“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 »
“I always just forced myself to do crazy things in public. In college I would push an overhead projector across campus with my pants just low enough to show my butt. Then my friend would incite the crowd to be like, ‘Look at that idiot!’ That’s how I got over being shy.” – Will Ferrell,
Is Fear of Embarrassment Holding You Back? (Yes It Is!) Read More »
“A film is made in somebody’s head – out of their determination to do it at all.” – D. A. Pennebaker, Born Jul. 15, 1925. This is where failure nestles in, curled up warm and safe, using your plans and goals as a cozy little blanket. Everyone’s got an idea. Most people have good ideas.
“I don’t look at a man who’s expert in one area as a specialist. I look at him as a rookie in ten other areas.” – Conor McGregor, Born Jul. 14, 1988. Specialization is KEY in getting attention for your “brand” in a crowded market. For some subset and segment of a given market, you
Specialization Can Get Your Foot In The Door – But OVER-Specialization is a Trap Read More »
“Simple ingredients, treated with respect… put them together and you will always have a great dish.” – José Andrés, Born Jul. 13, 1969. We aren’t talking about cooking here – not presently, anyway. We write. And like a good dish, a good piece of writing consists of simple ingredients that are treated with RESPECT. That
Do You RESPECT the Ingredients of Your Writing Work? Read More »
“The world continues to offer glittering prizes to those who have stout hearts and sharp swords.” – F. E. Smith, Born Jul. 12, 1872. The world ain’t gonna give you a prize for showing up. Unless you count “eventual surprise death” as a prize. The world actually doesn’t reward anything to anyone. Life isn’t a
The World Is Full of Treasure For You – But You Must Fight For It 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 »
“Cover the canvas at the first go, then work at it until you see nothing more to add.” – Camille Pissarro, Born Jul. 10, 1830. This is also the way you should be doing client writing work. One of the reasons I did my client work from templates is so that I knew I could
A Method For Writing Copy Faster And Easier, Every Single Time Read More »
“If you haven’t found something strange during the day, it hasn’t been much of a day.” – John Archibald Wheeler, Born Jul. 9, 1911. One of the features of life is that it will adapt to meet the challenges of the environment it finds itself in. A hard life will make a body strong. But
To Make Your Brain Beefy, You Have To Flex It Daily Read More »
