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...
11 days 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...
18 days 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,...
25 days 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 1 month 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...
about 1 month 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...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Less Is More This one hits home for me because it’s something I’m working on right now. I’ve noticed that when things start to feel a little off in my life, it’s usually not because of one giant problem staring me in the face. It's often because I’ve added a few too many things without even realizing it. One more meeting. One more project. One more thing to check. One more thing to manage. One more “sure, I can do that” that seemed harmless at the time. Then the good stuff starts getting...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Inherited Beliefs Most of us think we've carefully chosen our beliefs. I'm not so sure. The older I get, the more I realize how many assumptions I've inherited from family, friends, culture, and experience. This week's story begins with a conversation after my grandfather's funeral and ends with a question I use when I find myself absolutely certain of something. I'm curious if you've ever found yourself in a similar situation. Any questions or comments? Just shoot me a note.JP P.S.: You...
2 months ago • 5 min read
You Have Spoken! Thanks to the 211 of you who completed my one-question survey.First off, the big complaint was that you couldn't choose more than one category. Many of you (it seems) are marketers, independent content creators, AND friends of mine. That's a winning combination if you ask me. Sadly, you couldn't actually choose that combination.40 percent of you are marketers. 16 percent of you are independent creators.10 percent of you are friends (love ya!).5 percent have no idea why they...
2 months ago • 7 min read