Posts
All the articles I've posted.
How to persuade in one sentence
Blair Warren's entire persuasion course fits into a single sentence with five parts, and The Secret sold 35 million copies by using every one of them.
Three ways to avoid a bad book
The three filters I put a book through before I trust it: whether the author is writing inside their own expertise, whether the claims have evidence, and whether the writing is clear.
Why you shouldn't blindly follow your gut
Your gut is fast, and it stops at the first result. Second-order thinking asks 'and then what?' so you can see the second and third-order results coming.
Why you should never stack side jobs
Charlie Munger said knowing what you don't know beats being smart. Your circle of competence is the ground where you hold the advantage, and every side job outside it is a game stacked against you.
The way of reading only good writers know, part 2
A line by line read of the apology Lee Jae-yong gave during the MERS outbreak, showing how its order does the work: emotion first, reason second, sympathy for the doctors last.
The way of reading only good writers know, part 1
Reading a lot doesn't make you write better, because you read for content. The fix is to read for structure: underline the lines that do something to you, then work out why.
The speech that sent us to the moon
John F. Kennedy's September 12, 1962 speech, and the line about choosing a goal because it's hard rather than because it's easy.
Three secrets of a title you can't scroll past
The three moves behind titles that pull a million views: take a subject the reader already cares about, get specific, and never hand over the answer.
Two secrets of writing with rhythm
Short sentences for speed, long ones for weight, and a turn that breaks what the reader expects. How to write a piece that reads like a rollercoaster.
Writing is either explanation or experience
Two structures cover everything you will ever write: PREP when you are explaining something, and ki-seung-jeon-gyeol when you want the reader to feel it.