Mindset – Inner Game
Ripped from the headlines: The Food and Drug Administration does not want you to cook chicken in NyQuil I repeat: The FDA does NOT want you to cook chicken in the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine. In a “consumer update” on its website, the US government agency…
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In case you missed the news yesterday: I’m hosting a complimentary content planning workshop… How to Generate a Constant Flow of Content Ideas — Without Suffering from Writer’s Block Tomorrow at 1 p.m. EDT, 12 p.m. CDT. If you want to attend, reply to this email with “give me the workshop details.” I’ll send you…
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Here’s the sad tale of a trivia master I knew back in college. His name was Noah Lott Doolittle. When we played the game Trivial Pursuit, Noah always won. What is the scientific name for a rabbit’s tail? Noah knew. (Scut) Before Hollywood, which New Jersey town was a center for the motion picture industry?…
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A few months ago, I was working on a new version of a 60-minute storytelling presentation. I was tinkering and tweaking, adding and adjusting. I wanted to make it “just right,” and that was holding me back. My friend Susan, who was helping me with the presentation, had seen enough. Gently but firmly, she said,…
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When Melissa and I moved into a century-old house 25 years ago, my father-in-law offered this unsolicited advice: “It’s all about the water. If you control the water, everything will be OK.” I had no idea what he was talking about. Now, I know. Friggin water. I hate friggin water. I wrote the other day…
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A few days ago, I was watching David Letterman on the living room flat screen. He was interviewing the singer/songwriter Billie Eilish, and he said this: “I have seen your concerts…And the commanding power that emanates from you and the music is stunning. Do you remember the first time you recognized…” Dave paused for a…
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Every so often, I hear from a sad-sack marketer who plays the “easy for you to say” card… …as in “Write story-powered emails that captivate prospects? Easy for you to say, Tom. You’re a storytelling genius.” (Sigh!) I heard from someone yesterday who griped about my list-building advice. In yesterday’s email, I encouraged you to…
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A few hours before leaving on my family vacation last week, I was running errands around town when this happened… I was in my car, idling in the intersection turn lane, waiting for the left-turn arrow, turning the radio to another station. Not a care in the world… …and then the airbag exploded in my…
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Last weekend, I watched The Wizard of Oz for the zillionth time. The first time I watched it, I was terrified. You know, the flying monkeys and all. But this time I wasn’t scared. I was inspired. Dorothy dished out some inspiring wisdom right before she clicked her heels and returned to Kansas. “If I ever go…
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“I don’t have an interesting story,” Elizabeth said. Her shoulders slumped. She stared at her shoes. Elizabeth was a client. We’d discussed how storytelling captivates prospects and inspires them to act. She understood and agreed. But then she told me she didn’t have what it takes. “There’s nothing about me worth telling. My story is…
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