“Action makes more fortune than caution.” – Charlotte Whitton, Born Mar. 8, 1896. Fortune can mean money. As in, he made a fortune in business. And it can mean luck. As in, he was fortunate to get into that business when he did. And it can mean your future or destiny. As in, let me […]
The “Big Problem” Is Almost Always Exercising Caution Over Taking Action. Read More »
“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
“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
To Persuade, Concern Yourself with Emotional Truth Rather Than Cold, Hard Fact Read More »
“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
“I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.” – Knute Rockne, Born Mar. 4, 1888. Let me teach you how to never lose again. Let me teach you how to always come out ahead. It’s called “contingency” and it’s this lazy man’s road to riches. Every single thing you do successfully CAN
Contingency Plans Multiply Your Profits (With No Extra Work) Read More »
“The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion.” – Alexander Graham Bell, Born Mar. 3, 1847. This is important. Like LEGO bricks. Like Voltron. Your stuff needs to combine and stack and scale. Too many chase the next client or the next job or the next
Brick by Brick, You Must Build Your Own Destiny, According to the Designs You’ve Dreamed Read More »
“A vision of truth which does not call upon us to get out of our armchair – why, this is the desideratum of mankind.” – John Jay Chapman, Born Mar. 2, 1862. I know two things for sure. 1. You just learned a new word. 2. J.J. made a true statement above. Everyone has a
What People Want: Wisdom at No Cost; Truth Without Sacrifice… Read More »
“Secrecy sets barriers between men, but at the same time offers the seductive temptation to break through the barriers by gossip or confession.” – Georg Simmel, Born Mar. 1, 1858. Secrets are power. Sharing secrets can weaken you and allow others to damage you. Generosity with plans and innovations can lead to disastrous competition. Even
The Real Secret About Why People Love Fake “Secrets” Read More »
“The little dissatisfaction which every artist feels at the completion of a work forms the germ of a new work.” – Berthold Auerbach, Born Feb. 28, 1812. Yeah, you’re not alone. But you’re not getting younger and time is wasting. Quit trying to craft perfection. Publish imperfect work now. Fix later MAYBE. But even better:
Perfectionism Is Just the Pretentious Kind of Procrastination Read More »
“Each work has its own space, which should neither be conceived as a sort of cage nor regarded as extending to infinity.” – Marino Marini, Born Feb. 27, 1901. Marino here was a sculptor. And like carving stone, copywriting is an art constrained by certain limitations. For the sculptor, there is an outer limit to
The Constrained Shape of Effective Persuasion Is… Read More »
