Dear subscriber,
Once upon a time (circa 1920)…
Ernest Hemingway was sitting around with his writing buddies at his favorite cafe in Paris – Cafe de Flore.
His buddies, always keen to give Hemingway a good friendly ribbing, bring up a topic they know will get Hemingway a little shirty.
“Hey, Ernie, didja hear what Faulkner said about your writing?”
Nursing his usual scotch and soda, Hemingway looks up at his mates and says, “Okay, I’ll bite. What did that clown say?”
“He said that you never crawl out on a limb. Said you had no courage, and that you’ve never been known to use a word that might send the reader to the dictionary”, replied his friend. “Yeah, Hem, that’s what he said”, says another.
A wry smirk appears on Hemingway’s weathered face as he calmly puts down his drink.
“Poor Faulkner”, says Hemingway. “Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use. Did you read his last book? Faulkner should be congratulated; his book is the cure for insomnia. You know, that schmuck loves the sound of his own typewriter. He couldn’t write a short story if his kids’ lives depended on it!”
Hemingway’s witty retort gave his pals a good chuckle.
“But could you write a short story, Hem?” asks one of his pals.
“I could write one under a general anesthetic!”, quips Hemingway.
“Okay, Ernie, I’ll wager 10 bucks that you can’t write an entire story in six words”, says the smart-arse of the group.
“And I’ll be happy to take your money, my compadre”, replies Hemingway.
Well, legend has it that Hemingway whipped out his pen, grabbed the nearest napkin, scribbled down six words, and plonked down the napkin in the middle of the table.
The napkin read as follows:
“For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
***
Now, I read somewhere that Hemingway didn’t come up with that. It said that Hemingway stole that from a newspaper advertisement.
Well, here’s a tip for you, Freckles: never let trivial or irrelevant facts get in the way of a good story.
I have spoken.
In any case, those six words tell a story, don’t they? Not only do they tell a story, but they tug on the old heartstrings.
Those six words reveal two hallmarks of high-level communication:
(1) Saying more by saying less, and (2) emotionally loaded
Well, on pages 16-17 of the July issue, I give examples of doing just that. One of the examples is from a mail-order advertising genius. This guy had a knack for writing headlines that not only contained the above two elements but had two other potent elements which made his headlines almost neurological impossible to ignore.
Now, while these two pages are focused on writing headlines, the information therein transcends copywriting. In other words, if you take what’s taught on those pages and apply it to speaking, writing, podcasting, teaching, or any form of communication, you’ll start communicating in a way that seeps straight into your audience’s psychology and hearts. The two places where it counts.
Extremely powerful stuff.
But don’t expect it to be easy. Nothing I teach in that section is easy.
And why should it be?
Whatever.
This newsletter is not for amateurs looking for shortcuts and magic bullets.
OK.
For those interested in the July issue, read on.
A few goodies inside the July Issue:
*The “5% Customer Base” secret. This little-known secret can potentially jack up your business’s profits almost instantly. (Get the full scoop on page 8)
*What Jeff Bezos does better than almost everyone else in business. (By embracing even a fraction of his remarkable strategy, your business can’t help but grow. – page 9)
*6 leverage points in business even smart business people neglect. – page 10
*Saint Paul’s insight into human motivation almost nobody talks about. (This is perhaps the greatest insight into people you’ll ever come across.)
*The REAL secret to getting people to change their minds. I realize this sounds hyperbolic. It ain’t. Well, it’s about to sound even more unrealistic. (Get this: this secret is so powerful, so effective, it doesn’t require any persuasion or influence whatsoever. This goes far beyond persuasion and influence. Full details on page 12)
*How Ice-T’s defense lawyer turned him away from a life of crime. At this time, Ice-T was stealing cars and robbing banks, and… pretty much getting away with it. (But once he heard this come out of his lawyer’s mouth, he suddenly changed his mind, thus altering the course of his life forever. – page 16)
To grab this issue, sally forth here: https://kelvindorsey.com/mavericks-inner-circle/
Your friend,
Kelvin
Email Marketing Maverick
