Imagine you have a valuable piece of information that you believe is life-changing in nature. You want to share that information with your readers, but more than that, you want them to ACT on that information. To internalize it, to feel not just remember it.

Say you want your readers to be aware of how important it is to let things go, how important is to always aspire to rise to higher consciousness, to be fully present in the moment, to withhold judgement, to never let the past interfere with us being in the here and now.

You could write: YO, guys! It is important to let stuff go! Do that! Now!

You can use bolds or italics. Or even both.

Or you could share with them an anecdote:

A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side.

The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman.

Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his 
journey.

The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them.

Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could not contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”

The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”

Yes, what you say is essential. But how you say it will determine whether or not your readers think so too. Continue reading “How to Create Engaging Content” →

Time. We can spend it, but we can’t get more of it. Once spent, it’s gone forever.

Time. The most valuable commodity, and we never seem to have enough of it.

So… what if I were to tell you there’s a simple four step system that helps you write blog posts faster?

And no, I don’t mean 300 word posts, I mean longer articles that engage, inform, and entertain your readers.

Four simple steps. Continue reading “Four Simple Steps to Writing Blog Posts Faster” →

There’s no doubt about it. Mad Men is a must-watch TV show if you are a creative individual.

Don Draper is the most creative alpha male on TV. Well, some might say Harvey Specter is pretty ingenious too, but… Don is something else. Dark and moody and mysterious, but also a genius when it comes to sipping whisky and crafting the perfect slogan.

He makes it all look freaking cool…

All of them do. Peggy, Don, even Roger, who does nothing these days but loaf around and spit out hilarious one-liners.

It’s not just them. It’s their work.

They sit around thinking up the perfect ad.

Then they convince their clients to spend a ton of bucks on it. Millions of people fall all over themselves to buy the product, shifting consumer culture, spawning billion-dollar industries, becoming household names.

And they do it all with nothing but words. How cool is that? Don’t tell me you never fantasized about your words changing the world?

I know, I know. It’s just a TV show. It’s not real life. But, contrary to what you might think, there are some great principles being presented in this show, principles that apply to great writing and great blogging too.

Continue reading “Don Draper’s Guide to Fantastic Writing” →