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b'ERIC WELCH has been delighting the birthday boys and girls of celebrity\\xa0clients such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry King and Ben Affleck for the last 15 years. When it comes to throwing awesome children\'s birthday parties for LA\'s junior well-to-do, Eric\'s AMAZING KID COMPANY is in a class all by itself.\\xa0(39:41) \\xa0 \\xa0 EPISODE NOTES: There are all kinds of businesses in LA that cater to the rich and famous. And when it comes to the business of throwing awesome children\\u2019s birthday parties for the junior well-to-do, THE AMAZING KID COMPANY is in a class by itself. For the last 15 years, ERIC WELCH has been delighting the birthday boys and girls of celebrity clients such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry King and, more recently, Ben Affleck. As Eric reveals in THE PARTY GURU, it was difficult in the beginning for him to go to work in the homes of famous actors because, for a long time, he aspired to be a famous actor himself. (Eric had a recurring role as Corky\\u2019s bully, Brian Russo, on the ABC series \\u201cLife Goes On.\\u201d) \\u201cTo be completely honest, it was a jealousy kind of thing. It was like, you know, here I am kid party entertainer guy going to the celebrity\\u2019s house.\\u201d But as Eric continued to mastermind more and more birthday parties he began to genuinely embrace his new craft. And, in doing so, he developed a philosophy that guides him and his staff of 21 to this day. Eric says the foundation of that philosophy is, quite simply, love: \\u201cIt\\u2019s looking at a kid in the eyes and really having love for this fellow human being. When you come from the heart, it\\u2019s much easier to make their birthday party the best day of their life.\\u201d Occasionally, that means showing a little tough love. Some of the kids Eric works with are used to getting whatever they want. \\u201cWe don\\u2019t necessarily give them everything they want. We may be the only people in their lives that tell them \\u2018no\\u2019. But we know how to say \\u2018no\\u2019 in a way that they\\u2019re not going to rebel. They\\u2019re not going to hate us. That\\u2019s because they know that when we say \\u2018no\\u2019 it\\u2019s coming from a place of love.\\u201d Eric may only see these privileged kids once a year, but he sees them year after year, so he wants his contact with them to make a positive difference in their lives. \\u201cChildren like this have money and they\\u2019re always going to have money, so they\\u2019re always going to have some sort of influence. So if that\\u2019s the case, I want to have some influence on this person who\\u2019s going to have influence.\\u201d Because The Amazing Kid Company creates parties for children of all ages, Eric has developed an uncommon ability to communicate with young people. \\u201cThere\\u2019s a key to every kid. It\\u2019s just a matter of finding it.\\u201d And that includes toddlers who don\\u2019t yet have the power of speech. \\u201cThere are ways to communicate with them without words and you can see God. Or spirit. Or the universe. Whatever you want to call it, you can see where this little person came from.\\xa0Not just birthday parties is it, Brent?\\u201d You got that right, Eric. BP \\xa0 Many thanks to the composers of the music featured in this episode royalty free through Creative Commons licensing: 1. "Good Times" by Podington Bear\\xa0- soundofpicture.com 2. "Revved Up" by Adam Selzer\\xa0- incompetech.com 3. "Curiosity" by Lee Rosevere\\xa0- leerosevere.bandcamp.com 4. "Kitten" by Podington Bear\\xa0- soundofpicture.com 5. "Buddy Guy" by Poddington Bear - soundofpicture.com'