The Books that Changed Your Life Have you ever thought about the books that changed your life? Okay...now think about how you found them. Was it a friend or colleague who recommended the book? Was it an airport bookstore drive by? Was it a completely unexpected occurrence?This is what I've been thinking about this week. What if I never read Stranger in a Strange Land? Or Think and Grow Rich? Would I be the same person?Anyway...all this thinking led to this week's post and giveaway. Any...
12 days ago • 4 min read
I Choose You Last week, I found myself thinking about something small that actually isn’t small at all. In a world with more options, more tools, and more AI-generated answers than ever, one skill may be getting more valuable by the day: the ability to choose. This week’s article is about why the people who can turn endless options into clear decisions may be the ones who matter most. And...a small ask. For the seventh year in a row, I'm golfing 100 Holes of Golf in one day on May 11th to...
19 days ago • 6 min read
Planes, Delays and Automobiles Today's story is about what I learned attending the World Baseball Classic in Miami with my son. And getting there wasn't easy. Upon arrival at the airport on Monday, all Florida flights were cancelled due to storms. There was only one flight available in the afternoon. We rebooked (from United to Frontier) to the 1PM to Fort Myers instead of Miami. This flight was delayed until 6:30PM and arrived in Fort Myers at 10 PM. We were so late that AVIS gave away my...
26 days ago • 6 min read
Florida...Man My wife and I spent a few days in Florida with friends. Sunshine, warm weather and great people. What's not to like? While there, I had a change of heart with this newsletter and decided not to publish (yet another) article about AI. I hope you'll forgive me. Have you noticed any human behavior recently that made you go "hmmmm" or scratch your head? I'd love to know. Enjoy,JP P.S.: For more than 20 years, Lulu has been a leader in helping authors and creators publish and print...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Don't Run Me Over On Wednesday morning I went out for a run and almost got clipped by a car at a crosswalk. The driver wasn’t paying attention and missed me by a few feet. For the next 45 minutes of the run I kept thinking about two things. First, I’m really glad that car didn’t hit me. Second, how did automobiles actually become a thing? At some point people had to trust machines over humans to build them. That thought eventually led to this article.And do me a favor...as you drive this...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Short-Form Concern Between the influence of a podcast and a movie, I'm starting to have deep concerns about creating short-form content. Hence, this week's article. I hope you challenge yourself with the same questions I'm currently dealing with.On a more positive note, my friend Joe Lazer (the younger, more attractive Joe) just published a truly incredible book called Super Skill: Why Storytelling Is the Super Power of the AI Age. To be honest, I get a lot of people asking me to promote...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
A Commitment Last year I started a book club. We kept it small. Just the eight of us. What I love most about it (besides the fellowship) is that I'm reading books I wouldn't have normally knew existed. This month, we're reading Uncool from Cameron Crowe (director of Almost Famous), which is the source for today's issue.Many times, creators and writers feel out of place. Like we are living in a world that doesn't understand us. If you've ever felt this way, you'll appreciate Crowe's book. It's...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Is It Over? Last week, I came to the crossroads with my Content Inc. model. I started developing this model over 20 years ago and tried to perfect it over the years. In a nutshell, it starts with a differentiated message, developed on one platform, consistently delivered over time, that leads to an audience that comes to know, like, and trust us.Not rocket science, but it's worked for decades. Some of the largest brands in the world succeeded using this model.But will it still work in the age...
2 months ago • 5 min read
In the Mind I started to re-read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill again. It's honestly crazy that a book almost a hundred years old can still make an impact on a modern creator. And I was immediately reminded of this thought: Most creator advice today is tactical. Platforms, prompts, growth hacks. But the people who actually build lasting freedom tend to share something deeper. A way of thinking. A way of committing. A way of seeing themselves long before the audience shows up. That's the...
2 months ago • 5 min read