“People who say, ‘I don’t have time for reading’ are too busy not succeeding.” -Sean Stephenson #Sean365 During the pandemic in 2020 I took this picture of my office: Yikes! And I made a promise that I would clean up my mess. Note that I am not including an “after” picture because my office ...

I learned last week that knitting is much more than a hobby. And in doing so, I also learned a paradigm for how to hire experts. Background: I was attending a Genius Network meeting (Joe Polish’s group of exceptional entrepreneurs and results leaders) when one of the speakers (who I had never met before), ...

My good friend, AI genius (he’s not a Bot!), investment guru and huge sports fan, Howard Getson, shared something in his weekly blog that made me think about levels of excellence. It’s a fascinating topic…and Howard expressed it like this as it pertains to professional athletes: It should be self-explanatory, but it seems to be ...

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…and keep them all well fed” -Brian Kurtz, March 30, 1981 I can’t say whether I said those words on 3/30/81 (my first day working in direct marketing and the day Ronald Reagan was shot outside The Washington Hilton) …but I can safely say that it is ...

For those of you who are working towards retirement in a traditional sense (i.e. no work/all leisure) … …if we redefined the “R word” to incorporate your work with your play and you could have your preferred (leisure) lifestyle while still creating impact and changing lives… …would your goal for retirement be the same? ...

Whatever path you choose for your life…or whatever path chooses you…it is never your career that defines you. It’s also not your “vocation” that defines you…although that gets a little closer to the root of who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to share with the world. But that ...

I received an email from a member of my online family in response to a P.S. two weeks ago about my interaction with the greatest living copywriter, Gary Bencivenga. You can read the full post here with the P.S. Here is that email exchange: Hey Brian, Loved this Email and I think I like ...

The “magalog” and the “advertorial,” whether you’ve heard of them or not, are two offline marketing formats from the last century (i.e., that would be the late 20th) which I believe set the stage for so much of what we do online today. And rather than make this a history lesson…which is always instructive ...

During the “Overdeliver Bootcamp,” which completed last week, when I spoke about “the smartest guy I have ever met in the world of direct mail,” I received many questions…which led to a discussion…and the overriding question was “why was he the smartest?” It’s worth a blog post. I call him “The Bogey Man” (more ...

In 2022, I wrote a post regarding baseball…war…and overall excellence. Those three things would make for a weird three circle Venn diagram…but let me try today to put together a post that adds in some additional current events…but still with a focus on excellence. For those of you who follow baseball in the U.S., ...

I received this email from a member of my Titans Xcelerator Mastermind letting me know he wouldn’t be renewing: I had some mental health issues over the past year that lead me to suspect I’m on the ADHD spectrum. Short term memory issues, inability to focus, procrastination, and an almost total lack of time-sense are some ...

How did we advertise in the “good old days” when there was no email, Internet, product launches, VSL’s, Facebook and a myriad of other media? And if you were a small mom and pop retail or service company, how would you know how to advertise if you never read a Dan Kennedy book or ...

Whenever someone in one of my mastermind groups (or anyone else) says, “I should write a book,” my first reaction is, “there are no shoulds.” Since the notion of “writing a book” has so many permutations and dimensions…and there are experts everywhere (some good and some not so good) to coach you on how ...

I found this in my archives this week…and whether it’s still true or not, it doesn’t matter because it supports my thesis for today 🙂 : According to a fact sheet from the Small Business Administration, [a] substantial amount of family wealth is in business ownership. On average, the self-employed are wealthier than the ...

“Envy is an issue of self-worth. When you feel like you’re not enough, you fear you’ll never obtain what others have.” -Sean Stephenson #Sean365 I’ll take Sean’s quote a step further: When you experience envy, it will make you ill. And not being healthy, physically or emotionally, will make it impossible to obtain what ...

“If you can’t advertise yourself, what hope do you have of advertising anything else?” -David Ogilvy As marketers, copywriters and entrepreneurs, it is critically important to never lose our confidence…and to be able to talk about our passions, expertise and accomplishments in a way that conveys trust so that people will buy from us ...

The legendary newscaster, journalist, and Renaissance Man, Hugh Downs, passed away four years ago at 99 years old…and it was the fullest 99 years of life of anyone I have ever known. As you know I am committed to remembering those who have contributed to my life and career on a regular basis…with special ...

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln I attended my fifth Rolling Stones concert last week…yes, those Rolling Stones…better known as the “lucky genes club.” Two of the original members (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards) are still rocking at 80 years old…while Ronnie Wood (who joined the group in 1975, almost ...

Have you ever heard of a “forever sneaker?” I don’t know about you, but my sneakers age by the month…rarely last a year…so when I was sent an article from a friend a couple of years ago from The Wall Street Journal titled, “The 100% Recyclable Running Shoe That’s Only Available by Subscription,” I was intrigued. A ...

When I was a lad, fresh out of college and working my first job in the hustle and bustle of New York City, it was an exciting time. Everything was new…not all “good new”…given the fact that I wouldn’t have a month off from Christmas until the end of January anymore. 🙁 But new ...