Blog

  • What is your label doing for you?

    Confirmation bias, straight ahead!

    5:23
    Saint Paul, MN

    Be careful what you wish for…

    the saying goes…

    you just might get it.

    Our brains have an excellent ability to find examples in the world to confirm our theories and prove that we’re right… even about our selves.

    This is confirmation bias— the phenomenon that new information confirms what we already ‘know.’ (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    Photo "goodbye" by frankieleon, Flickr, CC-By-2.0
    Photo “goodbye” by frankieleon, Flickr, CC-By-2.0

    #time #timemanagement #psychology #manipulation #technology (more…)

  • Can you measure Deep Thoughts?

    5:52am

    Saint Paul

     

    Oy, what’s the good word?

    I’m getting a late start today, and –I know– I missed emailing you on Saturday. No excuses.

    On Saturday night we watched the film, Crazy Rich Asians. It was much better than most rom-coms out there. Going into it, the most I knew was about a single scene where some fancy watch was flown around the world for the filming.

    Watches. What can I say, Google Now knows what I like.

    (Actually it’s pretty bad — I get too many stories about Super Hero shows and movies! I can’t tell GNow often enough that I’m not interested in whatever super hero film of the week)

    Anyway, during the Crazy Rich Asians movie, of course my kids wake up and call out for water and all that. While my lovely lady was helping them, I took the opportunity to record a video for you.

    (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    "Robots" by Jeffrey Thomas, 2018
    “Robots” by Jeffrey Thomas, 2018

    #robots #magic #advice #emotions #logic #marketing

    (more…)

  • Orwell himself never envisioned a future so bright!

    5:28am
    Saint Paul, MN

    I don’t want to be too alarmist here, but your phone has the potential to melt your brain.

    If you’re holding it in just the right any-which-way, the visual stimulation can

    overwhelm your understanding of reality!

    You see, your phone’s visual power hijacks your prefrontal cortex and amygdala. That 200,000 year-old-brain doesn’t stand a chance!

    It’s hard to look away when there is more information to be read or watched; more altered photos of a perfect life you’d like to lead; more outrageous headlines to glance at.

    (A new study this week says that people who read Facebook news previews —not the full article— believe they’re more informed than they actually are. That doesn’t mean those articles are accurate of reality of course…)

    When you’re poking at your phone, your sense of time changes. Minutes or even hours go missing from your day — precious time from your bank of life. And once that… time is gone…

    you’ll never get back!

    Your understanding of the world changes. You begin to see the hostilities of the semi-anonymous people on the other end of so many interactions. You wonder if everyone is so hostile, and you begin to keep to yourself in a crowded area. Why converse with the people around you if you can stare at your phone?

    Stories and news feeds are customized to your interest; echos of your opinion are reflected back at you, re-enforcing your beliefs because, hey, everyone seems to feel this same way!

    And the people that feel otherwise…

    are wrong!
    must be stopped!
    don’t have a heart!
    don’t believe in science!

    Do you know who Alex Jones is?

    He’s a right-leaning Texan with his own rant-filled “news show.”

    On the show, Jones connects conspiracy dots across time and space from many different sources, painting an

    alternate understanding of reality.

    It’s all quite entertaining to watch, and his sources are all out there for you to find. I can’t say that he’s correct, but I can’t say that he’s not ever correct either.

    But if you were to follow one side of the media, *|FNAME|*, you’re told that Jones is dangerous, or that he doesn’t believe that horrific school shootings happen.

    Now, Jones has spoken out to say otherwise, to clarify his position in light of different evidence. He made an appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast last week and his stance on horrific school shootings was one of the first things they discussed.

    But for the media to cover that story (or make any corrections to their narrative) would give Jones credibility—

    something the media cannot allow!

    So the media keeps pushing their profit-driven agenda to divide people,
    You willingly stare at the headlines on your phone,
    Your brain is fed stories which override critical thought and creativity,

    And everyone pays for this very privilege.

    Orwell envisioned a future where we’re all being watched by devices that can’t turn off; where the powerful devise a storyline about current events and the people follow along.

    Orwell never considered a future where we willingly refuse to turn off our devices, where we willingly carry tracking mechanisms in our pockets, where we willingly fight among ourselves and keep people divided.

    And… it’s more profitable than Orwell ever imagined.

    Jeffrey

    PS. I try to reread Orwell’s 1984 every few years, and it’s been a while. I picked it up recently and it’s incredibly sad how much of current reality it seems to reflect. Check it out if you’re not familiar with the story or if it’s been a while. Find it here on Amazon, and I’m sure your local library has a copy.

    If you’re interested to learn more about the divisiveness in the media, check out the movie Hoaxed. It’s all about the profit motive in media and how easy a narrative can be pushed. If you’re resisting this idea, the movie is all the more important.
    http://hoaxedmovie.com/

    Additionally, this Sunday, right-leaning political maverick Candace Owens has a conversation with the left-leaning leader of Black Lives Matter New York, Hawk Newsome. They’re looking for common ground; I can’t wait. Watch the trailer here
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFUKLwzvA-s

    Good luck out there.

  • Picking between two great options…

    5:50am

    Saint Paul

     

    Good day, how’s it bangin?

    My coffee’s cooling —just the way I like it— and I’ve spent too much time this morning on “news” instead of working on my Change State book. Ah well, time to connect with you.

    Exciting news IMHO:

    Recently my wife and I booked a vacation to Puerto Rico at the end of March! We’re pumped for some time in the sun… and a short break from our lovely kids ; )

    What to do during those few days? (more…)

  • This German restaurant advert could be so much… besser

    5:24am

    Saint Paul, MN

     

    Yesterday I mentioned that burger joint’s weaksauce newspaper ad. It could be so much better.

    Well it’s pretty early, but I had it on the brain all last night. I thought I’d write some more about the advert.

    (more…)

  • The Failure of Science

    6:12
    Saint Paul, MN

    Reader, this weekend I met with a PRL subscriber to discuss marketing emails that I am writing for his business.

    Yep, my first paid copywriting gig!

    We bounced around with other conversation topics as well, including my wife’s newfound interest in Reiki energy healing.

    <cue eye-roll>

    My friends asked what I thought of Energy Healing, a topic that’s looked down upon by science and society as being unconfirmed.

    My answer? (more…)

  • Persuasion Articles of the Week

    Photo "Royal" by PhotoAtelier, Flickr CC-By-2.0
    Does your writing persuade people? Find some tips below… Photo “Royal” by PhotoAtelier, Flickr CC-By-2.0

    #podcast #eyecontact #willpower #empathy #writing

    (more…)

  • Mindset with Ed Latimore
    (Persuasion Play Podcast 005)

    Today’s episode of the Persuasion Play Podcast features Author, a former professional Heavyweight Boxer, and Master of Mindset Ed Latimore.

    Listen as Ed discusses his career in boxing, his methods to grow his Twitter influence to over 65,000 followers, his methods to maintain a positive mindset, and so much more.

        • Learn Ed’s perspective on learning new information (and how you can apply it to your own learning) (1:50)
        • Ed’s experience with travel and the false expectation US Americans have when traveling (5:38)

    (more…)