Weekly Highlights #15
A weekly round-up of things I found interesting, fun or useful.
📚 Books
I’ve been reading Influence by Robert Cialdini the last couple of weeks after reading how valuable Charlie Munger thought it was in Poor Charlie’s Almanack. There’s a lot of crossover between the two books and like Poor Charlie’s Almanack, in Influence the mistakes we humans repeatedly make are best illustrated with stories. This one on Contrast-misreaction tendency is a personal favourite.
"Dear Mother and Dad:
Since I left for college I have been remiss in writing and I am sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but before you read on, please sit down. You are not to read any further unless you are sitting down, okay?
Well, then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out the window of my dormitory when it caught on fire shortly after my arrival here is pretty well healed now. I only spent two weeks in the hospital and now I can see almost normally and only get those sick headaches once a day. Fortunately, the fire in the dormitory, and my jump, was witnessed by a worker at the gas station near the dorm, and he was the one who called the Fire Department and the ambulance. He also visited me in the hospital and since I had nowhere to live because of the burnt out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to get married. We haven't got the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show.
Yes, Mother and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the same love and devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has a minor infection which prevents us from passing our pre-marital blood tests and I carelessly caught it from him.
Now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or skull fracture, I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant, I am not engaged, I am not infected, and there is no boyfriend. However, I am getting a "D" in American History, and an F in Chemistry, and I want you to see those marks in their proper perspective."
Robert B. Cialdini, Influence, New and Expanded
📜 Articles
If you’re serious about making money on Substack or through digital courses you need to read this. I would go as far to say that even if you have no intentions you still should read it as there is so much common sense and myth busting it’ll be worth your time.
🎧 Podcasts
David Senra who hosts the Founders podcast on Spotify has a rare episode on Bernard Arnault. The richest man you’ve never heard off.
💭 Quotes
“Nothing is impossible for a man who refuses to listen to reason”
- Gary Halbert
"The work you choose needs to have three qualities: it has to be something you have a natural aptitude for, that you have a deep interest in, and that offers scope to do great work."
- Paul Graham
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
-Leonardo da Vinci"
❓ Questions
The contrast principle has been used by salespeople and manipulators since the dawn of time to get you to buy or do whatever it is that they want from you. Even when we understand what’s happening it can be very hard to stop it. What’s an example of somebody using this on you? Comment below.
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I read and share about history’s greatest minds, leaders and achievers, distilling their insights into actionable advice for everyday life. Share with a close friend if this article has helped you.
Until next time, Karl (The School of Knowledge.)
*Photo by melissa mayes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/full-solar-eclipse-6707257/