“I call myself a teacher because they want me to call myself a teacher, but actually, what I’m doing is I’m studying.” – Chick Corea, Born Jun. 12, 1941. Back in Renaissance times, artists and musicians used to strive to get patronage. That’s when some rich dude basically pays you to do nothing but pursue […]
Be a Renaissance Person and Find Your Patrons Read More »
“Expressions of solemn testimony have long been important to the children of God upon the earth.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin, Born Jun. 11, 1917. I’m going to pretend this quote is about the use of testimonials in advertising. So many marketers misunderstand the PURPOSE of testimonials, and therefore, they MISUSE them. You don’t
Why Testimony is Better Than Any Copy Anyone Can Write Read More »
“If you want people to listen, you have to have a platform to speak from, and that is excellence in what you do.” – William Pollard, Born Jun. 10, 1828. This is going to be a good one for the would-be mass influencers among you. You know what an endorsement is, right? It’s when you
Hack Your Way to Simple Celebrity (And Cash In) Read More »
“Diamonds are intrinsically worthless, except for the deep psychological need they fill.” – Nicky Oppenheimer, Born Jun. 8, 1945. The former chairman of DeBeers says diamonds are worthless. Yet go to a jeweler and see what this worthless item sells for. Certainly not at a price that reflects the worth. Why the markup? Solely due
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“I don’t ever try to make a song better than my last song. I just try to make it different from my last one.” – Fetty Wap, Born Jun. 7, 1990. This one hit me like a ton of bricks, y’all. Or like a ton of feathers. Heavy either way. You’re probably pretty talented. You’re
Being “Different” is Better (And Easier) Than Struggling to Be “Original” Read More »
“The wise man is he who knows the relative value of things.” – William Inge, Born Jun. 6, 1860. I’d be willing to say ALL value is perception based, and is therefore relative. And perception of value is based on RELATIVE comparisons rather than any objective absolutes. For example, something that costs $50 might seem
Proper Pricing is All Relative – Position Properly, Please Read More »
“An object imbued with intent – it has power, it’s treasure, we’re drawn to it. An object devoid of intent – it’s random, it’s imitative, it repels us. It’s like a piece of junk mail to be thrown away.” -John Hockenberry, Born Jun. 4, 1956. People seldom desire an object for the physical properties of
Stories Infect Anything They Touch With Value (If You Tell Them Right) Read More »
“No one can read with profit that which he cannot learn to read with pleasure.” – Thomas Hardy, Born Jun. 2, 1840. If you are someone trying to learn a thing for the purpose of improving yourself: don’t try to learn anything from someone boring. Don’t beat yourself up for not consuming and executing on
The Secret Tactic For Writing Engaging Work: Inside Read More »
“I guarantee you that two directors that are any good can take the same story, change the name of the characters, change the name of the town, and make an entirely different picture.” – Howard Hawks, Born May 30, 1896. I think Hawks is selling himself short. Anyone who is good at spinning tales can
Why Stories Are Infectious And What Makes Them So… Read More »
“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton, Born May 29, 1874. The trite way to look at this quote is to see it as a claim by the traveler of superiority over the tourist. But what I want to tell you is that
Are You a Tourist In Your Niche, or a Traveler? Read More »
