Wizard of Ads Monday Morning Memo

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the 2023 Zenith of the “WE,” so today I’ll give you a recap.The 3,000-year pendulum of Western Civilization* is energized by two good things that oppose each other: Every 40-year “ME” cycle is driven by the hunger for individuality and freedom of expression.Every 40-year “WE” cycle is driven by working together for the common good.We begin each of these cycles with the best of intentions; but then we take that good thing too far – all the way to the zenith at one end of the pendulum’s arc – and begin to mourn what we left behind. 20 years up to the zenith, 20 years back down; then we begin our 20-year journey up to the opposite zenith; then 20 years back down to complete the 80-year roundtrip.There are two reasons why so few people say, “Hey, I remember this!” 1. We don’t notice the truly important when we are distracted by the merely urgent.2. The pendulum is in the same position – headed in the same direction – just once every 80 years. How often do you listen to a 90-year-old when they say, “Back when I was 10 years old…” The 40-year “ME” cycle that began in 1963 was built on individuality and freedom of expression.  That “ME” zenithed in 1983, then it slowly deflated until 2003. That’s when we began our current “WE” cycle. And like every “WE,” it began with the beautiful dream of working together for the common good. As we reach the zenith of that “WE” – 2023 – we see the consequences of taking “working together for the common good” a little too far.Okay, a lot too far.Every zenith of a “WE” cycle is a time of intense opposition and strong beliefs. We feel that anyone who believes differently from us is stupid and evil and must be stopped at any cost. 1783 – The Revolutionary War ended on Sept. 3 with the Treaty of Paris. We spent the next 5 chaotic years writing and adopting – state by state – the Constitution.1863 – The middle year of the U.S. Civil War. Lincoln was assassinated 2 years later. Chaos.1943 – The middle year of America’s involvement in WW II. Two years later we nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki.2023 – (We shall see what we shall see.) Religiosity is often intense at the Zenith of a “WE” cycle. Disagreements often result from a lack of definitions of terms. For the purposes of this discussion, these will be the definitions of Faith, Religion, and Religiosity:Faith is that in which you place your greatest confidence.(Science? Politics? Deity?)Religion is the formalizing of a code of orthodoxy around your Faith.Religiosity is weaponized religion.Every reader takes from a text what he brings to it.“It is a short distance between believing you possess an error-free message from God and believing that you are an error-free messenger of God. The minute I believe I know the mind of God is the minute someone needs to tell me to sit down and breathe into a paper bag. As a general rule, I would say that human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God.”– Barbara Brown TaylorYou can get ancient scriptures to confess to whatever you want if you torture them long enough.“The history of the world shows that when you place an ego and a spiritual text (the Bible, Torah, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, etc.) in the same room, the text will always end up in a chokehold.”– Michele Miller-NelsonEvery person deserves to be remembered for their finest moment. From what I know of Ernest Hemingway, I believe his finest moment may have been when he said: “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”We want everyone to know what we think, but we don’t really care to know what they think.I believe our resistance to considering the perspectives of others is rooted in our need for identity reinforcement. I believe this is the driving force behind political parties, religious organizations, and affinity groups. Look back and you’ll see that things have been getting increasingly nutty since about 2013. For the past 3,000 years of Western Civilization,* the ugliest 20 years in the 80-year roundtrip are the 10 years before – and the 10 years after – the zenith of a “WE.” 2023 is that zenith, the moment when the Pendulum reaches its full ascent and begins to decline. The problem is that it will take us 10 years to get back to the low-level nuttiness we endured in 2013. The good news is that we are at the halfway point. Things will begin to slowly get better soon.Roy H. Williams * “How could Western Civilization be 3,000 years old,” you ask? Indy Beagle will answer your question, soothe your doubts, and make you laugh in the rabbit hole. He will also frighten you a tiny bit. Please accept my apologies in advance. That Beagle has a mind of his own.After ten years of running her own business with a hit-and-miss method of recruiting staff, Andrea Hoffer decided there had to be a better way. So she developed a structured process for bringing on new employees. That method turned out to be so successful that she now runs an agency that helps companies identify, hire, and retain excellent employees. Listen in as she tells roving reporter Rotbart, “A-B-R, A-B-R, A-B-R” (Always Be Recruiting.)

Authority can be given to a person. Leadership cannot.People with authority often have no followers.People with followers often have no authority.Leaders require no authority. They say, ‘This is what I’ve decided to do.’ And then they do it. Others see them doing it and decide to follow.On Tuesday I was on the phone to my friend Manley Miller in New Orleans when he said,“No one wants to be a leader anymore. Everyone wants to be a commentator. You want to know how to identify a leader? Just took for the person who’s making the decisions.”The notorious billionaire oil man and corporate raider, T. Boone Pickens passed along this advice at the end of his life,“Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader: Avoid the ‘Ready-aim-aim-aim-aim’ syndrome. You have to be willing to fire. Learn from mistakes. That’s not just a cliché. I sure made my share. Remember the doors that smashed your fingers the first time and be more careful the next trip through. Be humble. I always believed the higher a monkey climbs in the tree, the more people below can see his ass. You don’t have to be that monkey.”In his book, “Where Have all the Leaders Gone?” Lee Iacocca, that innovative leader who breathed new life into one of America’s most important corporations said,“The most innovative research is often killed during the peer review process. Why? Well, let me put it to you simply: Imagine if every time Chrysler wanted to bring a new car to market, it had to depend on positive reviews from GM and Ford. Are you starting to get the picture?”During his rant at a Wizard of Ads partner meeting a few years ago, the dazzling Mick Torbay said,“You need to understand something: the committee is not evil. The committee doesn’t want you to fail. The committee has nothing but good intentions. But the committee can’t innovate. More than anything, the committee wants to look good to the rest of the committee… So don’t be surprised that when you present a really, really great idea to a committee, the only thing you’re gonna get is a reason why that idea won’t work; one reason for every member of the committee. The committee will always pull you to the center. The committee will help you avoid risk, but risk and reward are two sides of the same coin. If you avoid risk, then huge success is out of the question. Are you okay with that?”As we approach the beginning of a brand-new year, let’s go back to what I said in the beginning:Authority can be given to a person. Leadership cannot.People with authority often have no followers.People with followers often have no authority.Leaders require no authority. They say, ‘This is what I’ve decided to do.’And then they do it. Others see them doing it and decide to follow.What have you decided to do?You doing that, in 2023, is what I want to see.You’ve talked about it long enough.You’ve thought about it long enough.It’s time to get started.Roy H. WilliamsONE LAST THOUGHT FROM MICK TORBAY: “Your comfort zone is actually a prison cell. It’s the reason you’re not growing the way you should. The good news? Every business owner, including your competitor, has a comfort zone and most never dare to leave it. But you will. You dare. And that’s how we’ll win.”Ted Clark started out as a shipping clerk, then climbed the heights of the wealth ladder. He now advises people on how to leverage their way into society’s upper crust. The secret? OPM. (Other People’s Money) How to get it. How to use it. MondayMorningRadio.com

We shall operate on the heart, but we shall not use a scalpel and it will not pump blood better when we are done. We have no interest in that muscle in the center of the chest.We will use magic words to operate on the center of emotions. We will change how people act, think, and feel. No one will die, but they will all be changed.Are you in?We will operate en masse on hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously.Screenwriters have been pumping out scripts for TV shows and movies that have captured and owned us for as long as we have been able to sit upright.As children we fell in love with cartoon characters.As teenagers we fell in love with heroes in action movies.As adults we fell in love with imagination, fascination, and surprise.We are going to use the secrets of screenwriters to create better, more effective ads in every form of media.Screenwriter Secret 1: Create colorful characters.The most memorable characters are always torn between two attractions.Screenwriter Secret 2: Deliver big ideas quickly.Short sentences hit hard.Screenwriter Secret 3: Win the heart.When your attention is directed by your mind, you are studying.When your attention is directed by your heart, you are being entertained.Screenwriter Secret 4: See the pattern.A great story has a pulsating rhythm of tension and release, followed by convergence.Screenwriter Secret 5: Know where you are going.A strong ending is the beginning of every great movie, every great story, every great ad.There are four kinds of thought:Analytical thought seeks to forecast a result.Verbal thought is hearing words in your mind.Abstract thought is rooted in unreality.Symbolic thought sees connections and perceives patterns.Music is a language of symbolic thought, as are 3-dimensional fractal images and similes and metaphors.Metaphors are magical.“A word of encouragement is an umbrella on a rainy day.”Metaphors are memorable.“Laughter is medicine.”Metaphors are money:“Lemon Wine is liquid sunshine.”Create that product.Use that metaphor.Become wealthy.These are just a few of the things taught for The Ad Writers Guild in a 2-year online course at Wizard Academy.You will be stunned.You will be staggered.You will be temporarily overwhelmed.You will be changed.You will pass, or fail.You will prevail.Roy H. Williams“The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor; it is the one thing that cannot be learnt from others; and it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the similarity in the dissimilar.” ― AristotleJoseph Fung has founded five technology companies, backed 20 more, and now is the CEO of an international educational organization that provides lifelong career training. Roving reporter Rotbart describes Joseph as, “a walking encyclopedia of business wisdom.” Listen as Rotbart and Fung discuss how to generate company culture, prepare employees for long-term success, invest in early-stage companies, and harness the rewards of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Where you gonna go? MondayMorningRadio! (dotcom)

The pain of loss is psychologically twice as powerful as the pleasure of gain. When Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky published Prospect Theory in 1979, a generation of advertisers mistakenly began to speak to Pain, and to the fear of Loss.If you frame a choice as “Loss versus Gain,” most people will choose loss avoidance because “losses loom larger than gains.”But what if you want your audience to embrace the risk of loss? To what motivation, then, do you speak?Equally unwise is to frame a choice as “Pain versus Pleasure.” Pain and Pleasure are not as distinct as they may at first seem. You do not recall the event itself, but only your most recent memory of it.The experience of pain or pleasure during an event is replaced by the memory of that pain or pleasure; how it is perceived afterwards upon recall. Your memory is built upon what you were feeling at the peak point, and how the experience ended. These are the four peaks that matter:1. Elevation: a transcendent moment of happiness.2. Pride: a moment that captures you at your best.3. Insight: a eureka moment that gives you startling clarity4. Connection: a moment of knowing you belong.Don’t speak to the fear of loss – or to the avoidance of pain – unless you are counting on an immediate response from people who are easily alarmed.If you desire your audience to embrace the possibility of pain and loss, you must reframe the choice as “Fear versus Hope.”We have lionized feats of bravery and ridiculed acts of cowardice for millennia.“Are you a frightened, fearful little waste of skin, or will your actions be remembered for generations? Is there anything you care about more than yourself?”Loss vs. Gain, or Pain vs. Pleasure, can easily be reframed as Fear vs. Hope. To cause a person to prefer more pain instead of less pain, all you have to do is add a better ending.“With a beginning that invites each man to assume he’ll be the one who ‘outlives this day, and comes safe home,’ the speech skims over present difficulties to paint an evocative picture of future fellowship and hearty celebration. Instead of focusing on the suffering they’re about to face, the men project themselves years ahead, to the happy time when they will be old and honored, with even the meanest of their number elevated to gentry status as the king’s brothers-in-arms. With this vivid picture of their glorious future, the king moves the troops to conquer their fears and follow him to victory.”– Virginia Postrel, The Power of GlamourVirginia Postrell was referring to a famous speech Shakespeare wrote for a play in 1599. When they were impossibly outnumbered at Agincourt in 1415 and every man thought he was about to die; this is that famous speech given by King Henry V.HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTERWhere is the King? JOHN, DUKE OF BEDFORDThe King himself is rode to view their battle. EARL OF WESTMORLANDOf fighting men they have full threescore thousand. DUKE OF EXETERThere’s five to one; besides, they all are fresh.(The King, unseen, approaches from behind and hears… )EARL OF WESTMORLANDO that we now had hereBut one ten-thousand of those men in EnglandThat do no work today! KING HENRY VWhat’s he that wishes so?My cousin Westmorland? No, my fair cousin.If we are mark’d to die, we are enoughTo do our country loss; and if to live,The fewer men, the greater share of honor.God’s will, I pray thee wish not one man more.Rather proclaim it, Westmorland, through my hostThat he which hath no stomach to this fight,Let him depart, his passport shall be made,And crowns for convoy put into his purse.We would not die in that man’s companyThat fears his fellowship to die with us.This day is call’d the feast of Crispian:He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,Will stand a’ tiptoe when this day is named,And rouse him at the name of Crispian.He that shall see this day, and live old age,Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors,And say, “Tomorrow is Saint Crispian.”Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,And say, “These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.”Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,But he’ll remember with advantagesWhat feats he did that day. Then shall our names,Familiar in his mouth as household words,“Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,”Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.This story shall the good man teach his son;And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,From this day to the ending of the world,But we in it shall be remembered—We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;For he today that sheds his blood with meShall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,This day shall gentle his condition;And gentlemen in England, now a-bed,Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here;And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaksThat fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.– William Shakespeare,Henry V, Act IV, Scene IIIHenry V lost fewer than 400 men but killed more than 6,000 Frenchmen at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He also captured more soldiers than he had in his entire army.Are you beginning to understand the transformative power of Hope?Speak to hope – not fear – in the hearts of your audience.And speak to hope in your own heart as well.Roy H. WilliamsProspect Theory and Peak-End Theory were established Daniel Kahneman and his research partner, Amos Tversky. Regarding Peak-End Theory, Kahneman says, “Memory was not designed to measure ongoing, or total suffering. For survival, you really don’t need to put a lot of weight on duration of experiences. It is how bad they are and whether they end well, that is really the information you need as an organism.” Kahneman went on to win the Nobel Prize in 2002. He would doubtless have shared that prize with Amos Tversky but Tversky had passed away and the Nobel is not awarded posthumously. Kahneman and Tversky were the Lennon and McCartney “odd-couple” of psychology. Like John Lennon, Kahneman was dark and brooding, and like Paul McCartney, Tversky was all light and brightness and found much of life funny. It was this pairing of opposites that made them unstoppable.Monday Morning Radio! In a private note to the wizard, R.R. Rotbart wrote, “This is one of the most entertaining (and informative) episodes ever. It’s insane.” In the 1980s, electronics retailer “Crazy Eddie” was known for his screaming and thrashing television commercials. Thousands of fans flooded his store openings hoping to get a glimpse of the unhinged pitchman. Eddie Antar — the real Crazy Eddie, not the TV actor who portrayed him in the commercials — was a thieving, lying, cheat who defrauded everyone who ever trusted him, and was ultimately sentenced to eight years in prison. Investigative reporter Gary Weiss has written a page-turning biography and exposé of Eddie Antar, exploring both the genius and the insanity of “Crazy Eddie,” a business crook unlike any other in American history. Where do you go to hear the show? MondayMorningRadio! dotcom

A person unconsciously frames a statement when they choose a perspective, a point of view, or an angle of approach.Verbal counterpunching is nothing more than the reframing of a statement made by someone else.Citizens of Britain said for centuries,“The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire,” to which a citizen of India replied, “The sun never set on the British empire because even God couldn’t trust the Englishman in the dark.”Frame. Reframe.Samuel Johnson – an Englishman – wrote this definition for “oats” in his dictionary published in 1755.“Oats: A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.”“Which is why England is known for its horses and Scotland for its men.”– James Boswell, a Scotsman, the biographer of Samuel Johnson.Frame. Reframe.Wages were framed as the property of the boss as long as the media referred to worker exploitation as “non-payment of wages.” But when the media began referring to it as “wage theft,” wages were reframed as belonging to the workers. Within a few months, “wage theft” began showing up in bills to be considered by Congress.“There is a basic truth about framing. If you accept the other guy’s frame, you lose.”– George LakoffNiels Bohr believed that every true statement can be reframed to communicate an opposite truth. “The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.”– Niels Bohr, winner of the Nobel Prize in PhysicsKeep in mind that verbal counterpunching does nothing to change objective reality. But most disagreements revolve around perceptual reality; the reality that is unique to the individual; the reality of what he or she perceives. Objective reality cannot be changed, but perception definitely can.Ronald Reagan was 73 years old when he ran for reelection in 1984. When his age was brought up in a debate, he said, “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” The audience exploded in laughter and Reagan won the electoral votes of 49 states that year.Frame. Reframe.When Senator Dan Quayle was running for vice-president in 1988, he said his experience was equal to that of John Kennedy when he ran for president in 1960. Vice-presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen responded, “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”Frame. Reframe.Big tobacco framed cigarette smoking as something that “real men” do. Tobacco ads feature strong, rugged men as smokers.Opponents reframed the issue by representing cigarette smokers as having black lungs, yellowing fingernails, and bad breath. Smoking is a matter of personal choice.People smoke because they are addicted.Smoking bans discriminate against smokers.Non-smokers have the right to breathe clean air.Tobacco companies do good through sponsorship of cultural, athletic and community events.Tobacco companies are attempting to gain innocence by association.Tobacco is just one of many presumed health hazards.Tobacco is the only legal product that – when used as intended – kills.According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults has reached an all-time low of 13.7% — a decline of approximately two-thirds.”“Reframing is not easy or simple. It is not a matter of finding some magic words. Frames are ideas, not slogans… It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an ongoing process. It requires repetition and focus and dedication.” – George LakoffWhat perceptual “truths” do you feel need to be reframed?What are you waiting for?Roy H. WilliamsMichael Beckley has briefed high-level policymakers, military leaders, and members of the U.S. intelligence services regarding his belief that China is a nation in decline, and that America will likely be in direct conflict with the People’s Republic much sooner than anyone expects. In this week’s edition of MondayMorningRadio, Michael explains the reasons for his belief, and explains to roving reporter Rotbart why business owners and entrepreneurs – not just government and military officials – would be wise to take steps to be prepared for the coming clash. MondayMorningRadio.com

There are four basic steps in every good story.Bad storytellers can do steps one and two, but recoil at step three.Good storytellers are willing to do step three.Brilliant Storytellers do steps three and four again and again.1. Create a character that people like, believe in, and can relate to.2. Launch that character on a hero's journey.3. Do terrible things to that character.4. Surprise your reader/listener/viewer by what happens next.And then what happens? Make it surprising.And then what happens? Make it surprising.And then what happens? Make it surprising.But it must also make sense.Predictability is the silent assassin of stories.Without trouble, there is no adventure.In 'That Hovering Question Mark,' I told you, "Every good story begins with a statement that triggers more questions than it answers." Ocean's 11 contains an excellent example of this."Off the top of my head, I'd say you're looking at a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros, and a Leon Spinks. Not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever."– Rusty (Brad Pitt) to Danny (George Clooney), explaining how they will run the con in Ocean's 11And that is how they did it! Ocean's 11 contains surprise after surprise, even though the writer told us the plot when he gave us that Rusty-to-Danny statement just 12 and 1/2 minutes into a 2-hour movie. It was a statement that triggered more questions than it answered.A BOESKY: Ivan Boesky was a trader on Wall Street who got caught committing securities fraud. In Ocean's 11, Saul pretends to be a wealthy bankroller who has insider information.A JIM BROWN: Named for the famous American football player, this refers to Frank Catton, a large, intimidating black man who stages a confrontation with Linus Caldwell so that Linus can lift the security codes to the vault.A MISS DAISY: 'Driving Miss Daisy' was a movie about a woman who uses a chauffeur to drive her around. Using a SWAT truck and a disguised driver, the Ocean's 11 gang escapes with their own special chauffeur.TWO JETHROS: Remember Jethro of 'The Beverly Hillbillies'? In Ocean's 11, Turk and Virgil provide two-man 'goober' distractions, such as using helium balloons to obscure the security camera on the casino floor so that Livingston can get into the video surveillance room.A LEON SPINKS: When Leon Spinks beat Muhammad Ali in a Las Vegas prize fight, it was something that no one expected. In Ocean's 11, no one expects the power to go out in the middle of a prize fight in Las Vegas. A fabulous distraction.ELLA FITZGERALD: In a famous 1973 TV ad, the voice of Ella Fitzgerald shatters a wine glass, then the voiceover says, "Is it live or is it Memorex?" (audiotape). In Ocean's 11, the guys make a videotape of a pretend robbery and play it over the casino's surveillance system while the real robbery is happening.Most stories should be told as fiction, even when they are true. When confronted with facts we are always on our guard. But "Once Upon a Time" dispels doubt, opens the imagination, and creates a willing suspension of disbelief.In 1999 I was on the phone with an 87 year-old man I had been hunting for several weeks. His name was William Lederer. I needed his permission to publish a famous letter he had written to America’s Chief of Naval Operations back in 1963. He gave me permission, then asked, “Where you calling from young man?”“Austin, Texas.”“I was there recently. Nice town.”“What brought you to Austin?”“I was there to bury my best friend Jim.”“I’m sorry to hear that.”“You would have liked Jim. Son, have you got a minute to hear a story about Jim I've never told anyone? I want to tell someone.”"I'd be honored to hear it.""I was a journalist and none of my books had sold very well, so I showed Jim the manuscript for my newest book. He told me to go back and fictionalize the name of the country, the characters, everything. Jim said to me, ‘The public is more willing to believe fiction than non-fiction.’”“How did that turn out for you?”“‘The Ugly American stayed on the New York Times list for 78 weeks. And with a copy of that book in his back pocket, a young senator named John F. Kennedy arrived at the University of Michigan on October 14, 1960, at 2:00AM. The press had retired for the night, believing that nothing interesting would happen. But 10,000 students were waiting on the lawn to hear Kennedy speak, and it was there on the steps of the Michigan Union at 2AM that the Peace Corps was born, all because Kennedy had been reading my book. And then Kennedy bought a copy for every member of Congress! Historians speculate The Ugly American did more to change American Foreign Policy than any document since the Declaration of Independence. All these things happened because Jim told me to pretend my book was fiction. Marlon Brando starred in the movie! But of course none of that compares to what Jim accomplished.”“What do you mean?”“Jim wrote 40 books that sold more than 100 million copies and won the Pulitzer Prize. You know Jim! Everyone knows Jim.”“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t think of what Jim you might mean.”My 87-year-old friend thought for a moment, then he said, “That's because you probably knew him as James… James Michener.”Here's one last little insight: Remember how a good story should begin with a statement that triggers more questions than it answers? An excellent visual image is a kind of "statement" that can trigger more questions than it answers. Use these images when you can.We're almost done.Now you need a Cinderella, a Tom Robbins, a Scuba Diver, Two Roads that Diverge in a Yellow Wood, a Big Pile of Bridges, and the windshield wipers of a Volkswagen Jetta.Indy will explain all of this to you in the rabbit hole.Aroo,Roy H. WilliamsThere are 40 days remaining in 2022. What can you accomplish in those 40 days? How will you advance toward your goals and shorten your to-do list? Dr. Sarah Reiff-Hekking is an expert on getting past your procrastination and no longer feeling overwhelmed. This week, she shares with roving reporter Rotbart a tried-and-true system for getting things done when there are too many things to do. Everything is golden, golden, golden at MondayMorningRadio.com!

If life is a journey on water, with our conscious mind above the waterline and our deep unconscious beneath, and if all the people in the world are drifting, surfing, drowning and sailing on that surface, shouldn’t there be a person on a wooden chair in the sky above the beach watching over it all?Shouldn’t there be a person?And a beach?The people along the sandAll turn and look one way.They turn their back on the land.They look at the sea all day.As long as it takes to passA ship keeps raising its hull;The wetter ground like glassReflects a standing gullThe land may vary more;But wherever the truth may be—The water comes ashore,And the people look at the sea.They cannot look out far.They cannot look in deep.But when was that ever a barTo any watch they keep?– Robert Frost“Calm yourself, Little One. There is always a person. There is always a beach.”I had an idea for the story, which by the way has been in my head for about 20 years now, and all it was to begin with was an image of a boy in a wheelchair flying a kite on a beach. And that picture was just as clear in my mind as it could be. And it wanted to be a story, but it wasn’t a story, it was just a picture. As clear as clear as clear…– Stephen King, May 29, 2013The last time the Stones were out on the road, between 2005 and 2007, they took in more than half a billion dollars – the highest-grossing tour of all time. On Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, they played to more than a million people. Few spectacles in modern life are more sublimely ridiculous than the geriatric members of the Stones playing the opening strains of ‘Street Fighting Man.’– David Remnick, The New Yorker, Nov. 1, 2010Something of the sense of holiness on islands comes, I think, from this strange, elastic geography. Islands are made larger, paradoxically, by the scale of the sea that surrounds them. The element which might reduce them, which might be thought to besiege them, has the opposite effect. The sea elevates these few acres into something they would never be if hidden in the mass of the mainland. The sea makes islands significant…– Adam Nicolson, Sea RoomOn the edge of the water were a pair of waystones, their surfaces silver against the black of the sky; the black of the water. One stood upright, a finger pointing into the sky. The other lay flat, extending into the water like a short stone pier.No breath of wind disturbed the surface of the water. So as we climbed out onto the fallen stone the stars reflected themselves in double fashion; as above, so below. It was as if we were sitting amid a sea of stars.– Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind, p. 216This is the land of Narnia, said the Faun, where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea. And you—you have come from the wild woods of the west?I—I got in through the wardrobe in the spare room, said Lucy.– C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobePennie and I have had the flu for more days than is supposed to be possible, and I have still not recovered my voice. There were days when I was not sure I dwelt in the land of the living.“The rain to the wind said,You push and I’ll pelt.’They so smote the garden bedThat the flowers actually knelt,And lay lodged–though not dead.I know how the flowers felt.”― Robert FrostAroo,Roy H. WilliamsNOTE FROM INDY – Taking care of Pennie and Roy prohibited me from putting together a rabbit hole for you. Sorry. – IndyRobert Kerbeck has had a long career as a highly paid corporate spy stealing private intelligence so detailed it would make the CIA proud. Business-on-business spying is a huge industry — full of deceit and lies — and this week Robert shares secrets of the dark art with roving reporter Rotbart. It’s always Monday morning at MondayMorningRadio.com

Dr. Nick Grant, a psychologist, Dr. Mike Metzger of Clapham Institute, and Ray Bard my publisher, each taught me about water.Life is a journey on water. Your conscious mind is above the waterline. Your unconscious is beneath.That weightless, magical world below the waterline is fundamentally different from the world of facts, figures and logic that hovers above it.The arts are an invigorating plunge into the unconscious, that part of your mind that understands the languages of color, shape, proximity, radiance, shadow, silhouette, pitch, key, tempo, interval, contour, rhythm, and frame-line magnetism.Our relationship to the unconscious is like our relationship to water. We need it by the cupful to survive, but if you stay underwater too long, you will drown; a psychotic break.Life is a journey on water. To better understand this Jungian journey, watch Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in the 1990 film, “Joe Versus the Volcano.”Nick Grant made me aware of the symbolic nature of water.Mike Metzger taught me how to look at water in a second way:You meet four people on the Ocean of Life, but you meet them again and again. The first person you meet is drifting, pushed each day by the winds and waves of circumstances. The drifter always goes with the flow. You know you’ve met a drifter when they say, “Whatever. It’s all good.”The second person you meet is surfing. They seem to be having a good time, but they never really get anywhere. They mostly paddle around in the ocean, looking for another wave to ride. The surfer is always looking for “the next big thing.”The third person you meet is drowning. Lots of people “go under” once or twice in life and need a helping hand. They may need rescue financially, or chemically, or relationally, but this is normal.There are also professional drowners: “It’s been the worst week of my life, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” So you come to the rescue… but the next time you see them, “It’s been the worst week of my life, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”The fourth person you meet is sailing. Confronted by the same winds and waves that controlled the drifter, surfer, and drowner, the sailor navigates. “If I turn the rudder and adjust the sails, this wind will take me wherever I want to go.”You cannot navigate by watching the wind and waves. You must have a fixed point, a non-negotiable guiding light that does not move. The North Star – Polaris – is perfectly aligned above the axis of the earth. It is that guiding light around which the whole world revolves. What is your non-negotiable, your star that does not move? When you have found it, you will always know where – and who – you are.Ray Bard taught me a third way to look at water. When you’re writing a book or considering a business venture, it is essential that you discover two things:1. How widespread is the public interest?2. How deep is that interest?If public interest is neither widespread nor deep, you’re looking at a puddle. Never invest time or money in a puddle.If interest is widespread but not deep, you’re looking at a bayou. Be careful. A bayou looks like an ocean at first because the interest is wide, wide, wide. But that interest is not deep enough to drive action. You can go broke when you see a bayou and think it is an ocean.If interest is narrow but deep, you’re looking into a well. You can draw a lot of water from a well. “The Care and Feeding of Quarter Horses” held no interest for most readers, but those who owned a quarter horse had deep interest. The book was successful.If public interest is wide and deep, you’re looking at an ocean. But you’re going to need a boat – a platform – on which to navigate your ocean. If you don’t have a platform, you’ll drown. And you’re going to need a plan, or you’ll drift.LIFE: You need a guiding light to let you know where – and who – you are.BUSINESS: Ignore puddles and bayous. Drill a well or find an ocean.BALANCE: Your conscious mind is always with you. It is a boat that floats on the water of your unconscious mind. You plunge happily into the unconscious when you are exposed to the arts, and you emerge feeling refreshed and renewed. We read about this feeling in the 42nd Psalm:“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterspouts; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.”Phil Johnson taught me about balance. It was his favorite word. When Pennie and I were young and beginning our hero’s journey, Phil was our old man in the woods. He was our pastor, and old enough to be our grandfather. These were the last words Phil spoke to me a few days before he died:“You acquire an education by study, hard work and persistence. But you absorb culture by viewing great art, listening to great music and reading great books.”When Phil spoke about absorbing culture, he was talking about the arts. The arts include fiction and fantasy in all its forms: novels and movies and TV shows and poetry and dance. The arts include pottery and sculpting and landscaping and gardening The arts include theater and music, painting and photography, facial expressions and tones of voice. Essentially, the arts are anything that speak to the heart rather than the mind.The world below the waterline – the world of the arts – is a healthy, refreshing place of escape, a vacation available to you every day. But you must come up and breathe the air of reality or you will soon discover there are monsters in the deep.“The great problem in the United States is not repression or neurosis, which it was in Europe when Freud wrote about everything. No, our great problems are narcissism and addiction. Tommy Jefferson set us up. ‘Life, Liberty, and the… Pursuit of Happiness!’ If you pursue happiness directly, it evades you, but you feel entitled to it… It’s wonderful, but it has a dark side: addiction. We have done a dance with addiction in this country from the very beginning.”– Dr. Nick Grant, July 1, 2007, Wizard AcademyActivities are stimulating.Addictions occur when we try to replace the arts with activities.Activities make us feel good on the outside.The Arts make us feel good on the inside.“Now and then it’s good to pause in ourpursuit of happiness and just be happy.”– Gillaume ApollinaireToday is a good dayto pause in your pursuits,and just be happy.Roy H. WillamsJim Edwards has managed hundreds of employees and would grade himself a “B” as a manager. So why do business owners worldwide turn to Jim for recommendations on how they can improve as a leader? Jim says, “You don’t have to be a superstar to outperform your competitors.” That’s just one of the common sense, funny, blunt organizational insights he shares with roving reporter Rotbart on this week’s episode at MondayMorningRadio.com

People in museums stop to look at paintings that have people in them, but walk past paintings that have no people.Ninety percent of the books sold each year are fiction.Ninety percent of the books written each year are non-fiction.The same is true in movies and television: fiction beats non-fiction 10 to 1.Non-fiction is facts and figures, problems and processes, tips and techniques.Fiction is interesting people living fascinating lives.Non-fiction is reality and reality is a wildebeest held captive in a zoo.Fiction is escaping the zoo and adventuring in the wild.Good writing shines a mental movie onto the movie screen of the mind.Do the movies you write feature people in a zoo, or people in the wild? Are the people in your ads empty and hollow like zoo animals, or are they vivid and real like people you know?Henry David Thoreau told us, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them.”If you want to touch the quiet desperation in the heart of your customer, write ads that describe their pain and frustration, then offer to deliver them from it.If you want to touch the song that is in them, write ads that speak of freedom, fulfillment and joy. Show them the fascinating life they could be living.A well-written ad shines a mental movie onto the visuospatial sketchpad of working memory, the movie screen of the mind, located in the dorsolateral prefrontal association area.1On paper, on a computer screen, on a billboard, or coming through the speakers of a computer, a television or radio, words, words, words, words, words, words, words create those mental movies.Online reviews are powerful.Online reviews are not facts and logic.Online reviews are people’s impressions and reactions. Impressions and reactions are far more interesting than facts and logic.When a person describes their impressions and reactions, they are shining a mental movie into your mind.Q: Are you telling me that I should use customer testimonials in my ads?A: No, because you will not be able to resist editing your customer’s testimonial and the moment you touch it, that testimonial will become a predictable ad delivered by a ventriloquist’s dummy.Q: Why do ad writers assume the public is hungry for facts and logic?A: Most ad writers follow the rules of journalism when they should be following the rules of screenwriting.Journalists deliver facts. Screenwriters deliver fascination.Shine on, screenwriter, shine on.Roy H. WilliamsTodd Mitchell is a creativity sherpa that rescues writers, artists, musicians, actors, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are struggling with self-doubt and circling the drain in failure. You’re not down the drain yet! Raise your arm out of the water and let Todd Mitchell pull you back up into the air and sunlight where you belong. MondayMorningRadio.com

I have seen friends walk away from relationships, jobs, and promising careers when all they really needed was some time and space to gather their thoughts, slow their heart rate, and rediscover their joy.I’m not saying you should always, “hang on one more day at a time and wait for things to get better.” I am saying you need to recognize the changing seasons in your life.Bobbie Gentry knew when it was time to stop, turn the page, and begin a new chapter.Bobbie knocked the Beatles off the #1 spot on the music charts with “Ode to Billy Joe,” a song that she wrote, performed, and produced. She won Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards. Eleven more of her songs made the music charts. She was a major headline act in Las Vegas and she co-hosted a successful TV series with country music superstar Glen Campbell.America watched as Bobbie Gentry provided the music for a major motion picture about her imaginary Billie Joe McAllister, then performed “Mama, a Rainbow” for her mother who was seated in the studio during the filming of a television special.The next day, Bobby quietly retired from the spotlight without fanfare, returning no phone calls, answering no letters, and granting no interviews. She had been in the spotlight for 14 years when she whispered, “Enough,” and walked away 41 years ago.What triggered it? Nothing. She simply realized that a season in her life had ended.Solomon spoke famously about the seasons of life in the third chapter of Ecclesiastes:There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens:a time to be born and a time to die,a time to plant and a time to uproot,a time to kill and a time to heal,a time to tear down and a time to build,a time to weep and a time to laugh,a time to mourn and a time to dance,a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,a time to search and a time to give up,a time to keep and a time to throw away,a time to tear and a time to mend,a time to be silent and a time to speak,a time to love and a time to hate,a time for war and a time for peace.… He has made everything beautiful in its time.… I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.One can think of the seasons of life in a few different ways.Financially, we go from survival to acquisition to distribution.Relationally, we go from seeking, to finding, to celebrating.In business, we go from learner, to doer, to teacher. This is essentially the Hero’s Journey, a sequence of events that is nearly impossible to escape:1. We meet the Hero in modest circumstances.2. He encounters the Call to Adventure.3. He meets the Old Man in the Woods who prepares him for what lies ahead.4. He then rises to the challenge of adventure and discovers abilities within himself he didn’t know were there.In the Bible we see Moses, Joseph, Samson, David and many others, including women such as Hannah, Esther, Abigail, Ruth, and Deborah as they encounter the Hero’s Journey.In literature and in the movies, we see Bilbo in The Hobbit, Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid, Simba in The Lion King, Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Neo in The Matrix, and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.Luke was just a goober on the backwater planet of Tatooine when he was called to adventure. Obi-Wan Kenobi was the Old Man in the Woods who prepared him for his journey.Luke was again a goober with a wrecked spaceship in a swamp on Dagobah when he encountered Yoda, his second Old Man in the Woods who would prepare him for his second adventure.Which Luke Skywalker are you?Are you first-movie Luke in the middle of your first adventure?Are you in-between movies Luke waiting for your second adventure to begin?Are you second-movie Luke? And if so, have you learned anything from Yoda, that ridiculous little person you originally thought was a nuisance?Or is there a chance you have entered the celebration and distribution phase of your life? Are you now the Old Man (or Woman) in the Woods, ready to empower Bilbo, Frodo, Daniel, Simba, Katniss, Dorothy, Neo, and Luke to succeed in their own adventures?I would argue that the most fulfilling adventures of all are those of the Old Men and Women in the Woods, Gandalf, Mr. Miyagi, Mufasa and Rafiki, Haymitch, Glinda the Good Witch of the North, Morpheus, Obi-Wan and Yoda.If you’re ready to encourage and advise the next generation of Heroes, please remember that the Hero never goes looking for the person who will empower them. The Old Man (or Woman) in the Woods simply appears alongside the Hero in the Hero’s moment of need.Don’t wait to be asked.“When a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.” – E.W. HoweGosh, that was a long memo.You’re still reading?Great. You’re going to love what Indy Beagle has for you in the rabbit hole.Roy H. WilliamsRob Lohman was sitting in jail facing a 13-year prison sentence. Alcohol and drug addiction, gambling, bankruptcies, and a suicide attempt were just scenery along the road that bought him here. Rob was released from prison after less than a year. He has turned his life around and used savvy marketing to build a business guiding thousands of people to a fresh start after hitting rock-rock bottom. Your eyes will bug out as Rob tells roving reporter Rotbart that the same character traits that result in personal failure can be harnessed to rebound and achieve unprecedented success. The time is now. MondayMorningRadio.com