“The public doesn’t particularly care for advertisements.” – John C. Malone, Born Mar. 7, 1941. They don’t. It’s true. Unless it’s the Super Bowl, normal people don’t really want to be subjected to ads. For some marketers, they try to solve this problem by having a certain ratio of content to ads. 22 minutes of… Read More →
To Persuade, Concern Yourself with Emotional Truth Rather Than Cold, Hard Fact
“In journalism just one fact that is false prejudices the entire work. In contrast, in fiction one single fact that is true gives legitimacy to the entire work. That’s the only difference, and it lies in the commitment of the writer. A novelist can do anything he wants so long as he makes people believe… Read More →
The Crystal Ball Says… Success Is Just Around the Corner, So Grab That Pistol and Follow Me.
“Most successful pundits are selected for being opinionated, because it’s interesting, and the penalties for incorrect predictions are negligible. You can make predictions, and a year later people won’t remember them.” – Daniel Kahneman, Born Mar. 5, 1934. Gurus need to make a lot of predictions. That’s really why people follow us at all. People… Read More →
Only Two Things Have Potentially Infinite Value: Art, and Information… (And Art IS a Kind of Information)
“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… Read More →
Don’t Cut Away at What You Are – Slice Away What You Are NOT to Create a More Powerful Persona
“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,… Read More →
How to Quit Sucking Forever: Decide to Be Excellent Instead
“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… Read More →
Lie Like a Magician, and Make the Audience Work the Magic For You
“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… Read More →
Don’t Cater to the Casuals – Feed the Fiends Instead
“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? I want people to either… Read More →
The Super Ultimate Overnight “Baby Steps” Guru Transformation Technique (LOL)
“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 bullshit. No rise and grind asshattery. No 10x crushing it. To be “early”… Read More →
Why Mistakes Are More Valuable Than Gold (When You Wrangle Them Properly)
“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. And if you can make a loss into a win, you’ll… Read More →