Commercials have a long history of using well known television characters (and the actors who play them) in their spots to leverage authority bias. I recently saw a Dell commercial using Jim Parsons in character as Sheldon Cooper from the hit show, The Big Bang Theory, to try and sell computers. It’s an effective technique […]
Read MoreHow you look and what you wear to a job interview is probably more important than your actual qualifications for the job. Most of us don’t want to believe that. We’ll kick and scream and rally against the machine, but the fact remains: we like people who look good […]
Read MoreI once played a game with a colleague that he didn’t know he was playing. He and I were standing across from one another and chatting when I happened to notice that we both had our arms crossed. I realized there was a pretty good chance that if I uncrossed my arms, he would do the same and uncross his. I put my theory to the test and uncrossed my arms. Moments later, he followed my action and uncrossed his arms. Ah, the power of social proof […]
Read MoreIt took me 10-years to break a personal bad habit. Five years of knowing I wanted to stop, and another five years of actually trying to stop before I beat it. How many bad habits have you been able to shake? Probably less than you’d like, if any at all. That’s the power of commitment and consistency bias. We are creatures of habit, for better or for worse […]
Read MoreWhat if you could actually increase sales of a product by raising its price? Sounds like magic, right? It’s true though. There are circumstances where increasing the price of a product will help it sell. And there’s a pretty simple reason why. But first, a story […]
Read MoreFelix Dennis got rich in publishing. Naval Ravikant got rich in Silicon Valley. Nassim Nicholas Taleb by trading. Warren Buffett by investing. And the soon-to-be rich will get wildly wealthy by building things that don’t yet exist. What’s your path to riches? […]
Read MoreHas a car salesman ever offered you a cup of coffee or a glass of water upon entering the dealership? Have you been handed a free sample of a product as a gift? Invisible mental biases are consistently influencing the decisions you make. And one of the strongest and most important to understand is your tendency to reciprocate the favors, disfavors and concessions of others […]
Read MoreWealth isn’t a problem to be solved. It’s an opportunity to create. And the more you create, the better you get at creating. Your 1st million dollars is a lot harder to create than the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th million. This is because by the 4th million, you’ve gotten pretty good at creating wealth […]
Read MoreYou are incentivized to believe to be true the things that you want to be true. If the significance of this idea does not immediately capture you, be patient. Sit with it. Lay with it. Fight with it. And then accept it, because fewer ideas are more important to your everyday life.
Read MoreCharlie Munger is known for his quick wit, for not suffering fools, and for working alongside Warren Buffett to build Berkshire Hathaway into the behemoth company it is today. When billionaires give advice, I try to listen, and Munger offers some in a […]
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