ADAM
Remind him of how great he is. He bonded
with Steve Lillywhite during the recording of the first few albums,
because Steve knew how to encourage him and raise his confidence.
Being under the media's scrutiny all the time - a reporter once
called him "ugly in a handsome way" - also only works
in adding to whatever insecurities he may have. (Nevertheless,
I know that there are a lot of people who assume he knows how
incredible he is just because he always has his chin up, but I
figure he's only human.) If you learn to stroke his ego, he may
just give you the chance to stroke something else of his. =)
Have a strong will. One of the things that
attracted him to Naomi was when she stood up for herself against
(read punched) the paparazzi who were pissing her off.
In any case, psychologically, people are attracted to those qualities
in other people that they wish they had. Therefore, he needs someone
to strengthen his backbone, too.
Don't take advantage of him. He seems incredibly
sympathetic, the kind of person who would offer you the shirt
off his back if you needed it. No wonder he goes in full force
for his causes.
Let him nurture you, then return the favor.
As a Pisces, he's a person who likes to take care of people when
he can, in whatever ways he can. Likewise, show him how much you
appreciate him doing that by supporting him, too.
LARRY
Don't assume anything about him - a rule
I've already broken by making this list. He hates it when
people who don't know him prejudge him, or judge him at all, but
that should be the case with everyone. One of the reasons he quit
the Shalom group was that he realized that he was starting to
judge his own friends, and he hated that feeling.
Don't say you love him...unless you know
him well and truly mean it. Larry sees 'love' as a very strong
word and uses it sparingly those times he actually means it. (Hell,
he even thanked his dogs over his family in the liner notes of
many of U2's albums.) He'll want the same from you. I think Larry
would appreciate much more an 'I just want to know you.'
Be sincere. He's very intuitive and can spot
a liar from a million miles away. Bill Flanagan even wrote, "Larry's
instincts are more tenacious than other people's intellectualizations."
Simple solution: Just speak from your heart, never from your arse.
Larry will not tolerate bullshit from anyone. On the same
token, forget sycophancy. He knows how good he is. He doesn't
need someone needlessly repeating it to him.
Don't dis his interests. Larry is intensely
passionate about everything he does. Therefore, he would rightfully
take offense to anyone undermining the importance of those activities
that he holds so close to his heart. If you don't like something,
respectfully tell him so, that's all.
Be yourself. Larry can easily sense someone
who's being deceptive about who they are. Even if he doesn't agree
with your philosophies or share the same values, at least he'd
be able to respect you for holding true to them.
Hope you make a good first impression. There's
no point in being deliberate about it, but Larry puts a lot of
value into those snap judgments, which I guess usually turn out
right.
Be loyal. Once you betray him, he'll practically
lock you out of his heart for life. As long as it takes for him
to build trust in a person, it can all be lost in an instant.
(See p. 282-283, in U2 At the End of the World about Carter
Alan.)
Be self-sufficient. Larry works very hard
to be so himself and will appreciate others who do, too. He can't
stand mooches.
Let him do things on his own terms. He's
a fiercely independent person. He likes to joke around when he
wants to. He wants to drum the way he likes to. Larry follows
his own rules. Don't even try to make them for him.
BONO
Just follow Elvis' advice: Don't be cruel.
Bono's a very compassionate and understanding person. Since he's
so self-aware of his own shortcomings (and maybe too self-critical
of those few that he has), he seems really forgiving. As long
as you have good intentions, you're in.
EDGE