Am I Wasting My Time? I've been writing more and more for myself lately. So much so I started to think I was wasting my time. Then my friend sent me a text that forced me to look at it differently. Now I feel like I'm onto something. Am I? Any questions or comments? Just shoot me a note.JP P.S.: You won’t find ads in this newsletter thanks to a generous donation from Lulu. Since 2002, Lulu has helped authors and creators publish, print, and sell their books. If you’re ready to publish in...
12 days ago • 6 min read
Is Love the Answer? I know...a little touchy-feely, right? Well...after reading the book Theo of Golden, I think I may have hit on the answer to what actually makes perfect content. Here's two questions that give you the litmus test to predict with certainty that you have, indeed, perfected your content.This is my shortest article in years. I hope you enjoy it. Any questions or comments? Just shoot me a note.JP P.S.: You won’t find ads in this newsletter thanks to a generous donation from...
19 days ago • 3 min read
What If You Only Had Six Months? My wife and I have been kicking around this question:What would you do differently if you only had six months to live?I know...not the most uplifting conversation. But it does make you think. And it's definitely not easy to come up with clear answers to the question. So I've been pondering this and why the question has been so difficult for me. Maybe difficult for you as well? Any questions or comments? Just shoot me a note.JP P.S.: You won’t find ads in this...
26 days ago • 7 min read
On Superpowers... On Sunday my wife and I went to see Idina Menzel perform with the Cleveland Orchestra. She made a lot of mistakes during the performance. She talked about her most embarrassing moments as a performer. She brought people onto the stage that she "probably" shouldn't have. And the performance was amazing. I started to think about what exactly makes her performances special. The thing is, she already knows what makes her special. Most of us, sadly, do not. But I think there's a...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Wanna Bet? As I continue down the rabbit hole of inherited beliefs, I’ve been trying to double-check my thinking on just about everything. What do I believe because I’ve actually examined it, and what do I believe simply because someone handed it to me years ago? That led me to an incredible book by Annie Duke called Thinking in Bets. It gave me a better way to look at what I believe, how confident I should be and what additional work I may need to do before making an important decision. You...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Everyone Wants to Be Norm I love walking into my favorite soccer bar and having people immediately smile and greet me by name (like Norm from Cheers). They know what I drink. They know why I’m there. They make me feel like I belong, and that feeling keeps me coming back. Yet most marketing experiences do the exact opposite. Most websites, newsletters, and customer journeys are built almost entirely for the stranger. We spend all our time explaining who we are to people who don’t know us,...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
A Major Career Change A reader recently asked me why this newsletter is called The Tilt. My first thought was, “Wow, I should have explained that about 200 newsletters ago.” But the question stuck with me, mostly because I had just finished a long conversation with a friend who is thinking about making a major career change. Not “maybe I’ll update my LinkedIn profile and see what happens.” A real change. The kind where you start asking uncomfortable questions like, “What am I actually good...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
The Access Trap But first...I have three important announcements. First, we just announced that our foundation, Orange Effect, will be closing after 20 years. You can read my wife's post here about the decision to wind down OEF operations. It was a difficult decision...but wow were we able to affect some positive change in the world. I'll be writing about this later in the month when discussing when to exit a business or job. Second, my friend Jay Baer is making some news. After 17 years and...
2 months ago • 6 min read
Slowly, Slowly Who's the last person who asked you, "what did you do today?" Did you answer with what you actually did...or with something else? A question like that came from my Dad in the middle of a pretty ordinary week. And that's what today's article is about. Any questions or comments? Just shoot me a note.JP P.S.: You won’t find ads in this newsletter thanks to a generous donation from Lulu. Since 2002, Lulu has helped authors and creators publish, print, and sell their books. If...
2 months ago • 5 min read