“A certain slightly cruel disregard for the feelings of living people is simply part of the package. I think a writer, if he’s any good, is not an entirely benign entity in the world.” – Michael Cunningham, Born today, Nov. 6, 1952. This is another uncomfortable truth. For one, we need to hurt people – […]
To The Pain, And Why We Must Cause It Read More »
“Acting is not hiding to me; it’s revealing. We give you license to feel. ‘Hey, she’s crying, so it’s okay if I cry, too.’ That’s the most important thing in the world, because when you stop feeling, that’s when you’re dead.” – Loretta Swit, Born Nov. 4, 1937. We call know that we are supposed
Don’t Just Write With Emotion – Project It, Like This.. Read More »
“What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public.” – Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Born, Nov. 3 1879. The first thing that we need to get out of the way to have this discussion today is the mistaken notion that “deception”
“Ethical” Advertising Is Still Deception? (Yes, And That’s Okay.) Read More »
“BLT Prime at Trump National Doral is essential after a long day on the golf course. The popover bread alone is enough to keep me coming back!” – Ivanka Trump, Born Oct. 30, 1981. How to make money: sell your shit. Sell it. No, shut up. Sell it. Don’t have something to sell? Find or
Sell Your Soul (Or At Least Sell *With* Soul)… Read More »
“Within one hour of touching the brush to canvas for the first time, my students have a total, complete painting.” – Bob Ross, Born Oct. 29, 1942. This was Ross’s pitch. He empowered people who were intimidated to create art, and gave them the tools and shortcuts to get over that fear. Were the students’
Make Them Get Their Hands Dirty if You Want to Sell Them More Dirt Read More »
“Think and grow rich.” – Napoleon Hill, Born Oct. 26, 1883. This guy? Huge phony. A scammer and a liar. It’s true. If I’m the first guy to tell you, I’m sorry. He’s real popular in bizopp self-help entrepreneur-bro circles. Some people swear by his written wisdom, and some successful people at that! So Hill
The Guru Game, Stripped Bare For Your Enjoyment Read More »
“Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” – Pablo Picasso, Born Oct. 25, 1881. We can all use a little more of Pablo’s kind of art in our lives and businesses. Are you getting bogged down on a project because of how you imagine it has to be? Look at it. Break it into a
Distill Your Offer Down To Its Essence (By Boiling Away The Unnecessary) Read More »
“I always aspire to that, where it feels like the film was made by the characters as opposed to the filmmakers. I try to be invisible.” – Spike Jonze, Born Oct. 22, 1969. When you create marketing messages for clients, it should be this way, too. You’re creating a message from the client to their
“It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.” – John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, Born Oct. 21, 1917. In persuasion, saying too much is a mistake. You need to say exactly enough, and no more. You want the mark’s memory and imagination and desire to do all the heavy lifting. Because their
Salesmen Know What Copywriters Don’t: When to Shut Up Read More »
“People just need to be confident in their own skin and be proud of themselves.” – Bristol Palin, Born Oct. 18, 1990. Yeah. That’s right. Malign the source if you must. But wisdom is found in the interpretation… And the fact is, this is every single person that buys any old thing, hoping that thing
The True Face Beneath Every Person’s Public Mask Read More »
