“The second principle of magic: things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed.” – James G. Frazer, Born Jan. 1, 1854. It goes this way with the sharing of ideas, too. Contact with the mental machinery of… Read More →
This Is the Perfect Day to Decide to Start Showing Up Every Day
“Repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers.” – Elizabeth Arden, Born Dec. 31, 1878. This is 100% true. Many people may read this and nod, and yet still struggle with it. They’ll struggle both with achieving it, and with understanding the success of others who you feel are inferior to your own bad self. Here… Read More →
Make People Excited Enough to Cheer BEFORE You Even Deliver
“I thank you in advance for the great round of applause I’m about to get.” – Ellas “Bo Diddley” McDaniels, Born Dec. 30, 1928. Today I want to talk to you about two ways that this idea of “confidence in advance” will work to your advantage personally, and two ways that it will benefit your… Read More →
Why You Shouldn’t Make Your Work Seem Difficult or Complicated
“The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed at all.” – Pablo Casals, Born Dec. 29, 1876 I’ve written to you here before about developing an appearance of effortlessness. It creates the perception of your mastery among your audience. Sort of like how a ballet dancer is actually straining intensely and using weightlifter… Read More →
Shortcut to Creating a Perception of Value in Absolutely Any Piece of Information
“Men value things in three ways: as useful, as pleasant or sources of pleasure, and as excellent, or as intrinsically admirable or honorable.” – Mortimer Adler, Born Dec. 28, 1902. Let’s make today about practicality. We write to sell things. That’s our goal. Our duty. And to do that, we have to make people see… Read More →
The Secret to Tricking People Into Believing Lies? Lie, Obviously.
“When it comes to snowing people, one effective technique is to get a whole bunch of verifiable facts right and then add one or two that are untrue.” – Daniel Levitin, Born Dec. 27, 1957. This is essentially what all sales pitches are. A mix of fact and lies. If it bothers you to call… Read More →
Don’t Wait Until the Summit – Help Those Two Steps Behind As You Climb
“It is important to know that what I do is not artistic. I am just a film-maker. I live how I live and I do what I do, which is recording moments of my life as I move ahead. And I do it because I am compelled to. Necessity, not artistry, is the true line… Read More →
We Can’t Lead With Pleasure – We Must Begin Our Work at the Point of Pain
“Like the sand and the oyster, it’s a creative irritant. In each poem, I’m trying to reveal a truth, so it can’t have a fictional beginning.“ – Carol Ann Duffy, Born Dec. 23, 1955. I’m no poet, that’s for sure. But what is quoted here is certainly true about persuasive writing. Perhaps even more true… Read More →
A Funny Sign You Saw Is Not Good Copy
“We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.” – Abigail Adams, Born Dec. 22, 1744. In our line of work, it can be easy to be attracted to other ads that are clever, or funny. We envy the creativity of their writers and conceivers. We mentally (or even physically)… Read More →
To Become a Guru, You Must Nail This Change
“The fame of heroes owes little to the extent of their conquests and all to the success of the tributes paid to them.” – Jean Genet, Born Dec. 19, 1910. Let’s talk about idols. Idolization. Idolatry. Let’s talk about you in that role. It’s yours if you want it. But most people don’t understand how… Read More →
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