“I don’t intentionally go: ‘Ooh, what is provocative,’ and try to do that. I just do stuff, and people go: ‘Ooh, that’s provocative.’” – M.I.A., Born Jul. 18, 1975. Good writing provokes. It isn’t comfortable and breezy. It causes discomfort and dissatisfaction. It gives hope and makes promises. It stirs ACTION. But lots of writers […]
Don’t Waste Being Provocative Without Actually Provoking Action Read More »
“Black Sabbath was written on bass: I just walked into the studio and went, bah, bah, bah, and everybody joined in and we just did it.” – Terence Michael Joseph “Geezer” Butler, Born Jul. 17, 1949. Just start doing what you want to do. Don’t think about it too much. And I don’t mean warming
The Secret of Being Excellent Is Being Prolific First – So Get Started Read More »
“Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.” – Elwyn Brooks White, Born Jul. 11, 1899. The modern influencer is an engineer of prejudice. Common parlance gives the word “prejudice” a negative connotation, as though all pre-judgments are inaccurate. But it doesn’t have to be so. Providing
When Prejudice Becomes A GOOD And Valuable Thing To Sell Others Read More »
“I am not in this world to live up to other people’s expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine.” – Fritz Perls, Born Jul. 8, 1893. Sorry, Fritz. I have to disagree, at least in part, only because I don’t feel an obligation to be equitable. I am with
We Are All In It To Change The World… Or At Least Part Of It Read More »
“I’m always trying to turn things upside down and see if they look any better.” – Tibor Kalman, Born, Jul. 6, 1949. When you’re stuck, a change in perspective can make all the difference in the world. Obviously, writers don’t have the same ease in just “turning things upside down” that a designer might have.
Hot Tip For Busting Writer’s Block: Flip The Script Read More »
“The reason kids like rock ‘n roll is their parents don’t.” – Mitch Miller, Born Jul. 4, 1911. In people’s minds, there are always some people they find detestable – People so alien and “other” that anything and everything about those perceived enemies is to be resisted. Mitch’s example are teenagers who only like noisy
The Fastest Route to “Us” Is a Well-Defined “Them” Read More »
“A good conversationalist is not one who remembers what was said, but says what someone wants to remember.” – John Mason Brown, Born Jul. 3, 1900. To become influential, it’s a good idea to create material for people to copy from you and claim for themselves. That might seem counter-intuitive. After all, isn’t it important
A Secret For Manufacturing Your Influence Over Others… Read More »
“We love in others what we lack in ourselves, and would be everything, but what we are.” – Richard H. Stoddard, Born Jul. 2, 1825. You can drive a lot of human behavior very easily if you know who and what your mark wants to be instead of who and what they currently are. Envy.
It’s Not What The Target Craves to Have, But Who They Desire to Be Read More »
“The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.” – C. Northcote Parkinson, Born Jun. 30, 1909. We are drowning in a sea of data. More new data is created and recorded now every day than in centuries of history prior to the modern era. Information bombards us. Messages
Break the Pattern of Boredom By Daring To Be Interested Read More »
“Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Born Jun. 28, 1712. What I love about this quote is that people generally believe it, and that makes it easy to trick them. “Nature” is an amorphous idea that most people would struggle to define. But it’s “real” and it’s “truth”
People Believe This, And You Can Use It To Manipulate Them Read More »
