I couldn’t outrun the gazelles…so I just outworked them. -Martin “Marty” Edelston (February 14, 1929-October 2, 2013) A novice says, “I’ve already heard that;” a master says, “Ah…thank you for the reminder.” -Sean Stephenson (May 5, 1979-August 28, 2019) #Sean365 It’s that time of year…on or around February 14th…when Hallmark gets rich…but not as ...

David Ogilvy has my back. How do I know? Well, it says so on the mug I drank my coffee from this morning. 😊 I want to talk about him today…and not because he is responsible for buying my house…which is a reference to last week’s 2-minute video where O.G. copywriter Drayton Bird gave ...

A subscriber to this blog sent me a 2-minute video of the wonderful and exceptional copywriter Drayton Bird…where he mentions two giants of direct response marketing…one of which caused Drayton’s worst hangover of his life…and the other is responsible for “buying” his sprawling home. Here’s the video. The “retirement newsletter” he mentions is one ...

A beginner’s mentality is a mindset that will serve you well throughout your lifetime.I call it “earning your Double White Belt” (more on that shortly).This is a theme I’ve shared with you before…but it was front and center when I spoke to a group of heart-centered entrepreneurs and founders whose missions reside in healthcare, ...

Chapter 10 of my book, Overdeliver—which is titled, “Playing the Long Game”—begins like this: I hate the word networking. And that is despite having a reputation as someone who connects the dots as well as anyone once I know the superpowers of the people I interact with. So how does a connector like me ...

I am not reporting on or predicting a collapse of our financial markets with this subject line.Rather, I am referring to a different “Black Monday” which is the Monday after the football season ends in the United States…and coaches get fired. 🙁During a Titans Xcelerator call a  little over a year ago, one of my astute members asked ...

My daughter—who was blessed (cursed?) from birth with curly hair—asked for a “Brazilian Keratin Treatment” when she entered high school so she could avoid being late to school every morning. As she explained it: “Do you want me to be an on-time, attentive student, always ready to learn…and who will be ready for college ...

As we begin 2026, I want to revisit a topic I first shared with you in 2021…when we were coming off the pandemic (the ultimate “blindside/unexpected hit”) …but the topic is as relevant today as it was then.The term “blindside” is exactly what it sounds like…and it’s often used in football regarding the quarterback ...

With Christmas on the horizon and Hanukkah now in our rearview mirror, I want to share something I wrote (with some updates) in 2019…because it’s the right time of year. It is not an attempt to equate Hanukkah with Christmas because there is no competition. Christmas is one of the four best days of ...

I recently cleaned out my storage locker…which represented over 40 years of toiling in the world of direct response marketing…which means there was a lot of junk I was paying over $100 per month to be stored. ☹ I had dozens of articles I had written (in both framed and wooden plaque form), dating ...

I was approached by one of the top members of my Titans Xcelerator Mastermind (with “top” defined as “supreme contributor”), about a student of his who he thought would be an ideal member.Obviously, I paid close attention…because if this top contributor had someone in mind to join, who was a student of his, there was close ...

Have you ever thought about your clients or customers as “patients?”And if you haven’t, what kind of bedside manor could you add when you deal with them…in addition to selling to them and servicing them?One way is to onboard them forever as I talked about in “Onboarding is not housekeeping.”Another way is to be more ...

On November 22nd 62 years ago, everything changed. And not because of a global pandemic, a crushing recession or a terrorist attack on U.S. soil…although the world can go into a tailspin (i.e. the shi**er) in all sorts of terrible ways almost anytime. I’ve been writing Thanksgiving blog posts since 2017. And long before ...

When I entered the direct marketing/ publishing world in 1981, I kind of knew what an entrepreneur looked like.But meeting my “new boss” (and eventual mentor) Marty Edelston took it to an entirely new level.He was brash, and bold, always demanding everyone to work as hard as he did… and it was both inspiring ...

This subject line seems like a setup to talk about some political conspiracy…but it is not.It is my way of sharing some important “lessons from Mom” we all have tucked away somewhere…after  originally sharing the same subject line back on Mother’s Day in 2014.But I was reminded of it today…while traveling this week to two ...

I was on a Live Cast a few years ago where the host asked one question of each of the 30+ guests she had on it and we had to respond in 5 minutes or less:“What is one shift you made in your business that allowed you to multiply your wealth without sacrificing you?”Good ...

“There is an old piece of vaudeville, then many old jokes, about rubes visiting New York, being sold the Brooklyn Bridge by shysters. Paul Hartunian’s claim to fame was really, legally buying and selling the Brooklyn Bridge.” -Dan Kennedy Paul Hartunian, like Gene Schwartz (and precious few others in the world of direct response) ...

I was reminded of a classic direct mail package from someone in my online family this week…and it is related to what I will be up to next week…so I thought it would be worth sharing with you today.The Easton Press…a legendary mailer (and a subsidiary of MBI, a direct marketer of books, collectibles, ...

Two events collided this week: The birth of a book authored by an Original Gangster, Barry Kleiman…he is original in a variety of ways…as a marketer, a successful headhunter…and as an original Titans Xcelerator member…and we are fortunate to have him inside our group. The birth of my grandson Ian…a future Titans Xcelerator member ...

I don’t hate affiliate marketing.And I selectively employ it as one of many “media choices” available to us as marketers.I even teach it inside my Titans Xcelerator Mastermind…but only from the best experts…because I believe when affiliate marketing is used for evil (and it can be)…or it is taught by charlatans (which it often is)…I ...