The Truth About Cord Cutters

Ask any teen or early-twenty-something how they kill time when they’re bored and I bet they say they search for videos on YouTube. Ask any person in their mid-to-late twenties how they kill time and I bet they say they watch Netflix, or Hulu, or HBO Now. Ask any person in their mid-to-late thirties or older how they…

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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 billion. Yesterday, it was announced…

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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, after working day and night…

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Do You Have the Midas Mindset?

Imagine this… you’re at home, minding your own business, counting your gold coins — you know, typical Tuesday afternoon stuff — when you hear a knock at the front door. [Knock, knock, knock]   You’re far too busy counting gold coins to go answer the door so you call for Bae to answer it. Unenthused…

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What’s Your Price?

“If you want to be successful, find out what the price is and then pay it. The reason I’m successful is because I worked 7 days per week, for 10 years to make it happen. Short of that, I don’t think I would have been as successful. And I knew that would be the price.…

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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 started flipping through one of…

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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 word no is it’s ego-driven. Sure,…

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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 I first started working at…

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How Other People REALLY See You, According to Science

I read something interesting today. It was an article in The Washington Post called How to Tell If Other People Think You Are Hot, According to Science. I know what you’re probably thinking, “Was this before or after you finished reading Cosmo?” Here’s the thing, the article was great and I learned two new things I think can help you succeed.…

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American (Not-So) Psycho Morning Routines

“There’s an idea of Patrick Bateman…” If you’ve read Bret Easton Ellis’ book American Psycho or seen the movie, then you probably remember the intro scene where Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) talks you through his detailed morning routine. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a 2-minute clip (warning: explicit). I was recently reminded of this iconic scene when I…

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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! Answer these two questions: What…

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