Bruno Mars attends the SelvaRey Pina Colada Party Hosted by Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak at The Hollywood Roosevelt on July 24, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Mazur | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Bruno Mars has built his career on infectious pop melodies and perfecting one key skill: honesty.
The Grammy-winning artist, 37, tells CNBC Make It that learning to trust his gut and cultivating extreme self-discipline has helped him succeed in music and business.
“Whatever you’re doing just has to be honest — that’s really become the most important thing for me in my career,” Mars explains. “So if I’m writing a song, I have to be sure that this is the best I can do, deep down in my soul, and that I didn’t take any shortcuts. I have to really believe in what I’m doing for it to work.”
Mars got his start in music as the world’s youngest Elvis impersonator in Hawaii when he was just 2 years old, moving to Los Angeles after graduating high school in 2003 to pursue his dream of becoming a singer. “There’s something beautiful about being young, naive and uneducated … you’re just free to fly,” Mars says.
He quickly became one of the most sought-after songwriters in pop and R&B, collaborating with the likes of Adele, Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.
Where his gut instinct really shines, he says, is making smart investment decisions. While Mars has made few endorsement deals over the course of his career, he has invested in a select number of companies, including NJOY, a private e-cigarette company, and Chromatik, which creates digital versions of sheet music.
In March 2023, Altria Group, which sells Marlboro cigarettes in the U.S., bought NJOY for about $2.75 billion. Chromatik, meanwhile, was acquired by TakeLessons, an edtech company, in 2017 for an undisclosed amount after raising over $7 million in funding.
According to Mars, tapping into your intuition “doesn’t get any easier” with age and experience. In fact, he says, “it’s gotten harder” for him.
Being clear about his career goals, Mars adds, has helped him to only commit to projects that he is excited to work on so that he doesn’t burn out. In 2014, Mars became a co-owner of SelvaRey Rum, a Los-Angeles based spirit label that was launched that same year by brothers Seth Gold and Marc Gold and their brother-in-law, Robert Herzig.
In a statement to CNBC Make It, SelvaRey said it’s one of the fastest-growing rum brands in the U.S., however, as a private company, they declined to share specific revenue or sales figures.
As Mars has learned, success feels “a lot better” when it’s something you genuinely want, and worked hard for. “You have to be able to sleep at night,” says Mars. “If the world didn’t respond to a song I wrote, I can still sleep at night knowing that was the best I could do.”
Correction: Bruno Mars joined SelvaRey as a co-owner in 2014. The company corrected its information after an earlier version of this article had been published.
Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our newsletter!
Get CNBC’s free Warren Buffett Guide to Investing, which distills the billionaire’s No. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do’s and don’ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.
News
Alexa Bliss spotted training; looks in incredible shape ahead of WWE return
Alexa Bliss has been out of in-ring action for well over a year. [Image credits: wwe.com] Alexa Bliss was spotted training at the gym during her hiatus from WWE in a recent Instagram story. It has been more than a…
Rhea Ripley reacts to a fan who tried to touch her at WWE event
Rhea Ripley has a tough Road to WWE WrestleMania this year. The Women’s World Champion first faces Nia Jax in Australia, and, if she survives The Irresistible Force, she will go on to defend her belt against the winner of…
Stephanie McMahon allegedly got pis*ed at WWE veteran on a flight
Stephanie McMahon had an argument with a WWE veteran on a plane, as per the latter’s comments. Greg Gagne had a brief stint with WWE in 2006 and worked as the OVW booker. He was let go by the promotion…
“Pirates of the Caribbean” will no longer have iconic Captain Jack Sparrow
In a recent interview with Variety, famous producer Jerry Bruckheimer shared about the future of the two popular film franchises he is behind, Top Gun and Pirates of the Caribbean. As for Top Gun, Bruckheimer said part 3 of the…
Johnny Depp’s relaunch REVEALED: Truth about reprise of Captain Jack Sparrow role in Pirates Of The Caribbean reboot… the status of his romance with Amber Heard trial lawyer Joelle Rich… and plans for actor’s own brand of rum
The cheekbones are back. As is a languidly stylish and much shorter haircut. And while Johnny Depp retains that trademark rough-cut and tattooed charm, the excessively scruffy – perhaps even grubby – look of recent months seems to be well past. Friends explain…
Johnny Depp almost lost the role of Jack Sparrow to this actor: He holds the world record and is also the “original” of the captain!
This is the male actor representing the Jack Sparrow role model played by Johnny Depp. As the “chameleon” of the Hollywood film industry, Johnny Depp has many familiar roles, leaving many impressions on the audience. But certainly the image of mischievous and…
End of content
No more pages to load