With all the chaos around us, I want to take a quick break and share a video I recorded with the “email master” (and self-proclaimed hermit) Ben Settle.
Ben and I are very different yet we find the more we interact, the more we have in common.
On the “different side” I’m not unsubscribing folks who are not in synch with me (which Ben sometimes does for good reason).
But here’s a biggie we have in common: Every time he mentions a copywriter, a results leader in our world or anyone he respects, it’s always someone worth listening to.
In many cases they are friends or mentors to both of us…and even if they are dead and I have never met them, they are always folks worth learning from.
Simply put, I pay close attention when Ben “name drops”—you should too.
Recently we were on a Zoom call just chatting and he noticed on my wall behind me a poster for It’s a Wonderful Life, a classic film from 1946 which starred Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
On this poster my face is photo shopped on Jimmy Stewart’s and it was a gift to me from one of my early teachers in direct marketing.
Ben asked me:
“Are you a fan of Frank Capra in addition to the film?” (Frank Capra is the director)
I said “yes” and proceeded to tell him about my college thesis which I wrote about in “Anxious vs. Eager”, a post about how I tried to buck the system—unsuccessfully–by not doing my thesis on Milton or Chaucer and instead focused on Capra.
I thought my paper was good…but I was a majority of one.
But that does not take away from Capra’s genius.
Ben and I continued our discussion about Capra—he told me that he read his autobiography, The Name Above the Title which you can buy in paperback for $20 or so (but take a look at all the used copies in hardcover for a lot less).
Then we started talking about Capra and how his film making style is a terrific prescription for copywriters and marketers today…and we decided to film a video discussing those ideassuch as:
- What interests people most is people
- There are no rules to film making, only sins…and the cardinal sin is dullness
- Entertainment is an amazing tool for rallying people against the “bad guys”
- Too many filmmakers get their ideas from other films and not from life
- Creating vision can literally win world wars
And there was a lot more…including some history on Frank Capra which you will find interesting:
- Why he lamented making his best film (NOT It’s a Wonderful Life) in the same year as Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach, Ninotchka, Dark Victory and Goodbye Mr. Chips.
- How he came up with a series of films to unite the country to rally during the outset and during WWII –with enthusiasm—by creating that vision mentioned above
- How he became a master at using laughter as a disarmer and a “friend maker” leading to audiences accepting almost anything
Enough foreplay!
Below is the video that Ben and I put together.
I hope you will watch it in-between binging on Netflix and while you are avoiding the news.
And please stay 6 feet apart if you are not watching it alone! 🙂
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. By sending this today I am not taking the situation we are facing lightly.
As I said in my Friday email to some of you, I am anything but tone deaf.
However, without dwelling on the world’s pandemic, I am trying to come up with a way to get more of you into Titans Xcelerator (TXL) because while you need to be socially distanced you also can’t be isolated from your peers and experts.
You need to be connected to the best people with the best information whether here or elsewhere.
That’s my mission for Titans Xcelerator.
In addition, we will immediately give you a community that is totally connected to what you need to know about marketing through a crises.
And more importantly, with the training you will receive now, you will be better positioned when the smoke clears and we are back to normal.
If you are interested in joining, the details are here: https://www.briankurtz.net/xl/
However, what’s incorrect in those details is the additional information I will be sending in the months ahead (not listed in the benefits):
- Extra calls with experts with ideas you can use today—more than one or two calls a month—on an “as needed” basis
- A place to run your ideas through the “Xcelerators”—every day and in multiple ways—and get all of your questions answered with a caring sounding board
- I will regularly send additional important information as I receive it—I am very connected–and where I am not connected, I can get connected quickly
Please join…it’s the perfect Mastermind for right now…and the future.
And once you sign up, send me an email for a discount and a bonus…which I know you will appreciate.
Just put “TXL discount and bonus” in the subject line after you sign up.
I am here to serve and help as many marketers as I can in the best ways I know how to do that–and at the most affordable price.
I care deeply about your ongoing success.
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