A friend of mine made fun of me for wearing wired earbuds the other day.
He said it slowly, too, as if I’d been cryogenically frozen since 2001 and was still getting my bearings.
What he didn’t know was that I stream high-definition music that requires a wired connection to handle the file size. This produces a sound so authentic to the in-studio experience, you expect to find a wheelbarrow of cocaine in the corner.
You can’t do that with wireless technology. So, what I may lose in simplicity, I more than make up for in quality.
Call me an old, sentimental fool, but I prefer not to limit myself to what’s hot today. Doesn’t matter if it’s the latest tech or the insights that guide my work.
And you shouldn’t either. That’s because …
The more you think like everyone else, the harder it is to stand out.
Whether it’s a trending business book or an insufferable “guru” in your social feed, the advice of the moment can lead you down the same road everyone else is traveling.
I’m not saying you should ignore the modern world entirely. But if that’s your starting point, it’s more difficult to say things your audience will find unique. Or worse …
If the latest news quickly becomes irrelevant, then you’re left with nothing to inspire you.
* * *
It may seem counterintuitive, but to keep your content fresh, it pays to go back to classic wisdom.
That’s what email marketer John Bejakovic does. He tells us why by saying: “First, because nobody—or very few people—in your industry are reading it. And also, that stuff has survived for a long time for a reason … because it resonates with people.”
Resonating with people—that’s what you want, right?
Here, maybe some examples would help …
Let’s say you and I were having a conversation about sales. And I told you: “The only way to influence someone is to find out what they want and show them how to get it.”
You might want to take that thinking into your work today.
And you could. Never mind that it came from Dale Carnegie’s 89-year-old self-help classic How to Win Friends and Influence People.
You like American history?
Because if we dialed our time machine back even further, we’d hear Abraham Lincoln say: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
That gem doesn’t just apply to burly woodsmen or theater-hopping politicians. If you’re a marketer, it’s a reminder that …
Your results depend entirely on the quality of your prep work.
If you know anyone who likes to skip steps to buy time, that advice still plays.
As a copywriter, I’m always plumbing the past for guidance to sharpen my words. I read Hemmingway and Carver to study simplicity and clarity. And believe it or not, the Lethal Weapon movie franchise is a masterclass in using pacing to hold an audience’s attention.
(You’re still with me, right?)
Good. 😅
But look … I’m not here to tell you what to read or to talk about the on‑screen chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.
I’m just saying you have a better chance of finding new and unexpected things to say if you look for influences in the quieter places that others have left behind.
And who doesn’t think better away from the madness of crowds?
Here’s a song to play you out >>>
See you next time. — Matt
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