The Language Perfectionist: Cringe Binge — New Funny Bloopers
I’ve long been fascinated by unintentionally amusing mistakes in the media. For years, I’ve sought and saved such howlers, appending snappy comebacks. I’m now assembling my collection into a book. Below are a few recently culled specimens.
Success Through Goal Setting
Becoming an expert at goal setting and goal achieving is something that you absolutely must do if you wish to fulfill your potential as a human being. Goals enable you to do the work you want to do, to live where you want to live, to be with the people you enjoy, and to become the kind of person you want to be.
Yet, according to the best research, less than 3 percent of Americans have written goals, and less than 1 percent review and rewrite their goals on a regular basis.
READ MOREHow Bad Marketing Killed a Good Man
When I got into the mail-order business years ago, it wasn’t something you boasted about. You would be a bit inscrutable when people asked you what your job was. You would mutter something that included the word advertising — so much sexier!
I recalled this coyness when an old colleague asked me to talk to some to Syracuse University students here in London who are enrolled in a course called Ethical Advertising.
Most marketers are too busy trying to make a living to worry about whether or not they’re being ethical. But then I came across this quote from Abraham Lincoln that summed up the way I feel about my chosen career: When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad.
READ MOREGetting Wealthy From Inflation
Today, I’m going to tell you how to make a lot of money.
If you are (a) not happy with the 0.5% return you are getting from your bank account, (b) worried about inflation, or (c) uncertain about the future value of your stocks and bonds, pay attention.
In fact, you might want to keep this issue of the Journal around so you can thank me later.
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: Can You Be Too Correct?
English has rules that should be respected. One purpose of this column is to encourage proper use of the language. But a problem sometimes arises: People try to apply a rule with excessive conscientiousness and wind up, ironically, committing another kind of error. This phenomenon is called hypercorrection.
READ MOREWhy Is This Man Smiling?
Do you recognize this man? It’s Jamie Diamond, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and he’s got plenty of reasons to be smiling. His bank still exists because of the taxpayer bailout. So, thanks to you and me, his paycheck last year wasn’t bad. $16 million.
READ MOREThe Confident Contrarian
Is real estate an “insider’s game” these days? Did so many folks lose their shirts trying to get rich during the Bubble Years that they’ve been scared out of the market forever?
In his interview with well-known “daredevil real estate artist” Frank McKinney, Jason Holland, managing editor of Early to Rise, gets to the heart of the matter.
READ MOREHow Specificity Can Help Your Presentation Sparkle!
As a copywriter, one of the nuggets of wisdom I’ve gotten from Michael Masterson is to be as specific as possible in regards to my targeted prospects’ wants, needs, and desires. The same holds true when giving a speech (or seminar). One of the ways to make yourself a more…
READ MORE10 Ways You May Waste Money When Starting a Business
Here’s just a short list of the misguided (and even ridiculous) business start-up advice I’ve read recently:
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Create an instant-impact message that describes the chief benefit of your business. Put it on business cards and brochures.
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Hand out hundreds of those business cards and brochures at business functions and meetings.
READ MORE
How to Live as Well as a Billionaire
When you think about the rich — the really rich — you may find yourself marveling at their… well, their money. Take Bill Gates. If you think $10 million is a fortune, consider this: He has 5,000 of them. If he put his money in $1,000 bills, he’d have 50…
READ MORERiding the Trend Wave
Early to Riser Mark Fitzpatrick sent me an e-mail with some questions about Central American real estate. He has owned some ocean-view property in Nicaragua’s Brito foothills for about six years. (It sounds like it’s near the development I have an interest in, Rancho Santana.)
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: A Chrestomathy of Misuses
Whenever I encounter an interesting linguistic error, I toss it into a folder. When the collection becomes large enough — which doesn’t take long — I have the raw material for a column like this one.
Review the following mistakes, and you’ll avoid committing them.
- “We’re in the halcyon days of smartphone growth, and it won’t last forever.” READ MORE