“As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears.” – John Locke, Born Aug. 29, 1632. People are not that different. We all think we are unique snowflakes, but humanity is a blizzard. While there are always exceptions, we are built the same way, and we have similar lives. Routine. […]
When People Are Driving in Circles, They’ll Pay a Toll to Take Your Exit Read More »
“If you treat an individual… as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Born Aug. 28, 1749. Here’s an easy trick that many persuaders and influencers overlook. Our kind of communication is very audience-focused. We
Let’s Presume You Are Already Good At Persuasion… Read More »
“A creator needs only one enthusiast to justify him.” – Man Ray, Born Aug. 27, 1890. You can start with a very small audience. But if you don’t have one, you’re not justified in spending too much time creating anything. Not if you want to create work people will connect with. Note – I’m obviously
How To Be Worth The Attention You Will Need To Succeed Read More »
“One should never write down or up to people, but out of yourself.” – Christopher Isherwood, Born Aug. 26, 1904. Here is a magical shortcut to becoming a good writer. Learn to dictate. You don’t have to use digital dictation tools, but you could. I do sometimes. What I mean is to simply compose your
Sneakiest “Hack” For Writing That Creates Easy Reading Read More »
“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein, Born Aug. 25, 1918. I believe this so hard. Your plan doesn’t need to be immaculate, or even very detailed. I had a five year plan when I went freelance that had only one sentence per year.
You’re Taking Too Long To Do Everything (And It Will Kill You) Read More »
“Human beings love stories because they safely show us beginnings, middles and ends.” – A. S. Byatt, Born Aug. 24, 1936. The key part of this quote is the word “safely”. What we allow people to do with persuasive communication is a bit of virtual reality. A bit of lucid dreaming. We allow people to
Stories Allow Us Safe Exploration Of Dangerous Futures Read More »
“The minute you make people laugh, you get them to listen.” – Merrie Spaeth, Born Aug. 23, 1943. Aside from sharing an enemy, sharing a laugh is the quickest way I know to create rapport with a stranger. And it doesn’t have to be a belly laugh. It could be anything as simple as a
How to Clown on Fools for Fun and Profit Read More »
“If you don’t write stories you love, you’ll never make it. If you don’t write stories that other people love, you’ll never make it.” – Ray Bradbury, Born Aug. 22, 1920. Your best work is going to occur in that intersection or overlap where the subject you are passionate and enthusiastic about is the same
It’s Not Enough to Simply Love What You Do Read More »
“I decided that I would be one of the biggest new names; and I actually had some little fancy business cards printed up to announce it, ‘Count Basie. Beware, the Count is Here.’” – William James “Count” Basie, Born Aug. 21, 1904. When you’ve got the goods… And you’re here to give the goods to
Warn The World of Your Awesomeness – BEWARE! Read More »
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” – H. P. Lovecraft, Born Aug. 20, 1890. There’s a cognitive bias all humans have called “the Ambiguity Effect”. Fancy science says: It describes our tendency to avoid choosing options for which missing
How To Create Fear and Use It To Guide People’s Choices Read More »
