The Language Perfectionist: Punctuation Peccadilloes
I titled a recent column “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope.” An eagle-eyed reader pointed out that the sentence contains an error called a “comma splice.” Because the two phrases could be complete sentences, they should be separated by a semicolon, not a comma. But as I noted, I…
READ MOREDon’t Gamble
“Don’t gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don’t go up, don’t buy it.” Will Rogers’s observation on the stock market is as true today as it was over 70 years ago. It speaks to…
READ MOREWant Lots More Sales? Avoid These Seven Deadly Sins
A few years ago, after making a speech about copywriting that I thought was excellent in every way, my childish delight at my own brilliance was destroyed by a cynical listener. He said, “Well, you seem to know just about everything about what to do in order to write good…
READ MOREHow to Make the Trend Your Friend
I’ve been in the investment advisory business for more than 30 years. During that time, I have fallen in love with all of the most voluptuous investment systems — fundamental investing, contrarian investing, technical investing, etc. Without exception, those relationships began euphorically. I was happy to have discovered some new…
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Are You an Existentialist?
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that came about in the late 19th century. It is not some abstract set of theoretical truths.
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: Confusables, Redux
When I studied French in high school, we were taught the phrase faux amis, or “false friends.” The expression refers to foreign-language words whose meanings you think you know but which can lead you astray if you’re not careful. A similar phenomenon occurs in English, as demonstrated by the many…
READ MOREHow to Lose Everything and Never Miss a Beat
“We have a fire!” Slowly waking from my Nyquil induced sleep, I struggled to understand what my wife was saying. “We’ve got what?” “We have a fire!” she said again, bringing me fully awake. I stumbled out of the bedroom and toward some unusual noises in the garage. When I…
READ MOREEvolution, Not Revolution
The average person believes that great wealth is created by revolutionary breaks with tradition. The Instinctive Wealth Builder (IWB) believes in Darwin. It’s not surprising that so many people believe in revolution. Many best-selling books have supported it. Read the popular biographies of Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, or Bill Gates…
READ MOREWhat I Learned at the Franklin Mint
How many geniuses have you met? I met Charlie Chaplin (very briefly) in 1966 while working on publicity for the film Fahrenheit 451. Then I was lucky enough to work with David Ogilvy for eight years. Ogilvy still exerts enormous influence in the marketing business, and if you haven’t read…
READ MORESeduction
Most marketers approach their prospects like an army would attack a walled city: with a full frontal assault. We come at them with flags flying, trumpets blaring, and missiles flying. Our siege machines hurl fiery projectiles, our archers darken the sky with arrows, and we send row after row of…
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: “The Mischief of Language”
For the title of this year’s annual April Fools’ Day column, I’ve borrowed a phrase from Leo Rosten (1908-1997), the humorist and screenwriter. As devotees of “recreational linguistics” know, English isn’t just rules and grammar. It has a fun side, too. Wordplay can assume an astonishing variety of forms. Here’s…
READ MOREKilimanjaro
I never wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. In fact, I never wanted to climb anything. Still, I couldn’t say no to Dr. Al Sears again. He is a good friend and an important client. And I’d been demurring on all sorts of hiking and climbing invitations from him for about…
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