“The price of a work of art has nothing to do with what the work of art is, can do, or is worth on an existential, alchemical level.” – Jerry Saltz, Born Feb. 19, 1951. Information is like art in this way, at least when it’s for sale. For example, imagine a piece of information […]
“A man who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away.” -Charles M. Schwab, Born Feb. 18, 1862. An offer that is for everyone excites no one. Product, service, or persona – it’s all the same. If you try to please everyone, you can only please each of them a little, and therefore,
“If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.” – Thomas J. Watson, Born Feb. 17, 1874. If you can’t get into your writing or building your business or whatever, it might be because you aren’t being excellent. If you’re being excellent, you automatically love
How to Quit Sucking Forever: Decide to Be Excellent Instead Read More »
“When a magician lets you notice something on your own, his lie becomes impenetrable.” – Raymond Teller, Born Feb, 14, 1948. A lot of people think persuasive writing is about what you say to people. Your words push their buttons and they act. But a lot of times, it’s what you DON’T come right out
Lie Like a Magician, and Make the Audience Work the Magic For You Read More »
“I’d rather have ten people who are mad for it than ten thousand who aren’t.” – Peter Hook, Born Feb. 13, 1956. Who wants a lukewarm audience? Who wants readers with only a tepid interest in your topic? Who wants fair weather followers who can take you or leave you? Not this here coonass. I
Don’t Cater to the Casuals – Feed the Fiends Instead Read More »
“If you want to succeed in the world, you don’t have to be much cleverer than other people. You just have to be one day earlier.” – Leo Szilard, Born Feb. 11, 1898. I’m not about to give you some “early bird gets the worm” BS. No rise and grind asshattery. No 10x crushing it.
The Super Ultimate Overnight “Baby Steps” Guru Transformation Technique (LOL) Read More »
“Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.” – Bertolt Brecht, Born Feb. 10, 1898. If you want to be seen as a leader in your market, it’s not about always winning. It’s about never losing. Maybe the difference there isn’t obvious. In things like our work,
Why Mistakes Are More Valuable Than Gold (When You Wrangle Them Properly) Read More »
“I’m not here for your amusement. You’re here for mine.” – John Lydon, Born Jan. 31, 1956. It’s a very important attitude to have toward your audience and your chosen topic as a writer. Though most people would get this backwards. “You’re here for the customer! The customer is always right! The customer is king!”
If You Don’t Care About Your Thing The MOST, No One Else Will Care At All. Read More »
“Players like to know that they’ve discovered things that even the designers didn’t know were in the game.” – Will Wright, Born Jan. 20, 1960. People who grew up in the original Nintendo Entertainment System era have a unique insight into persuasive language. In particular, an advantage when it comes to the framing of information
How to Warp to the Next Level Without Beating the Boss Read More »
“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.” – Benjamin Franklin, Born Jan. 17, 1706. What I love about this is that back in Ben’s time, printing was expensive, and a huge pain in the ass. A press was a
The Value of Having Haters Is… Read More »
