The Most Common Persuasion Mistake You Don’t Realize You’re Making

One of the most essential skills anyone can develop in their lifetime is the ability to sell: whether an idea, a product or even themselves. Except that you can’t sell anything to anyone by force; you have to persuade people to buy on their own. For the ‘sell’ to truly matter, it must be the consumer’s personal choice to buy. Anything less, and you’ve already set yourself up for failure.

Yet, people working across all fields have a tendency to make one major faulty assumption when it comes to convincing someone.

A Guide to Showing Empathy in a Time of Crisis

a.k.a. How NOT to get thrown out of a funeral

If you’ve ever been not-so-politely asked to leave a funeral, you know what I mean when I say it’s one of those incredibly awkward experiences you never really know how to react to.

I mean, getting chucked out of a bachelor’s party or a wedding is something you could deal with. But getting ushered out of a funeral wake takes a special kind of effort in itself.

And before you ask, I most certainly did not make zombie jokes or run around creeping up on old geezers among the mourners and whispering “You’re next!” before scurrying away with an insane cackle.

Well. . . not this time, at the very least.

Of Doubt, Belief, and the Creative Process

“Some like to understand what they believe in. Others like to believe in what they understand.” — Stanisław Jerzy Lec

Over the past few months, I have experienced a rather abrupt departure from my usual pattern of writing. While I willingly admit to being a bit lax with the frequency of my posts (on both Medium and the other forums that I frequent), I have tried hard, and usually succeeded, at sticking to my quota of an article every fortnight.