Turning a negative into a positive
Howdy folks, I hope you're having a fantastic week.
Just one thing to share with you before we dive into the filter, a new video:
1. Steven Pressfield on turning a negative into a positive:
One of the seminal concepts in advertising history is Avis Rent a Car's "We're #2 so we try harder.”
"We're #2 so we try harder" turns a negative ("We're second best and thus inferior") into a positive ("You'll get better service from us because we'll work our butts off to catch #1 Hertz") by making us look at the issue ("Which is the best company to rent a car from?") from a whole new angle.
2. How to carve out time to read: Time moves slower in the real world. When you spend more time disconnected from your phone finding time to read becomes a lot easier.
"The game eventually shifts from winning to outlasting. It’s hard to beat the person who shows up every single day and puts the work in." — George Heaton
4. The most interesting ads of all time: These ads are incredibly well done. Ads like these are one of my favourite forms of communication because they share a great lesson in streamlining your message and understanding that no one cares about your product... they care about how it will help them.
5. How Amazon Pays $0 in Taxes (and you can too): This video is so well executed. Watching it reminds me of Austin Kleons idea of stealing like an artist because as you watch you can clearly see inspiration from other creators like Casey Neistat and Vox combined with animation to create a fresh unique style.
6. Compounding feels like cheating:
The interesting thing about compounding is that in the beginning doing your work is hard because no one is paying attention, but once you start to see some compounding returns it almost feels like cheating.
7. Why every Johnny Harris video goes viral: This video is one of the best things I've watched on breaking down visual storytelling. Almost every Johnny Harris video seems to go viral and it comes down to his simple formula of providing visual evidence and context.
8. How to delegate to a VA: In the past I've struggled to work with a VA because it's difficult to know what to outsource, but over the last few months I've started to get the hang of it. This guide is a great resource to help get started.
End Note
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Have a fantastic week!
- Stephen