The DO Lectures - We crave peaks...

Let me start with the end.

 

 

And even that final act was not going well.

 

I, and Tom, the waiter, were pushing the double-door fridge through the cellar door.

 

And the cellar door was winning.

 

(That same week, the bistro pub was one of only 7 new entries into an acclaimed U.K. food book.)

 

Meanwhile, Tom and I were dying in fits of laughter in the damp cellar. 

 

Most people dream of starting a pub. We only had dreams of closing one. Except, we couldn’t EVEN do that. 

 

We pushed. We shoved. We got stuck.

 

Eventually, we worked out you had to take the wheels off. Who knew?

 

 

And, then, seconds later…the pub was closed.

 

As we walked away for the last time, we knew the importance of that moment.

 

 

I had tried something in my town and had failed miserably.

 

And according to TripAdvisor, Tom needed a change of career from being a waiter. For once, I agreed with TripAdvisor.

 

Although we didn’t say it out loud, the valley was teaching us the lesson we needed to learn to leave it.

 

 

 

I had to get back to what I was good at. Stay in my lane. And do the work.

 

And Tom had to start doing what he was good at. He was a crap waiter. But a great writer. 

 

In my last conversation with Tom he asked me to write a reference for US immigration. He had been headhunted to be a creative director by one of the best advertising agencies in America.

 

 

 

When tough times arrive, we want the easy times to come back. 

 

Yet, our bad times are where we start doing the right things again.

 

Our success comes to us not in spite of bad times but because of them.

 

Learn the lesson the valley wants to teach you.

 

And then leave.

 

David 

 

 

# Lesson 1. Define Your Unique Voice.
 
The chances of you being born were 1/400 billion.
Everything about you is unique…until you start writing.
Then you try to fit in.
You become ‘to whom it may concern.’
And you wonder why you are not winning the attention war.
This lesson is important.
This is the MADE FROM CONCENTRATE they talk about on orange juice bottles.
There is an invisible wall between you standing out and staying stuck.
The Pro learns how to break through the noise.
Reassuringly, that comes from clarity, not working harder.
 
“I am not here to teach you to be more like me, I am here to teach you to be more like you.”
 

# Lesson 2. The Insight Factory.
 
'I don't know what to write.' 
When the amateur says that, it is not a lack of ideas but too many.
They don’t know how to choose.
They don’t have a framework.
The framework makes finding ‘INSIGHTS’ easy.
The framework makes choosing which one to write about easy.
The framework removes indecision.
The PRO spends less time choosing and more time writing.
That is important.
The framework also teaches you to observe.
Better insights come from observing like a PRO.
Insights light the brain up in ways that information alone does not.
The PRO knows this.
And writes to light up the brain.

 
# Lesson 3. The PRO masters the Platform.
 
It is you versus the algorithm.
And yes, you are an adult.
And this is a dumb, stupid game.
But you are writing on LinkedIn to get attention.
And the algorithm decides if you get it.
We must learn how it decides.
What are its rules?
What doesn’t it like?
What does it love?
The PRO learns the nuance of this darn thing.
When the PRO writes, they know how to beat the gatekeeper.
 
 
# Lesson 4. The Word Gym.
 
The Pro has the same number of letters as the amateur.
But the PRO has learned to rearrange them in a more powerful order.
The PRO has learned structure.
The PRO has proven frameworks.
The PRO understands the power of examples and metaphors.
The PRO knows which words hold magic.
The PRO went to the word gym.
 
But know this; the Pro is more like than you think.
They have the same number of hours in the day.
The same need for rest.
And the requirement for food.
But somewhere on their journey, they came to a decision.
To turn PRO.
To not dabble. Anymore.
 
 
# Lesson 5. Emotion is your superpower.
 
My business is different.
This is the biggest reason I hear why people can’t use emotion in their business. 
And it is a big fat lie.
Every business is a conversation between one human and another.
And every business is a relationship.
And every relationship is either strong or weak.
And it is weak because you do not feel anything for the other human.
The PRO understands they must make people feel something about what they are talking about. 
The PRO has empathy.
The PRO understands.
The PRO interrupts a conversation already going on in their head.
 
The PRO targets emotion.
The amateur avoids it.
 
“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.”  – Robert Frost
 
 
# Lesson 6. How to use ChatGPT like a Pro?
 
The PRO has tools for an easy life.
The PRO has research systems.
The PRO uses technology to help them be more interesting.
Right now, the amateur is fearful about ChatGPT.
They should be.
Average is easily replaced.
But instead, the PRO has ALREADY learned how it will save them time on research. 
And how that will free up more time for INSIGHTS.
More time for NEW viewpoints. 
More time for UNIQUE conclusions.
The PRO will use this technology to gain more attention.