it’s worked remarkably.
Get The Help You Need
Our third and final lesson is found in Mudd’s vengeance on Kirk for spoiling his wife con, “I, Mudd.”
This jewel of an episode reunites the old liar with the Enterprise crew, only this time Mudd has been declared King of an entire planet populated by androids. At Mudd’s command, they’ve hijacked the Enterprise and brought it, along with Kirk and his entire crew, to the planet.
Despite being the overlord of an entire planet, being waited on hand and foot, the reality is that Mudd is a prisoner. The androids will not allow him to leave, and he devises a plan to have the Enterprise captured so that the crew could take his place and Harry could escape on the starship.
Like many other solopreneurs, Harcourt Fenton Mudd tries to rely solely on his own wits and resources. Instead of simply asking for someone else’s help to get off the planet, his comes with a screwball plan which, of course, backfires tremendously.
It can be hard to give up some amount of control over our business. Hiring an employee, or even just a VA or contractor, can often feel like we’re taking a huge risk.
But the fact is, we have a limited amount of time as we’ve already discussed, which means there are countless aspects of our businesses which could be more efficiently managed by someone else.
A simple exercise I often entertain is to think about how much I charge for an hour of consulting — the value of my time — compared to how much I’d have to pay someone else to help with a particular task. In some cases, someone else might even do a better job than I!
In those cases, it becomes easy for me to spin off a task or project or job to someone else better suited for it.
Are you getting the help you need?
Wrapping Up
I hope you’ll take these lessons to heart, and of course enjoy the obvious Star Trek references. I also hope you’ll let me know what you think of these lessons, and the indispensable Harry Mudd. Because, as Mudd says, these lessons are, “Only heaven’s own truth; which I have just given you.”
Mike is a Content Marketing Practitioner, award-winning Blogger and Author in St. Louis, and the Chief Marketing Officer at SiteSell. He has been working with websites and the Internet since the early ‘90’s, and is active on all of the major social networks. Mike teaches a holistic approach to content marketing that leverages blog content, social media and SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and convert those leads into sales.
Mike is the author of, “The Unofficial Book On HootSuite: The #1 Tool for Social Media Management”, “The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile.”, and “Blog Promotionology, The Art & Science of Blog Promotion.”
