“Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.” – Rudolf Nureyev, Born Mar. 17, 1938. “I don’t have a good idea.” Shut up. Write anyway. “I don’t have anything to say.” Stop it. Write something anyway. “It didn’t come out the way I wanted.” Fuck you, publish it anyway. We… Read More →
Contingency Plans Multiply Your Profits (With No Extra Work)
“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… Read More →
Perfectionism Is Just the Pretentious Kind of Procrastination
“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:… Read More →
You Don’t Need to “Earn” Money. It’s Just Paper and Imagination.
“The darkest hour in any man’s life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it.” – Horace Greeley, Born Feb. 3, 1811. Darkest hour, Horace? Money is an unnatural man-made invention. What about it should make one need to EARN it? As though it must be deserved before being… Read More →
Consistency is Uncommon, But It’s a Shortcut to Success
“When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” – George Washington Carver, Born Jan. 10, 1864. One of the simplest secrets of success at I know is to do just do the simple things well. Unfortunately, that is uncommon. Show up every… Read More →
Sometimes a Villain is What the People Need
“Movies are full of leading men, most of whom aren’t working. It’s much harder to find a good villain.” – Lee Van Cleef, Born Jan. 9, 1925. The secret of creating a powerful persona in your marketplace is to help your prospects find good villains to add a little adversarial psychological opposition to their lives…. Read More →
Inscrutability is Fascinating Even to People Who Don’t Know What It Means
“It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those who envy you.” – Baltasar Gracian, Born Jan. 8, 1601 As Harvey Danger once put it, “if you’re bored, then you’re boring.” And you DO want to frustrate the plans of people who stumble across you, so they stop what… Read More →
Second Prize is Still a Prize
“If at first you don’t succeed, find out if the loser gets anything.” – William Lyon Phelps, Born Jan. 2, 1865. Finding success as a slacker has had a lot to do with figuring out how to plan things so that even if I don’t get the “Plan A” result, there is still a “Plan… Read More →
The Two Main Missing Ingredients You Need to Become Who You Want to Be
“The want of education and moral training is the only real barrier that exists between the different classes of men.” – Susanna Moodie, Born Dec. 6, 1803. What is the difference between you and the expert at the top of your field? The difference between you, and who you want to strive to be? Is… Read More →
The First Choice to Make Before You Buy Anything to Build Your Business
“What counts isn’t the frame, it’s what you put in it.” – Otto Preminger, Dec. 5, 1906. I used to do it, too. Get caught up in whatever the next trend is, and think my fortune would be made by following suit. Write an ebook. Start a membership site. Do a joint venture launch. Then… Read More →