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Category Archives: Persuasion
Scammer’s Logic
Why do “Nigerian” scammers say they’re from Nigeria? Â After all, if you were running a widely known scam, wouldn’t you vary the details so you had a better chance of fooling a wider audience? Probably not. Â In an interesting paper … Continue reading
Posted in Food For Thought, Marketing, Money, Persuasion, Productivity, Psychology, Rationality
Tagged Marketing, Psychology, Scam, Testing
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Good Point
The only Powerpoint advice you need, from Seth Godin, reproduced in part here, in case a meteor hits his server and this gem is lost forever: Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Aesthetics, Business, Creativity, Marketing, Persuasion, Quotes, Relationships, Seth Godin
Tagged Powerpoint, Presentation, Sales, Seth Godin, Speech
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The $144,146,165 Button
Tiny changes can have massive results. Need proof? Â Three buttons in a cab can increase tips 220%.
Posted in Art, Business, Creativity, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Marketing, Persuasion, Psychology
Tagged Disproportionate Results, Persuasion
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Attitude
Attitudes are infectious. It’s why the happy, gregarious guy is always the life of the party and the center of attention. Everyone wants some of that happiness. It’s also why everyone avoids the depressed, quiet guy. It’s actually easier to … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Choice, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Leading, Persuasion, Psychology, Rationality, Relationships
Tagged Happiness, relationships, Self-Improvement
2 Comments
Story Basics, According to Pixar
Pixar story artist Emma Coats tweeted a series of “story basics” she had picked up during her tenure at Pixar. These were generously compiled by The Pixar Touch: #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Creativity, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Marketing, Persuasion, Psychology, Quotes
Tagged Creativity, Pixar, Writing
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If You Wouldn’t Wake Up Early For It, Don’t Stay Up Late For It
One of the reasons Reddit is great is that you can find genuinely wise, pithy, and applicable advice from someone named SmellsLikeUpfoo. In this case, the advice is simple: if you wouldn’t set your alarm one hour early to do … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Food For Thought, Persuasion, Psychology, Quotes, Self-Improvement
Tagged Priorities, Rationality, Sleep
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Gambling on Discipline
Almost all people who become successful do so because they’re able to develop discipline. Â It’s not something they’re born with. Â It takes practice. Â Consciously doing what needs to be done now, foregoing what you’d like to be doing instead, in … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Food For Thought, Negotiation, Persuasion, Productivity, Psychology, Quotes, Self-Improvement
Tagged Gambling, Motivation, Psychology
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Forgeries on the Brain
When it comes to high art, almost nobody can tell the difference between an original and a good copy. Even so, we overwhelmingly prefer the original. Oxford scientists hooked up 14 volunteers to a functional MRI, and then showed them … Continue reading
Posted in Aesthetics, Art, Food For Thought, Marketing, Persuasion, Psychology, Rationality
Tagged Art, Perception, Psychology, Taste
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Diamond Psychology
Most people are probably aware that diamonds aren’t particularly rare and that their price is mostly a function of cartel control over the supply (De Beers) and good advertising. Â While this is true, the story behind it is fascinating (and … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Creativity, Food For Thought, Marketing, Persuasion, Psychology, Relationships
Tagged Diamonds, Marketing, Psychology, Sales
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How To Make Work Miserable
From The Progress Principle: Over the past 15 years, we have studied what makes people happy and engaged at work. In discovering the answer, we also learned a lot about misery at work. … What we discovered is that the … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Food For Thought, Leading, Persuasion, Productivity, Quotes
Tagged Management, Work
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How To Break A Habit
We’ve talked before about building habits. Â That’s important. Â But so is breaking habits. Â Luckily, unlike forcing yourself to repeatedly do something new and scary, breaking existing habits isn’t nearly as hard. Â One of the easiest ways is simply to substitute … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Choice, Creativity, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Persuasion, Productivity, Psychology, Quotes, Rationality, Self-Improvement, Video
Tagged Change, Habits
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One Easy Step To Flatter People, Show You Care, and Demonstrate Your Dedication
Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what? – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Book 7 … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Business, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Persuasion, Productivity, Psychology, Quotes, Relationships, Self-Improvement
Tagged Ask, Help, Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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The Only Motivation Tip You’ll Ever Need
San Franciscans and New Yorkers spent years fighting to get nutrition information like calorie counts listed on menus. Â After all, if people only knew what kind of crap they were shoveling into their maws they’d surely change their behavior, right? … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Art, Business, Creativity, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Persuasion, Productivity, Psychology, Quotes, Rationality, Self-Improvement
Tagged Framing, Loss Aversion, Motivation, Persuasion
2 Comments
Why Sharing Your Goals Dooms You To Failure
If you want to accomplish something, it makes sense to tell people about it. After all, you might be able to collaborate with someone already working on something similar, or gain some ideas and insights from someone who has done … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Food For Thought, Persuasion, Productivity, Psychology, Rationality, Self-Improvement
Tagged Failure, Goal, Productivity, Success
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Stop. Breathe. Think.
One of the things law schools sear into students is the ability, and tendency, to argue. Â An early emphasis on being able to argue both sides of any case breeds people who argue just for the sake of argument. Â Shockingly, … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, Choice, Food For Thought, Inspiration, Negotiation, Persuasion, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Improvement
Tagged Argue, Arguing, Argument, React, Stop, Think
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