Ideas separate us from the Apes and, sometimes, from the Idiots too.
1:01pm
2 blocks east of the Mississippi
Last night on a whim I pulled out my workbook from David Deutsch’s Idea Power course.
The course and workbook help you look at problems in a new light so that you can come up with unique approaches and solutions.
Because, as David writes in the workbook’s introduction:
(more…)Hate the sound of your own voice, too?
12:49pm
East of the Mississippi River
Heya, you like watches… not made by Apple?
I’m the guest on marketer David Newman’s new podcast, Watch Smarts episode 4.
We talk about my collection, the stories behind a few selections, and how to get into collecting without spending all of your dollars.
(more…)Not how I expected fame, but it’s a delicious way to make an enemy.
11:04am
East of the Mississippi
A Technique for Producing Ideas, a book by James Webb Young, has a 5-step process for generating ideas:
Research.
Cram it in your brain.
Let your subconscious brew.
Hit gold with a Eureka! moment.
Test and refine your new idea.
But there’s another way I want to tell you about.
(more…)The world is indeed flat. We did this. Here’s one way to fix it.
12:07pm
East of the Mississippi
I can’t pretend to have all the answers for this.
But I just read an email from Dan Kennedy that said 90% of resumes are all alike.
Everyone is using AI to craft a bland message, an uninspired resume, a safe and acceptable cookie-cutter existence.
AI. Average Intelligence.
In the history of humanity, nothing average ever stood out.
We’re obsessed with ease. Speed. Keeping up with the Joneses.
It’s nothing new.
But today it’s easier than ever to just go along with the crowd.
“Did you see that show? I binged all 3 seasons!”
Same safe inputs in our life.
Same safe AI generated outputs.
Same manufactured outrage directed from above.
I read a note from Cole Shafer.
He worked for years to get into an agency.
Successful freelance copywriter.
Proven results.
Couldn’t even get a foot in the door.
Spoke with a friend this past weekend.
“Why do you post so much on LinkedIn? Dude just stop. You should be getting more likes but you’re telling businesses they’re doing it wrong. Just blend in.”
I told you around Christmas that I didn’t ever expect to learn creativity from a book.
But instead, ways to think differently about the world.
Old books do this particularly well.
They have perspective from different periods in history.
Steven Grasse started the gin brand Hendricks, and a number of other alcohol brands you may know.
His secret?
To mine old books and art for inspiration.
He creates brands you think have been around for a century.
Cole’s answer to the agency freeze-out?
To start his own art-inspired agency, Honey.
They don’t take on every brand.
They take on clients who want something different.
It costs them business to do so.
And they’re happy to pay that price.
On LinkedIn, I don’t want everyone to agree with me.
I want to resonate with the right business owners who are looking for something that’s not Average Intelligence.
“Be polarizing” tho I’m not trying to do it in a mean or political way.
Another way to say it is,
“Be different, not better.”
But I’m starting to wonder if LinkedIn is the place for that.
Maybe you’re that business, the one who needs solutions that the rest of the world doesn’t know about?
Love you,
Jeffrey
PS. “Watch what everyone else does. Do the opposite. The majority is always wrong.”
Earl Nightingale said that.
…simply by raising your buyer’s Average Order Value
8:52am
East of the Mississippi
Yo! Jeffrey here.
Yesterday someone came to buy our adjustable-height basketball hoop, now that we have one mounted on our new garage.
The Spalding hoop has a 55″x32″ backboard and equally large base, with a 10’7″ pole.
And even though I warned the buyer he’d need a pickup truck…
…both in the FB Marketplace post and in our Messsenger convos…
Dude arrived with a minivan and some hope.
It’s hard enough to get someone to take the best course of action for their own benefit.
Which is why, when you finally have a prospect doing what you’re asking them to do ––again, for their own benefit–– that’s the time to get them to do more of it!
(more…)Something stupid just happened…
2:18pm
Saint Paul
I saw an article that a startup named PocketOS just has their entire software database erased by AI.
And the backups, too.
WTF.
I used to work in IT and it blows my mind that someone in their IT department thought backups on the same system was a smart move.
But you know what?
In marketing, I see the same thing happening:
(more…)Disqualified! Not exactly…
2:38pm
East of the Mississippi
Hey, was looking at a potential client site recently to apply for an in-house role there.
And the application asked if I lived in Minneapolis.
Well, no. I don’t.
Will that filter me out of the running?
(more…)Seneca’s advice on my once-a-year birthday
1:04pm
Saint Paul
Hey *|FNAME|*, it’s my birthday!
And for the last few years, I’ve sent you my thoughts on Seneca’s Letter XXVI.
That’s the one where he reflects on his age and the importance of “rehearsing death.”
(more…)The trap of NEW overload —– has it gotten you, too?
2:18pm
East of the Mississippi
“Dad, if I sell my batting helmet, maybe I can get a new one? A white one? It’s tuff tuff tuff!”
Sigh.
I’m hankerin’ for a new camera lens myself.
I have a good collection now for my aging Fuji X-T20, mostly manual focus, 3rd-party lenses including a number of vintage lenses (like the swirly Helios 44m that was popular a few years back).
But something with autofocus and that Fuji magic?
Hmm, sounds pretty nice.
There’s a trap there, though, and one I’ve fallen into more than a few times.
Maybe you have, too?
(more…)2:23pm
East of the Mississippi
John Wanamaker –– not to be confused with Led Zeppelin’s D’yer Mak’er –– said that business can be learned…