What to Do When You Get Punched in the Mouth
“I think that the minute that you have a backup plan, you’ve admitted that you’re not going to succeed.” — Elizabeth Holmes, CEO Theranos In 2015, Elizabeth Holmes was named America’s richest self-made woman by Forbes magazine. Forbes valued Holmes’ blood-testing company at $9 billion — making Holmes’ net worth an estimated $4.5…
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How to Leverage Human Nature to Sell More
We’ve hit that time of year where rumors about the next iPhone are starting to bubble about. There’s one particular one that’s got people scratching their heads. Leaked cases show a design that looks largely indistinguishable from the iPhone 6 or 6s. Why is it this interesting, even if you…
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How to Rise to the Top (Career Advice to the Young)
“Several years ago Lever Brothers asked their seven agencies to submit policy papers on the television medium, which was then quite new. The other agencies put in adequate papers of five or six pages, but a young man on my staff took the trouble to assemble every conceivable statistic and,…
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The Untold Story Behind Vincent van Gogh’s Success
Not every mom puts her kids’ drawings on the refrigerator. Some mothers are critical, even cruel. And to be fair, some drawings are just not that good. But can you imagine being the mother of Vincent van Gogh and ridiculing your child’s work? It sounds crazy, but crazy was a…
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How to Sell a Silver Spoon in 1967 (or 2016)
Last Saturday, me and a couple friends walked into a local thrift shop. Inside the store, there were stacks of old books, magazines, furniture, and clothes for sale. Naturally, I gravitated toward the books. But, it was the magazines that caught my eye. They were huge! (11.5×13.5) [pics below]. I…
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How to Become Independently Wealthy
In order to become independently wealthy, you must first forget the notion that you’ll make millions quick on investing. Then answer these two questions…
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Why You Want Your Customers to Say “No”
What does the biggest generation in the American workforce right now value most in a job? The answer: Autonomy. It’s no wonder books like Greg McKeown’s Essentialism or James Altucher’s The Power of No or Cal Newport’s Deep Work are flying off shelves. The word “No” is trending. The thing you need to know about the…
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THIS ARTICLE IS ALL ABOUT YOU, THE READER
Full disclosure: Today is a holiday here in Canada, where I’m writing this. In your best interest and mine, I’ll keep today’s article brief. There’s an ongoing debate in the advertising world about sales copy. Advertisers have been arguing for years over what sells better: long-form copy or short? When…
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A message from an ETR sponsor
Please listen to this. It could be the most important 15 minutes of the year for you. If you’re struggling to get ahead in your business, what Bedros says (when he answers my question at 46:15) is essential for you to hear. He goes on a rant that will fire…
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Why So Many Entrepreneurs Become Disillusioned
You finally started your own business or private practice. And, now, you’re in hell. It’s three years in, and things aren’t going as planned. Growth is slow, you’re spending so much time doing the grunt work and servicing customers, you have no time to focus on the big picture. Growth has…
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How to Craft Presentations that Sell
“In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.” — David Ogilvy, 1983, Confessions of an Advertising Man Quick!…
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Greasy Openers: How to Keep Consumers’ (Read: Millennials) Attention
This might be the laziest thing I’ve read about millennials in a while. According to the Observer, movie studios in Hollywood have started adding 8-10-second teaser trailers to their “longer” (90-second) movie trailers to cater to the short attention spans of millennials. “Consumers (read: millennials) only pause scrolling to watch a video…
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