49 Quotes To Live By

Ask any successful person about the people they admire and they’re sure to fire back more quotes from those personal heroes than any well-adjusted human brain could possibly handle.

That’s because life’s too short to figure it all out on your own. You need guides – grizzled, bloodied veterans with a few arrows in their backs.

Because it’s these people who’ll make YOUR life a whole lot easier when Lady Fate drops by to sprinkle some shit on your path to greatness.

Over the years, I’ve kept such a list of my own favorite quotes. Here are all of them for you below, along with what each one of them means to me.

You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it moving.

- Gary Halbert

It was a sad time when Gary died in 2007. Nobody expected him to go so suddenly (and at the relatively “young” age of 69.) The first time I heard this quote was from Gary Halbert’s famous 1987(?) LA seminar, which was back when he had a thick black beard and (mostly) full head of hair – and dating this beautiful woman, Paulette, whom he always talked about. People would ask him questions about this and that, trying to make sure everything was “perfect” before they set out on their new business venture. It was always at this point Gary would get all riled up and say “Motion beats meditation – you don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it GOING!”

Over the years he’d repeat variations on the same theme, always trying to drum it into people’s stubborn heads to fail fast and keep the ball rolling because the more times you step up to bat, the more likely one of those times will be the one you knock a home run.

Advertising is hard.

- Jim Rutz(?)

I’m not sure exactly who said this one, but copywriter Gary Bencivenga elaborated on it when he added “Advertising is hard… when you don’t have a system.”

And it’s true. If you’re going to write ads (especially GOOD ones, consistently) you need a system. A method of research, a method of organizing that research, and a method of constructing the ad, piece-by-piece. Personally, I use a combination of Gene Schwartz, Gary Bencivenga, and Clayton Makepeace’s methods to write my advertising. That, and a little of my own style based on how I like to work (jumping around, writing different chunks of the ad and assembling them all later into a polished whole.)

Breaks are for sissys.

- Dan Kennedy

Classic Dan. I love it. His time management book (and basically everything else he’s ever personally written or spoken) is outstanding. Dan’s always had a very ruthless, aggressive persona when it comes to work and getting shit done. Looking back on this quote reminds me of a comment he made recently about Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Workweek book, saying something to the effect of “If you can get an entire week’s worth of work done in 4 hours, then the thing to do is NOT sit back and relax, but to pack another few weeks worth into the remaining 36 hours.” Ha! How’s that for hardcore?

It’s true though; the main thing that separates the successful from the masses is how they use their time. That fact is becoming ever more concrete to me now than ever.

Life is a moving parade.

- David Ogilvy

This quote from Ogilvy is used to explain to marketing students that since life is ever-changing, new groups of people are continually moving in and out of different markets all the time. Take furniture, for example. Back when I moved to St. Louis, I was a HOT prospect for certain types of furniture. I moved into the market, bought what I wanted from the deals available, and then moved out, completely satisfied. Nowadays I can barely stand to even ENTER a furniture store, let alone be convinced to part with any money for more of it. What this means to the furniture marketer is that it doesn’t matter if his advertising is redundantly suspicious (e.g. two flood sales in a 3 month time period) because no one will ever pick up on it. Well, at least not good prospects anyway (people who will actually BUY the stuff now.)

The same is true for marketing health products. One time my uncle asked me “You still selling that thing? You’ve sold so many you’d think people would all know about it by now.”

This is NEVER true. There’s just too many damned people in the world, too many fresh brains who have never had this particular problem before, never heard of my particular solution before, just now entering the market to buy, and would rather same tons of time and money buying from an established authority than risk it on something else… EVEN if the info is available elsewhere for “free.”

And lemme tell ya… “free” info is rarely acted upon, even if it’s the RIGHT info they need. Why? Because most people don’t value something unless they paid money for it. And the more money paid, the more sacred they hold the product… even if it’s just a sheet of paper with a few words typed on it.

Success is a process, not an event.

- Gary Halbert

Halbert did not originate this quote, but I first heard it from him. Most people think in terms of “Oh boy, once I have this or that, man, I’ll have arrived. Success will be mine.” And to make matters worse, most advertising panders to this false thinking, reinforcing it. But it’s not the advertisers fault; they only do this because they’ve learned it’s the only thing people really respond to in great numbers. Why? Because deep down, we all want to believe in the magic pill, even if our rational brain says there is none.

The thing about success and the nature of desires is that once you’ve achieved your goals; you’re not happy sitting still as if you’ve all of a sudden “made it” to the top of Success Mountain. Life is change. Without change, there is no life, and without ever-evolving desires, there is no change.

That’s why people who got rich in something like real estate go on to sell “how to” courses to the masses, because once a certain level of financial comfort is secured, you want 2 things:

1) to “give back” to society somehow, and…
2) to see if you can make even more money, test your limits in life and see where they lie

Otherwise, if you just sit there on your pile of money with no further ambitions, you’ll die. Literally. It really is lonely at the top. But that’s not something most people discover until they’ve worked their ass off to get there.

I remember Frank Kern once said something along the lines of “The worst feeling in the world is working your entire life for goals you finally achieve only to discover they were hollow victories. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”

Therefore, we all constantly need a “next big thing”… and another… and another.

Be Somebody. Be Somewhere. Do Something.

- Dan Kennedy

Dan’s key to life and business success couldn’t be said more succinctly. You need to be a force in the world that goes out and makes things happen, creating better things and affecting change. To be reactionary is to lose yourself mindlessly into the herd, living a life of quiet desperation.

You’re either growing or you’re rotting.

- Dan Kennedy

Another good one from Dan, along the same theme.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, feed him for a lifetime… but all he really wants is the fish – so just give it to him.

I have no idea who I got this one from, but it’s an important marketing maxim. Most people don’t want to be told HOW to do something; most would rather just pay somebody else for the desired result. Obvious exceptions to this would be craftsmen and people who love the process of doing certain things… but in business, it’s much smarter to sell, say for example, an ad that will pull in orders – completely written, polished and ready to send off to dozens of magazines, than it is to sell a study course teaching people how to write a successful ad.

A buyer is a buyer is a buyer. A non-buyer is a non-buyer is a non-buyer.

- Dan Kennedy

Very important concept to understand in marketing. People who buy certain things buy them because they’re “buyers” – that’s what they ARE. That’s WHO they are. For example, I buy leather-bound classic edition books from Easton Press. I buy craploads of books from Amazon. I always like to browse little book shops for fun. Guess what? I’m a book BUYER, and more specifically, I am a book buyer of a certain pedigree – only non-fiction books in certain subjects (that all have to do with getting ahead in life in one way or another) AND fancy leather-bound classics in fiction. That’s IT. To try and sell me Ann Coulter’s latest time-specific opinion piece would be an exercise in futility. Same goes for any other book I deem “a waste of time.”

By the same token, people who are buyers via certain mediums are BUYERS of that medium. For example, mail order buyers are different people than infomercial buyers, who are different still than people who only shop in physical stores, or only buy off the internet. My mom is a great example of a classic “mail order buyer” – she puts many promotions aside to read later so long as the headline catches her attention. On the other hand, my friend Jason’s dad is NOT a mail order buyer. He gets the same promotion in the mail and says “Oh, it’s another one of THESE THINGS” and instantly trashes it. Even if the thing being sold would benefit him directly, he’s just not a mail order buyer. Never will be. No sale.

The concept of being a “buyer” also applies to quantity. If you have a new CD/DVD set on bass fishing, would it be easier to sell to the guy who is interested in bass fishing, but owns zero similar products, or a guy who’s into bass fishing and owns a whole closet full of tapes, CD’s, DVD’s, books, and more?

Many years ago, I used to think the best prospect would be the guy with no courses, because that would mean he “needs” my course.

I was very, very wrong.

The guy owns no bass fishing courses because he’s not a buyer of bass fishing courses (for whatever reason), even though he is still as interested in the topic as the next guy. That’s not to say he couldn’t BECOME a buyer if you had a good enough ad via the right medium… but if you’re banking on a sales success your first time out, you’re better off delivering your pitch to the guy who’s brimming over with similar products.

There is no problem that can’t be solved with a world-class sales letter.

- Gary Halbert

Halbert firmly believed this and proved it on several occasions; not just in business but also to solve different problems in everyday life, like getting a date, or even finding a wife. But what he’s really saying here is the written word is the most powerful force on Earth. There’s that Victor Hugo quote that goes “There’s nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” And it is the persuasive written word that spreads these ideas like nothing else.

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.

- Dr. Linus Pauling

Go ahead. Don’t be afraid to crank out gobs of ideas. Sure, most of them will later prove to be crap, but hidden among them is your Next Big Thing.

There are lots of legitimate reasons to be poor. None to stay poor.

- Dan Kennedy

You can’t control when, where, or under what circumstances you were born. You also can’t control a whole lot up until age 18. But all the time after that, all the way till the day you die is YOURS; figure out what you want and use your time to go after it.

What you say is more important than how you say it.

- Gary Halbert

Gary always used to ask his students: “If your wife was having a baby, is there any way that information could be communicated to you that would NOT be of interest to you?”

Hence, he made the point it wasn’t so much how you said things in ads (colorful language, etc) but what you said in them – saying the RIGHT things – things the reader was passionately interested in and wanted to hear.

When I was young, I worried that others thought the wrong things about me. As I got older, and into a few transgressions, I was worried people were thinking the right things about me. Then as the years went by, I gained wisdom, and… I realized nobody was thinking about me at all!

- Gary Halbert

I love this quote. It’s an important lesson, especially for business owners who sacrifice attention-getting power in their marketplace in exchange for some ethereal notion of “professionalism.”

“What will people think of me if I do X?” they whine. Well, that’s just it; they’re not thinking of you now, and neither will they be thinking of you after they see your ad and buy whatever it is you’re selling. The memory of the marketplace is shockingly short (a fact which, by the way, the news takes advantage of ALL the time). The most you can expect a lot of times is an impression in the customer’s mind that reads, “Oh, him? He’s the guy who (blank)” – And if you sound generic, you’ll be filed away as precisely that.

The “Professional’s Code” is very simple: You show up where you’re supposed to be… when you said you’d be there… having done what you said you’d do. That’s it.

- John Carlton

Always do what you say you’re gonna do. Period. If you can’t, then don’t make the promise to begin with. This is something I’ve tried to live by for years, almost to the point now it’s become religion. To hear John Carlton articulate it in this way was music to my ears.

People settle for mediocrity because they are lazy.

- Donald Trump

Gotta love “The Donald” and his no bullshit delivery. I completely agree with this one and have a similar quote of my own below.

This is NOT a dress rehearsal, THIS is for real! Real life!

- Ted Nicholas

What Ted is saying here is, there’s no practice run here; this isn’t high school or college anymore where you can put things off and try things out. This is real life and it’s not a question of IF you’ll die, but WHEN… so it’s important to WAKE UP and start living like this is all you got, because…it very well may be.

Would you rather have the pain of regret or the pain of discipline?

- Ted Nicholas

Following the same theme, Ted makes an excellent point. At the end of people’s lives, regrets often come from the things you DIDN’T do, not all the other stuff. Discipline is painful for awhile, but the habbits it creates within you are priceless. It’s this discipline that takes us to higher levels of life and allows us to experience more while we’re still alive to enjoy it.

If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

- Ted Nicholas

You’ve gotta at least try. I’m often surprised at what I can get just by asking. (it also helps to ask with the right frame)

Every product has a unique personality and it is your job to find it.

- Joe Sugarman

That’s the reason why swipe-file ads don’t work very well in the hands of newbies. Structures can be copied, but to create a truly masterful ad, each product needs to have it’s own presentation, voice tone, and marketing angle. Those things come from knowing the product and the market who buys it; two key elements that mindless swiping can’t fix.

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.

- Zig Ziglar

If it’s worth your time at all, then it’s OK to suck at doing it. I’ve met people (and been one myself) who won’t do something unless they’re already perfect at it. Forget that. If it’s worth doing, just go out and do it. You’ll get better soon enough.

You can get anything you want by helping enough other people get what they want.

- Zig Ziglar

Famous Zig quote. Speaks for itself, but what he’s really talking about here is VALUE. Nothing happens in the world without someone first creating value for somebody else.

Toys are meant to be played with.

When I was little, I was religiously taught to take care of stuff, especially my toys. The more expensive the toy, the more care. Which was good in some ways, but I took it a bit too far – often to the point where playing with my stuff wasn’t fun anymore because I’d always be too worried about damaging it (which in retrospect, I think was more about not wanting to disappoint mom and cost her money than it was about the toy itself.) And since I was so young, this mental programming was INCREDIBLY difficult to reverse.

Then one day the mother of a very poor family who lived down the street from us looked me directly in the face and said something profound I’ll remember for the rest of my life: Toys are meant to be played with.

Or in other words; we are not our things. The stuff in our lives is meant to be used for OUR BENEFIT, not to be perpetually saved for some unknown date in the future. I call that “saving for a rainy day that never comes.” Mom always had that mindset and still does till this day. And I used to be a victim of it too. It’s based on a scarcity mindset that says “I better save this now because I might not be able to get another in the future.”

Toys preserved, food saved, luxuries unused. Some might call that “good preparation.” But you know what really happens? Eventually the forces of time take their toll and… toys lose interest, food spoils, and luxuries decay. Once again, the universe imposes change on those stubborn to embrace it. You might as well have never bought any of that stuff in the first place.

Get it, use it, enjoy it. It’s all temporary anyway.

Money solves problems not having money creates.

- John Carlton

Some people love to sit on a high horse and declare “Silly fools. Money will not solve your problems.”

Well, they’re wrong. Money DOES solve many problems… but with an important catch: only the problems created by you not having enough money in the first place. For everything else, there’s Mastercard. Ha ha… no, for everything else, you’ll have to rely on things like knowledge, experience, personal magnetism, good nutrition, etc.

If your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.

If you’re world-class at something, boasting can and often will take you down a few notches. The guy who gets results let’s them do most of the talking.

Freedom of the mind comes from having few choices, not many.

There’s a pretty good book called “The Paradox of Choice” – which basically talks about how there’s so many choices today, it’s actually FAR more difficult to make a simple decision now than in years past.

For example, back in the 1950′s, if you wanted some meat you went down to the local butcher and bought some damn meat. Beef, pork, whatever. But you can’t do that anymore. Now we’ve got “organic” versus “not organic”, “grass fed” versus “grain fed”, “free range” versus “caged”, and the list goes on and on and on and ON. Go to Whole Foods and compare that to what you see at Sam’s Club and the differences will be profound. Food just ain’t food anymore, and the choices are mind-boggling, even paralyzing.

That’s one of the reasons why I actually DO get most of my stuff from Sam’s Club; I abhor dizzying choice; I just want to get the thing, get out of there, and move on to something more important than 96 different kinds of salad dressing.

The result? A more stress-free lifestyle and time freedom to do more of what I enjoy.

Be the change you wish to see in the world.

- Gandhi

There’s also the Michael Jackson song Man In The Mirror that says “If you want to make the world a better place, then take a look in the mirror and make a change.” Something like that. And it’s good advice. If you don’t see what you want in the world, first make sure you’re leading by example.

Know yourself. Make yourself. Be who you are.

- Thompson family motto

The original was simply “Know thyself” – but I’ve since changed it to reflect reality. From an existential point of view, it’s impossible to know yourself if you don’t first define what it is you want and how you want to align yourself in life. My “know yourself” means to realize that you do actually have a base temperament rooted in biology, a general default disposition tweaked by a myriad of variables (including astrological concepts.) And it’s not always easy to discover exactly what that is. That’s why many people lead inauthentic lives, always trying to please someone (or someTHING) else. They simply haven’t taken the time to listen to themselves.

The “make yourself” part comes next. After you realize what biology has created in you, now you’ve got to find a way to work with that to achieve whatever it is you want to get out of life. This is where the existentialism of defining yourself comes into play – working within the parameters set by biology to create the “self” you really want to be.

And finally it’s all tied together with “be who you are” – setting all your plans into motion and actually LIVING out the life you’ve created, as opposed to shelving it for “the rainy day that never comes.”

Somewhere between cosmic freedom and responsibility to the people you love lays the answer to life

Saw this one in a hedonism book and loved it. Eloquently, it explains that cosmic freedom alone results in an unfulfilling life (all choice, no decision equals terrible existence) and responsibility to others alone suffers the opposite: no personal choice, too many responsibilities equals misery and desperation. The solution is to combine the two by taking all that is possible (cosmic freedom) and cherry-picking from it precisely what you desire responsibility over (adhering to certain people, lifestyles, and ideas and ignoring others because they don’t result in anything that fulfills you)

Life exists only at this very moment, and in this moment it is infinite and eternal. For the present moment is infinitely small; before we can measure it, it has gone, and yet it exists forever… You may believe yourself out of harmony with life and its eternal Now; but you cannot be, for you are life and exist Now.

- Alan Watts

Setting aside the fact that anything referred to as “infinite” is too vague a concept to even be discussed, this is still a valuable quote. Alan Watts wrote a book called (hubrisly enough) “The Book – The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are”

If you think of each little moment of your life like frames in a movie, or cards in a deck layed down one right after another, it’s easy to imagine how this quote plays out. Every little bit, every little action you take exists forever at that particular time in this particular reality. Let’s say a girl and I share a moment together, and kiss. Hit pause. Now if you could travel back to that exact moment, at that exact location, there we would be, still kissing, frozen in time.

Heavy stuff to think about.

The world is full of people who have stopped listening to themselves.

- Joseph Campbell

In the Hero With A Thousand Faces, Campbell talks about the stories that recur throughout history and the deep emotional imfact they have on humanity. It seems there are just certain things we are biologically “programmed” to respond to, no matter what. A lot of important ritual and lore comes from these deep-rooted response mechanisms – stuff I USED to think was total bullshit and a waste of good time. Well, not anymore. Try as hard as you want, it’s impossible to rise above our innate humanity.

And, Campbell says, even if we could rise above, why would we want to? I think he’s got a point there.

But in modern times, many of us have forgotten how to satisfy our base desires and have essentially “stopped listening to ourselves”, settling instead for what other people (or a perceived notion of God) thinks we should do and be.

I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.

- Mark Twain

This one makes me chuckle a little every time I read it. Most of what we worry about never even happens.

Good artists copy. Great artists steal.

- Picasso

Pablo Picasso was an interesting guy. He had a very strong frame and for a short, old tubby guy, was pretty good with the ladies.

It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.

-Tyler Durden

Durden is the main guy in the fantastically poignant movie Fight Club. One of the main philosophies of Fight Club is “you are not your things” – and this quote says that once we lose our connection with our “stuff”, we become free to truly live life.

No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.

-Tyler Durden

In this one he talks about going after your desires with complete involvement and to hell with everything else. We only live for so long, so why waste even the smallest bit? Many people will agree with what I just wrote there, but few actually live it. It’s hard for me to live it, too, but I am trying; that’s why I always want to keep this idea in front of me.

I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let’s evolve, let the chips fall where they may.

-Tyler Durden

There is no “set for life” button in business or in life. Everything changes, evolves. Nothing is ever “done.” This is the existential view of “we are all works in progress.” Nothing is ever done until we’re dead.

The most faded ink is better than the best memory.

- Old Chinese Saying

Why do you think I write everything? Books, and all other written communication is how we save the next generation from making the same dumb mistakes we did. Unfortunately, it’s up to their own initiative to actually READ and ACT on our advice. Heaven help us all.

Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.

- Thomas Jefferson

As much shit people sling on the subject of “truth in advertising” the plain fact is simple: You can rely on the fact that Rothman Furniture is having a Labor Day Sale FAR more than you can rely on whatever it says the government is (or isn’t) doing. Just like in Jefferson’s time, advertising today contains more truth, pound for pound, than anything we see on Fox News.

Let’s stop screwing around and make some DAMN MONEY.

- Frank Kern

As far as internet marketers go, I just can’t get enough of Frank Kern. He has a certain way of taking something you’ve heard or learned before, making it sound new, and most importantly, getting you to TAKE ACTION on it than anyone else I’ve ever seen. His secret sauce is using different words and phrases than you’re used to hearing to communicate powerful ideas that tap into the base emotions. This combination jolts people up out of their zombie-like daily sleepwalk and gets them to pay attention.

If you don’t use success to enrich your life, you’re just putting failure into Gucci shoes.

You have to do something with your financial success to feel fulfilled. That’s why many rich guys end up starting some sort of charity, or whatever. And like I said before, there’s always gotta be your “next big thing” or else you will stagnate and die. The universe frowns on stagnation by weeding you out of existence.

Beware of women who love you just the way you are; it’s a sure sign they settle too easily.

The problem with this kind of woman is if you’re the kind of guy who likes to continually improve and change for the better, then eventually you will “out grow” her and neither of you will be very happy with one another.

I used to always hate it when a girl would say “I just want somebody to love me for who I am” or something like “Here I am, take it or leave it. What you see is what you get.”

Fuck that. Life is about change and you can’t escape the fact that people do change. I’m a completely different guy than I was 3 years ago and 3 years from now I’ll be different still. Always changing, always evolving. What you must do instead is find a high quality girl that rolls with the punches so you can grow together.

Fucking is the last resort of a man who feels impotent.

Sexual insecurity. Economic insecurity. The inability of a man to provide for his family. These are all things that’ll cause a man to resort to desperate measures. When pressed, either by nagging thoughts swirling around in his own mind or biting criticism from others, he will stop at nothing to prove them (or himself) wrong. Over and over and over again. It’s a vicious cycle that ends only in total destruction UNLESS he can conquer his insecurities and emerge a new man.

Today’s money is always worth more than tomorrow’s.

This is an old bankers’ axiom. In a fiat currency-based world, it assumes all money is slowly withering away into worthlessness. It’s also a more complex way of saying “A bird in hand is better than two in the bush.”

You never get back lost time.

So simple, yet so few actually value their time. It’s the great equalizer in life. We all have the same 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Everything else is up to you. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.

It’s not about ownership, it’s about control.

The universe does not attach property tags to things. That golf course you love, that tennis court you frequent, that swimming pool you take a dip in every summer: who gives a shit who “owns” them as long as YOU get to enjoy them? Ownership is an elusive objective and, from the universe’s point of view, doesn’t exist anyway. Life is about the things you get to experience. There’s an old Arab quote that said something like “You can have many mansions but sleep in only one per night.” As long as you get to sleep in it, who cares? Let some other guy worry himself over the upkeep and hassles of ownership. You’re here to live.

Opportunity cost is the biggest cost of all.

I think I got this from Warren Buffett when he was talking about investments. Often times, opportunity is ALL AROUND us. What it really comes down to is weeding out the good choices from the better choices, from the best choices. Focusing on the 80/20 rule, that 20% of your efforts will produce 80% of your results. Continually finding that 20%, refocusing only on it, and then dividing it again and again for maximum effectiveness.

In other words, it’s not about what you’re doing, but WHAT ELSE could you be doing with the same time and resources.

If there’s one thing you can always count on, it’s the laziness of people.

- Greg Thompson

Unfortunately I’ve personally discovered this to be true. But instead of moping around about the present state of humanity, you can actually profit from this assumption.

Here’s one example:

Let’s say you’re selling a product that’s quite easy for someone else to copy and rip off. You get some competitors, but most of them go away with enough time. Why didn’t you get more competitors? And why did the guys who tried to rip you off crash and burn?

It’s because they were lazy. And you weren’t. Simple as that. You did something they either couldn’t do or were unwilling to do to market that product. And even though all it required was just a wee bit more effort to beat you, most of them chose the low road and wiped out. The most common reason for this in my experience has been guys who didn’t pay close attention to their numbers and do the marketing math. That and bad sales copy will kill a product in no time flat.

Winners win. Losers lose.

- Greg Thompson

Just like how “a buyer is a buyer is a buyer”, it could be said “a loser is a loser is a loser.” If someone you observe is acting like a loser (and therefore IS a loser) you can reliably predict they will go on being a loser. Why? Because losers lose; that’s what they do.

On the flipside, winners win. If you find a winner in a losing position, it won’t be too long before his internal drive puts him back on top again. Donald Trump is a good example of this, being over a billion dollars in debt and coming back better than ever. He’s a winner. And winners win. Why? Because that’s what they do.

Now this isn’t to say people can’t change. They certainly can. But what my quote says is that “right now they are acting this particular way and it is highly unlikely they will do a complete 180 and change.” Just because someone CAN do something hardly means they actually WILL.

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

- Mark Twain

Word choice is of paramount importance. That’s why, especially if you’re a writer, it’s valuable to study dictionaries, thesauri, and practice the ability to use less adjectives in writing and more verbs. More power words that conjure up emotional reactions.

“Thump” instead of “hit”

“Grab” instead of “get”

“Humiliate” instead of “embarrass”

Just some examples to get your brain chuggin’

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