Tom Ruwitch
Welcome to the first issue of RecomMONDAYtions Starting right here, right now, I will serve you a fresh-from-the-oven selection of recommendations — sites to visit, podcasts to hear, videos to watch, resources to try, and more — every MONDAY morning. RecomMONDAYtions will be similar to the Monday Mash-Up — which I’m retiring after 10+ years…
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I woke this morning to a LinkedIn post from copywriting legend John Carlton who wrote… “Writer’s block ain’t real.” My initial reaction: “Whatchu talkin’ about, Carlton?!”   Writer’s block ain’t real!? Tell that to all the people who sit in front of a blank screen — hoping to write an email, social post, or other content — while…
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Some people don’t know how to take “no” for an answer. Take Brecht D. who messaged me six days after we connected on LinkedIn. He said he “collaborates” with businesses like mine to “scale to $100k+ /mo profit through our Neuro-Emotional Persuasion Scaling model.” Brecht asked: “Are you opposed to having a brief conversation around…
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Ripped from the headlines: Thirteen years ago, Mary Strand accidentally dropped her diamond ring down the toilet and thought it was lost forever. Mary’s husband, David, had given her the ring on their 33rd wedding anniversary. Fast forward to March 2023 when workers at the Rogers, Minnesota water treatment plant found the ring in a…
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My high school buddies and I spent last weekend in Kentucky, touring bourbon distilleries. Fun fact: Distilleries must use “virgin,” white oak barrels to age their whiskey. Otherwise they can’t call it “bourbon.” After they age the whiskey for two to 23 years and empty the barrels, distilleries can’t use them for bourbon again. What…
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Recommended EventWriting an AI-Powered Book? My friend Michael DeLon (“The Paperback Expert”) will host a live webinar tomorrow: “Can ChatGPT Help You Write Your Book? Beyond the Hype: AI’s Potential and Pitfalls” Here’s what he said about it in an email last week: “This will not be a webinar about how AI is ‘the greatest…
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Here’s a funny story for a Friday morning… Last weekend, police in Springfield, Colorado pulled over a drunk guy for driving 52 mph in a 30 mph zone. As an officer walked toward his car, the driver switched places with his passenger… …which might have worked… …if the officer hadn’t seen the whole thing … …and…
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I’ve got Yogi on my mind. Yogi Berra, that is. He’s the baseball hall-of-famer who grew up three miles, due south, from where I currently sit in St. Louis, MO. Yogi’s in the news because of a new documentary about him that opened this week. It’s called “It Ain’t Over…” …as in, “It ain’t over…
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I sent you an email yesterday about Brian Wilson and his perfection problem. The big takeaway: It’s better to be prolific than perfect. That’s an idea I’ve shared before. I once wrote an email about Leonardo DaVinci who, like Brian Wilson, got stuck chasing perfection. Same point, different story. I tell that DaVinci story in The…
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When the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson heard The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” in December 1965, he was blown away… …and he was inspired. Legend has it he told his wife, Marilyn, he was going to produce “the greatest rock album ever made.” (Holy Ambition, Batman!) Six months later, on this day (May 16) in 1966, The…
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