“If I wait for the genius to come, it just doesn’t arrive.” – Ian Fleming, Born May 28, 1908. I am going to tell you something right now. When I tell you, you’re going to know it to be true. And you can research it and prove that it’s universally true as well. First, …
Inspiration Spies On You And Only Visits When You’re Busy Read More »
“People on the outside think there’s something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn’t like that. You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and that’s all there is to it.” – …
Either You’re Born a Writer or You Aren’t – But Going Pro Is a CHOICE Read More »
“People don’t like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.” – Edmond de Goncourt, Born May 26, 1822. This quote might be easy to mistake for some pessimistic bullshit croaked out by a bitter misanthrope. But it’s really profound if you consider the statement as a commentary ON ITSELF. The thing is, …
How to Use Humbuggery to Create Desire (And Not Sound Like a Sleazy Shill) Read More »
“If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues.” – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton, Born May 25, 1803. Someone who is perceived to be predominantly virtuous is going to be well-liked. Admired, even. But also, such people are secretly resented. Because people always resent their superiors, at least a little bit. …
People Secretly Loathe Perfect Heroes, And Deeply Love Flawed Ones Read More »
Serve the dinner backward, do anything – but for goodness sake, do something weird.” – Elsa Maxwell, Born May 24, 1883. There are two important parts in this lesson, but let’s talk about the obvious one first. I think a lot of people struggle unnecessarily because they try and do something completely creative, or completely …
Be Weird, Work Weird, Succeed Weird – But Only a Little Bit Weird… Read More »
“If you do it right 51 percent of the time you will end up a hero.” – Alfred P. Sloan, Born May 23, 1875. I want you to know how low the bar is set. It’s set so low that primarily what it takes to succeed is basically just persistence. Whether by discipline, or by …
How Much Can You Totally Screw Up and Still Be Successful? Read More »
“One of the purposes of life, and selfishly what makes people happy, is building things that are impactful.” – Dustin Moskovitz, Born May 22, 1984. I disagree with Dustin here, but only slightly, and I’ll forgive him because his audience are going to be “achievers”. People don’t typically want to build anything. Not most people. …
Help Your Customers Feel Like They Matter When Buying, And Sell So Much More Read More »
“My real life helped me sell a lot of records.” – Christopher Wallace, Born May 21, 1972. In this age where “authenticity” is a buzzword, lots of brand wonks will tell you that what you need to do is just be yourself. Wrong, friendo. That skips a step. Step 1: Be awesome. Step 2: Be …
“I’m not famous; I am simply very well-known to certain people. Famous is something different.” – Anton Corbijn, Born May 20, 1955. Many seek fame when they get into this game. Some because they truly desire fame for its own sake. But many do only because they think it’s somehow required to succeed. But really, …
How To Become An Influential Micro-celebrity (And Make Macro-money) Read More »
“An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.” – Edward de Bono, Born May 19, 1933. If you want to be perceived as an expert in your field, the way to do it is not by actually accomplishing things …
People Will Buy Ways To Work Faster So Invent Some Shortcuts To Sell Read More »
