Three Thought Thursday

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Dear Reader,

An older man, an American legend, and an internet entrepreneur. These are the three characters that anchor my three thoughts on this Thursday.

These are three very different stories from three different seasons of life. Regardless, they all have a piece of knowledge I want to share with you.

Let’s dive in…

101 Pieces of Wisdom…from Our Older Self

He was about to turn 73 when Kevin Kelly was wrapping up a gift he was planning to give his children. Yes, you read that right. The birthday boy was giving a gift on his special day. Little did his children know it would be the greatest gift they have ever received: wisdom. As Kevin aged, he realized the best gift he could give could not be bought. The gift is wisdom. Wisdom is valuable because it only comes with time and experience, two things that can rarely be purchased. Specifically, Kevin summarized the wisdom he gathered over 73 years in 101 pieces of advice. Lucky for us, he shared them on his blog. Here are three of my favorites:

• “Never hesitate to invest in yourself—to pay for a class, a course, a new skill. These modest expenditures pay outsized dividends.”

• “Strong opinions, clearly stated but loosely held is the recipe for an intellectual life. Always ask yourself: what would change my mind?”

• “If you are more fortunate than others, build a longer table rather than a taller fence.”

The best gift you can ever receive is wisdom gathered from time and experience.

The Key to Any Great Brand Partnership

“Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” Do you remember the story of Paul Revere? The man who traveled late through the night during the Revolutionary War letting people know “the British are coming.” Do you know the best-kept secret of that fateful night? There was another man: William Dawes. But no one ever talks about William. Why? There was a key difference between Paul and Will. A difference that anyone who wants to build great business partnerships should know… Paul was an information broker. Will wasn’t. Malcolm Gladwell and Harvard Business Review have famously broken down the concept of an information broker. Information brokers are well-connected to well-connected people. Why does everyone remember Paul and forget Will? It came down to the people each individual told of the British’s arrival. William didn’t know the best doors to knock on in the towns he entered. Thus, his message only circulated among a small group of people. Paul, on the other hand, went straight to the most well-connected people in town. So, his message was passed onto the expansive networks of the well-connected people he told. How does this relate to building great partnerships? Businesses often partner with those that can provide the quickest dollar. It’s the William Dawes method. How can you partner like Revere? Always target other well-connected partners. Those partners have social networks, and can often connect you, your brand, and your business to multiple other clusters of well-connected people. Look to partner with information brokers more than quick dollars.

The Most Important Part of Any Story

Have you heard about the potato gun launcher turned famous internet entrepreneur? Russell Brunson has become one of the most famous and well-respected internet moguls in the age of online entrepreneurship. He built Click Funnels and has authored the “Secrets” series of best-selling books. Russell is an expert in sales funnels. Funny enough, his strongest skill is not sales funnels. It’s storytelling. What is the most important part of any GREAT story? Russell argues that it is one thing: an attractive character. There are three parts to any attractive character: elements, identities, and storylines. If you want to dive deeper into each aspect of the attractive character, you can do so in Russell’s book “DotCom Secrets,” section one, secret #4. However, one aspect of the attractive character is too good to make you wait. It’s the identity aspect of the attractive character. This is important because it transcends the stories you read about in books. The four identities can help frame the story you tell about your own life. Read the four below and choose one that you most identify with:

1. Leader (achieved a result and now leads large groups of people to it)

2. Adventurer (doesn’t have all the answers, so sets out to discover them)

3. Reporter (desire to be great, so talk to greats and share their truth)

4. Reluctant Hero (shy, but made such a great discovery they must share it)

Telling your own story is the key to getting all you may desire. The identity of the attractive character is the first step to telling a great story.

What is my big takeaway from these three thoughts? Teachers come from all ages, generations, and levels of experience.

Can you do me a favor if you learned something new in this edition? Forward this letter to a friend who may not know about one of these three stories.

See you next Thursday,

Tommy