“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 […]
Connect the Offer With the Deepest Felt Need 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 »
“The rare pleasure of being seen for what one is, compensates for the misery of being it.” – Margaret Drabble, Born Jun, 5, 1939. The vast majority of the average assholes of planet earth will consign themselves to a lifelong practice of suppressing their true selves. Put upon by the burden of just being fake
If They Believe You Truly “See” Them, They Listen Closely to Your Advice Read More »
“Two important characteristics of maps should be noticed. A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness.” – Alfred Korzybski, Born Jun. 3, 1879. Consider that the human mind is basically a really detailed map of the universe you live
The Territory Is Not The Map (Except When It Is) Read More »
“The model of ownership, in a society organized round mass consumption, is addiction.” – Christopher Lasch, Born Jun. 1, 1932. Our culture is pre-conditioned to pursue addictive consumption. If you don’t have young ones, watch some kids programming sometime and pay attention to the commercials. I’m not saying that’s bad. Consumerism is fine if you
Deadly Sins? Or Signals for Endlessly Profitable Niches? Read More »
“People don’t like the true and simple; they like fairy tales and humbug.” – Edmond de Goncourt, Born May 26, 1822. This quote might be easy to mistake for some pessimistic bullshit croaked out by a bitter misanthrope. But it’s really profound if you consider the statement as a commentary ON ITSELF. The thing is,
How to Use Humbuggery to Create Desire (And Not Sound Like a Sleazy Shill) Read More »
“One of the purposes of life, and selfishly what makes people happy, is building things that are impactful.” – Dustin Moskovitz, Born May 22, 1984. I disagree with Dustin here, but only slightly, and I’ll forgive him because his audience are going to be “achievers”. People don’t typically want to build anything. Not most people.
Help Your Customers Feel Like They Matter When Buying, And Sell So Much More Read More »
“I’m not famous; I am simply very well-known to certain people. Famous is something different.” – Anton Corbijn, Born May 20, 1955. Many seek fame when they get into this game. Some because they truly desire fame for its own sake. But many do only because they think it’s somehow required to succeed. But really,
How To Become An Influential Micro-celebrity (And Make Macro-money) Read More »
“People need a narrative, and if there isn’t one on offer, they make one up.” – Jean Hanff Korelitz, Born May 16, 1961. In a world without humans, stuff just happens. Nothing means anything. Nothing foretells anything. Nothing is destined or fated. Nothing is deserved. Nothing is earned. There’s physics and luck. That’s all. But
If You Don’t Provide A Story, The Reader Will Imagine Their Own (And They’re Bad At It) Read More »
“Emotion creates reality, reality demands action.” – Brian Eno, Born May 15, 1948. This is a really elegant way to explain the connection between emotion and behavior. If you can sufficiently tap into someone’s strong emotions, you can then use those to distort their perceptions and beliefs, and thus alter their subjective reality. Once you
Change a Person’s Belief By Using Their Emotions Against Them Read More »
