The 5 second rule...

You have 5 seconds.
What will you do?

5 seconds to make a decision.
Will you stay or will you go.
Jump or not.
Laugh or cry.
Get active or stay still.

You have 5 seconds.
No time to think.
No time to worry.
No time to analyze.
No time to wonder.

You have 5 seconds.
Are you going to try,
Are you going to avoid,
Will you speak up,
Will you shut up.

You have 5 seconds.

Your life is built on a mountain of decisions you make every single day.
The lack of making a decision is exactly the same thing as making a decision.
It's a choice.
You made it in 5 seconds.

And then wonder,
What may have been.

If your child was in a burning building, would you analyze the situation or would you run into the building willing to die in order to try to save your baby?
Your decision would be made in less than 5 seconds.
Forget fear,
Forget worry,
You would do it.
And wouldn't think about it.

The rational person says regret is a larger devil than death.
The rational person argues that instinct takes over.
The rational person contributes the decision process is analyzed at lightning speed.

The rational person is not wrong.
But they are also full of shit.

Rookie skydivers are told they will jump on the count of three. They get pushed out of the plane at the 2 count. Instructors know there's a good chance the jumper is going to second guess the decision and grab for the side of the door somewhere between the count of 2 and 3. So they push the jumper out at 2.

Second guessing, analysis, worry, and fear is the greatest foe of action.

In most cases you don't have five seconds.
Most of us will never jump out of an airplane.
Nor will we have to save our babies from burning buildings.

If we put an urgency to everything we thought about or wanted to do with a 5 second mentality, could we create amazing results for ourselves.

Say yes to that crazy project and then figure out how you're going to do later.
Wake up at 5:30 am. Countdown from 5 and jump out of bed to get the exercise done.
Worried about that phone call you need to make? Pick up the phone and call the person without worrying any more about it.

You have 5 seconds.
What will you do?

If every decision you had to make was made with 5 second precision, what would you accomplish in one day?
What could you get done in one week or a year?

The hardest step in doing anything is the first one.
The second hardest step is the second one.
It gets easier with every step.

The whole concept comes from a book called "The 5 second rule" that my friend Michel recommended.

I've used the idea three times today with varying results.
But there's no more guesswork.
Things get done.

As my daughter used to say, "Maybes are for babies. Make a decision. And make one now."

5 seconds...

Walking through a wooded path

I'm in the woods.
The trees whisper to me.
The birds giggle with excitement as they wake.
The leaves dance with joy as their friend, wind, pushes them toward the tree branches.

I'm oblivious.
I have mine own problems.

I'm in the woods.
Working on a problem.

I don't see the magic.
I can't witness the beauty.
Until I reflect after it is over.
Is it ever too late?

I'm in the woods.
The trees don't talk to me,
I don't listen.
The birds giggle, not letting me in their jokes.
I don't laugh with them.
The leaves pirouette around not asking me to join them
I don't dance so they leave me out of their fun.

The wind caresses my face.
It takes away my breath.
I curse, or turn away not wanting to be touched.

I'm oblivious.
I have mine own problems.

The trees, birds, leaves and wind play while they watch me work.
They do not worry for us,
fore they know eventually we will join them
In life or death we will whisper, giggle, dance and play.

The question is WHEN?

A letter to Donald

Dear Donald,

I've heard you're the leader of the free world.
People say you're stupid.
Some say your politics are questionable.
Others think you don't deserve to be president.
They worry you're going to bully your way through the other super bullies.

I don't listen to most people.
Ask my parents.

I'm a non-conformist.
In a world of conformity, I stick out like a razor blade in a room of balloons.

I think you're really smart.
The posers focus on your failures not understanding that failure is part of the formula to success.
The liberals focus on your inability to be prepared when they don't realize that the time for talking is over. It's time to get shit done.

I don't think anyone can have success without identifying really smart people to do the super important jobs. Business is run by book smart people and owned by entrepreneurs.

You're an entrepreneur. But you've also been a leader for a long time.

We need you to be a leader.
I don't like the way you do things, but I will give you credit for creating a great brand in "Trump".

But you're also an ass.
And that's what people have paid attention to.

Use your leadership skills to bring the world to a better place.
You don't need to be bully.
You don't have to be a jerk.
Just get it done.
The time for anger is over.
The time for hatred is in the past.

Leadership is the ability to listen and then execute a clearly developed plan based on that listening.

I'm concerned about your plan.
Your inability to plan for a press conference has me worried that you're not thinking this world game of RISK out.

You have the power to bring the world to extinction.
You can go down as the worst leader ever.

It's your move.
Take care of my kids' future like you will your own.

I am depending on you.
And so is everyone else.

A letter to an old friend - my belly

You have been with me since I was born.
You are bigger than I want you to be.
That's my fault.

I like food...a lot!

It's time to put you back in check.
On Sunday, I tried to tie my shoes and I was out of breath trying to reach over you to get to my feet.

That's not the life I want to live.
It's not a life for you either.

On Monday, for the nth time, I decided to do something about you.
This time is different.
I say that every time, don't I.

But this time, IT is different.

I'm addicted to food.
So I'm going cold turkey.

Yeah that's right. I'm not going to eat for 14 days.
Don't worry. I'll still feed you. It'll be a different way.
You'll get the energy and vitamins you need.

But I'm going to force you to work a little harder.
You've been lazy.
I've spoiled you with excess.

Now it's time for you to see what it's like to have less.
No more welfare for you.
Get to work and burn all that excess I've given you over the years.

My ears hurt from all the so called experts telling l me how to eat.
My knees are tired running 5 miles per day to eat what I want.

I'm not trying to hurt you.
You're going to get a bit of tough love for 14 days.

Then we will reassess at that time.
You take care of me.
And I'll take care of you.

It has to be a win win for both of us.
And right now I'm losing.
It doesn't work anymore.

So work with me.
And we'll get along just fine.

Unicorns are real

86 g of sugar...

The haters immediately jumped on the wagon where the band always plays.

The thing is gross.

I hate mangos.

It has too much sugar.

Starbucks is overrated.

These were the uninformed comments I had to endure after I posted a picture of my drink.

I have but one question. Did you try the latest frappacino at Starbucks called the Unicorn?

The Unicorn was supposed to be a spring time launch that was going to last one week. After one day, most Starbucks had run out of product.

The typical daily demand for the most popular frappacino  (Vanilla Bean) is 20. The Unicorn was purchased 527 times on the first day of the promotion at my Starbucks.

People attribute this demand to social media. Some say it was because of the limited time offer. Some say it was the media coverage it got. 

I go to Starbucks every day.

There was no "Coming Soon" marketing used.

The only reason I knew about it was because the staff let me try the nuclear powder when I asked what it was during their testing phase.

I did not google it. I did not see it on Facebook.

My friends didn't talk about it.

But I wanted one.

And when I went in the morning of its launch, I saw people ordering it like there was nothing else on the menu - seven at a time.

The Unicorn sold out in one day for a very simple reason.

It wasn't the marketing.

It wasn't the sugar.

It wasn't the price point.

One simple reason. You wouldn't think about it if I didn't point it out.

Colour.

The colour of a frappacino is usually white, pink, or some shade of brown. Mostly boring, normal colours.

The unicorn was a combination of purple, blue and red. It had the colours of magic. 

Unicorn - A perfect name for a magical drink.

Was it any good? 

I liked it, but it doesn't even matter.

It was magical.

My kids missed the opportunity and now they want one.

It was a magical day to see the Unicorn at Starbucks. 

I can't wait to see it or a cousin of the same variety.

Beware of the Marketing Weasel

A weasel is a furry clever little creature. He knows how to get in places where he doesn't belong. He's quick. He knows how to wiggle around and cause destruction. 

Weasels are like measles. 
They're itchy, twitchy and painful. 

The weasel will tell you that he can fix your business with highly targeted marketing. 
He will explain that there's nothing more important in marketing that a catchy slogan. 
He will use jingles and clichés and target market data to reinforce his point. 
If he's a really good weasel he will pull out research and he will explain why the key demographics feel the way they do. 

In the end he's not helping you. 
He is doing what he has been taught by other weasels. 
Weasels exist.

Don't blame them.
For they do what they've been taught.

We expect people to behave as we would behave. 
That's part of our problem.
Not everyone sees the world the same way.

One likes Donald Trump.
One hates him.
Who's wrong?
Only time will tell.

The weasel thinks everyone is weasel. 
Sometimes he's right and sometimes he's not.

I apologize if I've offended you. 
I believe in marketing because I have been taught by someone who is not than a weasel. 

Marketing is a long term investment. 
It is not necessarily clever. 
It touches the heart of the audience. 
The audience is everywhere. 
I have found 18-year-olds and 65-year-olds of both genders who have Facebook accounts. I have found that all types of people are interested in all types of things. The reason most marketing doesn't work is not because of the target audience. The reason most marketing doesn't work is because of a poorly crafted message. 

Weasels don't work on message. They use words like exposure, visibility, awareness, and branding.

I work on message. Exposure, visibility, awareness and branding are derivatives of messaging.

If you are tired of wasting time and money on all the weasels and its time to develop of clear and concise marketing strategy, you can contact me at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com.

An email to Seth Godin

This is actually an email I sent to one of my heroes, Seth Godin. He responded to me the same day.


Seth,

Let's not waste your precious time. I've read Purple Cow, Linchpin and The Icarus Deception. Love your work. You already know your work is great and so does so many others because of the amazing art you create. 

You've inspired me time and time again.

Today, I'm humbly emailing you because I discovered "small is the new big" at a used clothing store. Reading through your collection of blogs from ten years ago, has inspired me to start an entrepreneurial school. 

I've paid my own lunches for the past 10 years in business. But I want this business startup to be different. This time I don't just want to make money. I want to change the world - at least the entrepreneurial world. And the world is such a huge mouthful. No one can eat it in just one bite. So I want to start by taking a small nibble at it, in a relatively small area, learning, testing and refining until the product is ready to be eaten by every entrepreneurs world wide.

After reading your blog on NoBS, I would welcome your feedback, your ideas, and ultimately your support into such a venture that we change the way entrepreneurship is taught, manifested and developed in our new world economy.

Am I the right person to take it there? 

The honest answer is "I don't know". 

The confident answer is "Yes". 

The real answer is, "I'm taking a huge gamble, but life is a gamble. And whenever I'm forced to bet on something, I always bet on me."

Today I present an idea that may be perceived as impossible, until it isn't. I'm reaching out to Seth Freakin' Godin. This is the highlight of my week. 

If this is of any interest at all, please let me know.

If not, if you could kindly respond so I can gratuitously show everyone I had the guts to reach out to the Superstar of Thought, the Wayne Gretzky of writing and the Babe Ruth of blogging.

Thanks for reading,

Rick Nicholson  

My friend Tommy...

My friend Tommy is an amazing human.

On the surface, he looks like a regular Joe.

But he's one of the smartest men I know.

Graduating from high school, Tommy jumped into the family insurance business and took over from his dad when the time was right. 

Tommy used to drag race cars.

His last race the car hit the wall and broke four of his bones.

Tommy is a family man and realized that racing was part of his past and not his future.

What's really interesting about Tommy is his ability to be at the right place at the right time.

Tommy carries around a horseshoe...in his pocket.

I could write a book about Tommy. From his failed exploits as a race car driver to his automobile restoration business that he does for fun. 

Tommy is a wealthy man...with both money and friends.

No one has ever muttered a bad word about him.

They can't. He's THAT nice.

Tommy calls me once a month to find out how I'm doing. He doesn't tell me about himself. If he's got a big deal on the brink of closing, I won't hear about it until weeks later, unless I ask.

He could be bubbling with excitement on a deal and he'll let me talk his ears off.

Tommy gave me one of the greatest gifts a man could give.

He convinced me to do something that would change my life for the better. 

Let me explain.

I was sitting at home, enjoying some free time after I sold a business. The phone rings and there's Tommy on the other end.

"Hey Tommy, how have you been?"

"What are you doing right now?"

"I'm relaxing for a few days, trying to figure out my next move".

"Rick, I'm in Texas right now. You need to get your ass down here in the next month".

Tommy had visited Texas a few times to attend a school called Wizard Academy. 

"Tommy, I hear you. I'll have to look into it."

"Rick, what's the problem? Do you not have free time?

"Uhh, my schedule is empty right now."

"Do you not have the money to get on a flight and pay for a three day class in Austin?"

"Uhh, we did well on the business sale, I have some money to spend on my education."

"Then get your ass down here. The class you need to take is in 2 weeks. I'm telling them you're coming. Book it and think about it later."

So I did.

And it was one of the greatest business decisions I've ever made.

I've been to that school 6 times in 3 years.

And I can't wait to go again this fall.

Tommy knew that school was good for me.

He didn't call me because he got a kickback from the school.

He did it for me. 

He knew it would help me.

Because that's who he is.

Selfless.

The more he helps others, the more he gets back. 

Tommy recently bought another business.

Many thought he was retired.

A guy called on him one day to get a phone number of a mutual friend.

Asking why he needed the number, Tommy found out he wanted to sell his business.

Within 48 hours, Tommy secured financing, wrote up the contract and bought the business.

He didn't need the business. 

But you see, Tommy has a teenage son.

He wants to help him get his feet wet.

He's teaching once again. This time to someone more important than I.

If I told Tommy that he was a great guy, he'd laugh a little and shift the compliment back on me. 

If I called Tommy right now and said I needed him, he would meet me within an hour - if he was in town. If he was unavailable, he would ask if we could talk it out over the phone. He would drop everything to help me. I'm certain he would do the same for anyone.

That's the kind of guy he is.

Selfless.

Some call him lucky.

He will say that opportunity falls onto his lap. 

I say he creates his own luck. 

The universe has a way of rewarding those who go out of their way to help others. 

Tommy does that for a living. 

Is it any wonder why he gets more than his fair share of luck?

I've known Tommy for almost 10 years. We've never been to each other's house. We have only met each other's wife one time. 

I speak to him regularly.

I consider him one of my best friends.

Let's go to my office

The Howard called it "The third place".
My friend Jamie calls it "His second home".
I call it "My office".

I spend a lot of time at Starbucks.
It's next to my business.
I don't have an office at the business.
So I go to Starbucks to change the scenery and to relax.

Today, I was there to pay bills.
I rarely see anyone I know.
I keep my head down and pound on my Mac so furiously that it intimidates them from saying "Hello".

Over the past nine months, I've seen a lot of turnover at this Starbucks. Lots of new faces, but the same consistent service.

What do I want for my office?
-A comfortable chair. If I can't have a comfortable chair, give me an uncomfortable chair and a table.
-Relaxing music. If I can't have the music, at least give me wifi so I can connect to my own music.
-Happy people serving me. If I can't have happy people, give me unhappy people who serve me fast.

I always get what I want at my office.

I don't go to Starbucks because of the affordable luxury. I go because it makes me feel better about myself.

Two years ago, I watched a Starbucks employee give a homeless man a free cup of coffee.
Today, another employee let me try their new frappacino flavour before its official release on Monday. It was the first time I met her yet she treated me like an insider. Like family.

I love their attitude at Starbucks.
It's a lot like mine. So it's easy for me to like them.

Starbucks is my office.
The people who work here are like my co-workers.

I love going to my office.
I don't always get a lot done.
yet, I do my best thinking there.

Thank you Starbucks.
For being you.
And for making me feel good.

Understanding corporate values and applying them consistently is the key to long term success. If you want to learn how to act like Starbucks in your customer service efforts, you can reach me at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com. 

Wrestling characters and narrative arcs.

We can thank wrestling for the development of brands, storylines and loud mouth jerks.

The wrestling world was organized by independent companies throughout North America. Each company understood an unwritten contract that no one would infringe on another's territory.

Enter Vince McMahon. He inherited his dad's wrestling company and introduced a new kind of wrestling company. He didn't accept old agreements. He wanted to make his company gigantic and through purchases, acquisitions and bullying tactics, he became the number one wrestling company in the world.

The history books will say it started with Wrestlemania. I think it started with something else. Vince knew that every wrestler was a character. He saw characters enter and exit the different wrestling circuits. He witnessed regionalization and disintegration of character arcs because of the lack of exposure for the character

Wrestle mania was his Superbowl. Story development was the magic. Vince developed character arcs and narrative arcs to a national audience for the first time in wrestling history.

We saw Ravishing Rick Rude, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, The Million Dollar Man, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Ultimate Warrior, Honky Tonk Man, Hulk Hogan and many more. The announcers even had handles. There was Mean Gene Okerlund, The King Jerry Lawlor, Gorilla Monsoon.

Every wrestler had a handle.

In the early years, the stars wouldn't wrestle other stars on cable television. We watched Ravishing Rick Rude demolish Paul Carter. Macho Man would pulverize Jim Rains. It was never entertaining. It was never in doubt who would win. But we got to see our favourite characters perform their finishing moves on some poor sap trying out for the big leagues. We didn't watch it for the wrestling. It was the story.

The rivalry and intensity that would build from one pay per view to the next kept us coming back for more.

Vince was masterful in developing his stories and characters. We saw Hulk Hogan shock the world when he turned on Macho Man. We watched Shawn Michaels turn heal when he stopped shaving his chest. He showed up at Wrestlemania and turned on his buddy Marty Ginetti in a tag team match.

Shawn Michaels transformed from the likeable, clean shaven good boy to a foul mouthed, unshaven, boytoy in Heart Break Kid. Heart Break Kid became the nineties version of Gorgeous George.

All wrestlers, boxers and even UFC fighters need to thank the pioneer, Gorgeous George, for developing his character arc better than anyone before him.

Gorgeous was a flamboyant, over the top, braggart who sassed the crowd, never shut his mouth and his main talent was his beautiful blonde locks. The crowd loved to hate him. He would enter the ring with perfectly coiffed hair, long shiny robes with an air of indignation that would make the Queen sweat.

Rick Flair copied him.
As does Connor McGregor in the UFC
And so did the most greatest boxer of all time.

A 46 year old George told the young boxer: "A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth. So keep on bragging, keep on sassing and always be outrageous." 

That boxer was the future Mohammad Ali. 



"I wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick."  -  Mohammad Ali

If you want to do effective ads with character arcs and narrative arcs, you can contact me at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com. 

Does your Culture attract vultures?

A poisonous organizational culture results from a disconnect between how the employees behave and what the customer is told. If the company story and the organizational culture do not align, there will be a cancer inside the company.

Tell me what you believe in and I'll tell you how to market to your customers.

I'm reminded of this because of the incident on a United Airlines plane recently.

A front line employee normally has the authority to fix problems resulting from bad situations. If an employee uses force or threatens to use force on an innocent non aggressive customer, the poisonous culture shows its disgusting head like a vulture waiting to prey on a dead animal.

Did the customer act appropriately?
Did the airline act appropriately?

A business cannot care about customers. It does not have feelings.
Only people can demonstrate caring.
The example of Dr. David Dao shows that United employees do not care about their customers.

It could have been handled so much better.
The employees did not have the values needed to accommodate a reasonable solution.

A rational person with enough authority could have gone onto the plane and explained the situation to all customers. They could have offered the maximum amount under federal aviation laws and tried to appeal to a person's sense of community.

They only needed one more volunteer.

Instead they chose force.

I would bet that the employee who made the decision to call the aviation cops is a bit of a jerk with other employees.
I bet they don't like their job.
I bet there are lots of co workers who don't like this person either.

A customer is the most important asset a business has.
Without them, a business cannot exist.
It surprises me each time I witness poor choices in customer service.
It shouldn't.
I've been watching vultures circle around businesses for years.
For some reason, they think the customers will keep coming back.

You wouldn't go into a business knowingly and willingly when this type of incident happens.
Neither would I.
As long as there is a choice.

It's in the lack of choice that causes us to gamble on the asshole business, hoping it won't happen to us.
The vultures are circling.
Businesses die when they don't pay attention to their internal culture.

Take care of employees. Employees take care of customers.
It really is that simple...

On United Airlines website, this is what they have to say about themselves:

United is focused on being the airline customers want to fly, the airline employees want to work for and the airline shareholders want to invest in...

...our iconic "Fly the Friendly Skies" tagline has been reinvented to reflect what's most important to our customers, as well as all that the word "friendly" encompasses in today’s technology-driven world. 

If the employees REALLY believed any of this crap, could they have acted the way they did.

As proven many times, words committed to paper for mission and values isn't what really happens when stress is introduced.

This would never happen on Southwest Airlines.
The culture wouldn't allow for it.
The employees would block the door and sing a song about why they need an extra volunteer.
They would offer free kisses, and hugs and lollipops.

Don't forget an important point. United breaks guitars and wouldn't accept responsibility a few years ago...
Same company...
Same values...
Different incident.

Clearly nothing has REALLY changed.

To develop corporate values, you need to start with the leaderships values. Don't look at what you want them to be. Start with what they are. Then look for people who have the same values. That's what all the great companies do. Then communicate those values in your advertising. You'll attract the customer who has the same values. To learn more about this process, contact me at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com.

Tired of waiting

Doing a marketing seminar in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, we were discussing the effectiveness and importance of "break through" marketing initiatives.

I was using multiple examples to lighten the mood, when one participant spoke up and said, "It's kind of like the Spicer Jewellers ad.

Tell me about the Spicer Jeweller ad, I said.

So the lady went into great detail about the billboard and how it had created polarizing conversations throughout the community.

The premise was simple. A lady raising her ring finger and looking a little ticked off, with the headline, "She's tired of waiting".

Within the room, a polarizing discussion took place. One side of the room thought the ad was brilliant and could get them to buy the ring if they were in market. The opposite side of the room felt the ad was degrading to women.

One woman passionately explained why she found the ad offensive. In summary she is an independent woman and doesn't need a jeweller or a MAN to give her a ring.

She told the group she had shared the disruptive ad in one of her Facebook groups. And many of her friends were commenting about the same uselessness of the ad.

"Excuse me", interrupting her rant. "Can you tell me how friends you have in this group of yours".

There are over 700 of us. And we all feel the same way. That ad is offensive and we will NEVER buy from this company.

"Did it ever occur to you that you were probably not going to buy from them anyways", I replied.
"Did it also occur to you that in your rants, you have helped spread the word for this business?", "And in doing so, you may have helped them sell MORE diamond rings?"

None of my friends will buy from this company, EVER.

"Ok. But what about the ad makes you think the ad was directed at YOU?"

Drop the imaginary microphone. She didn't know what to say. She was visibly upset. I had demonstrated that although girls who get married want diamond rings, she may never get one, or want one. Plus it wouldn't be up to her where the ring is purchased anyways. It will be up to her partner...

After the presentation, I contacted Spicer's Jewellers. They admitted that they had received mixed reviews and were worried about the negative publicity revolving around the billboards.  It was so early in the campaign they were unable to figure out if the ad had increased sales.

I suspect this ad will need at least 6 months to pull in the core customer.

The idea came from the owner, not an employee.
It is for this reason, it won't be pulled down in 4 weeks.
The owner has already bought into it.

He had tested in another market and saw huge increases in sales for diamond engagement rings.

The ad guy would have pulled it down by now if it weren't for the owner's commitment.
It takes guts to do this stuff.
For that I applaud Spicer's Jewellers.

It is nice to see people willing to take a risk with their marketing in order to make a compelling, remarkable and sharable message.

You can contact me at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com if you want ways to make your marketing initiatives memorable and effective.

I'm afraid to tell you...

Those who can act with a natural disregard for emotion are my heroes.

Giving advice to others is easy. Taking that advice is hard. Fear gets in the way. Without ownership in the results of decisions, the advisor can give logical, rational reasons to do something.

The hardest decisions require rational thinking, yet emotions creep into the thinking process. These emotions take an equity position in our decisions. We make decisions based on emotion rather than rational reasons.

Roy Williams of Wizard of Ads has seven laws of advertising.

One of them is:
"Intellect and Emotion are partners who do not speak the same language. The intellect finds logic to justify what the emotions have decided. Win the hearts of the people, their minds will follow."

This blog isn't about advertising. It's about that emotions that wander into the decision making process.

I'm no better than the next person. Fear enters my consciousness regularly.

Some say I'm fearless.
Aline will tell you that's not even close to the truth.

Some say I have an infectious confidence that everything always works out.
Although I am extremely confident to my own detriment, I also know things don't always work out as planned.

Fear works on me everyday.
Some days it wraps its slimy fingers around my throat and slips me into submission.

Those are tough days.

Other days, when I win the round with my emotions. I kick it in the groin and work through the problem.

Those days, I use my secret weapon.
The weapon has nothing to do with me and more to do with the process I use.

Tell a person to calm down when they are mad and you know what happens. They get madder or resentful.
Tell a person to not feel sad, and they start to cry.
Emotions are not logical.

When I'm emotional about an important decision that needs to be made, I use a lifeline like in the TV show "Who wants to be a millionaire".
I call the most rational, logical person I know.
I talk it out loud.
I hear myself speak the irrational thoughts as they leave my tongue.
It is those moments that wake me up from my emotional induced dream.

In my friend's logical Spock like voice, he lures me away from the cliff. He rationalizes the problem. Being unaffected by my decisions, he can look at my problem logically. He helps me see the world a little clearer.

The best way to eliminate fear is not to avoid it. It's to face it head on. It's to act despite it. And most importantly to talk to a logical left brained person who can separate the emotion from the decision.

Zig when others zag

It's my most consistent piece of advice when someone who asks, "What should I do"?

My answer: Zig when others zag.

It is important to be perceived to be different. But it's also where the greatest opportunities lie.

Conventional thought is not new, exciting or different.

Conventional thought is thought to be safe. Others have gone and beat down the path to the prize. Its beaten path removes the beauty of the journey. It waters down the fertilizer for more fruit and the tree of plenty has produced just enough for those who have already passed.

Conventional thought changes as we become more intelligent with information. 

There was a time when the world was thought to be flat.

The sun revolved around the earth.

Fire was created by an element called flogiston.

California was an island.

Conventional thought is not new, exciting or different.

To penetrate that magic place in the brain that allows for new messages to enter, you must have a product that is considered new, exciting or different.

Working like everyone else will get you possibly to a safe place. Not necessarily fun. What if what you think is afe is actually dangerous? What if there is no prize on your safe journey? What if all the berries are picked? Follow convention and you may go hungry.

Are there business practices that belong to conventional thought?

Absolutely. Paying bills, treating people right, not cheating the government is all good conventional practices.

It is dangerous to be new, different and exciting. Your business may not survive. It is actually dangerous either way.

When it comes to product, price, promotion, place or the 4 P's of marketing, there should be less convention and more thought. Marketing is a creative discipline. It it thrives on delivering Messages that penetrate the target audience's brain.

I believe there's enough time spent on thinking originally. Too much time is spent on following in someone else's footsteps.

Rick Nicholson is a partner in Wizard of Ads, the Mack daddy of unconventional thinkers. If you want to contact him, you can reach him at Ricknicholson@wizardofads.com.

Conversations with a conditional offer

Story 1:

I was getting a coffee when this coupon winked at me. 

Hey, do I know you?, I asked.
No, but I like you. Would you like to get $50 worth of free coffee?

Sure! It's free right?
Yes, sweetheart. All you have to do is rip me off the pad, take it to the local bank, sign up for a credit card. If you're accepted, we'll make sure you get the $50 gift card for free coffee.

How is that free? Isn't my time worth anything? And what about my credit? I don't need another credit card. Are you telling me that my creditworthiness and my time is the toll I have to pay to get some free coffee?

Yes, darling We like you. But we need you to do something for us. When you sign up for that card, we'll have access to your personal information like address, phone number and birthday. We can send you unsolicited mail, email and promotions if you forget to check the box that opts you out of our annoying marketing. But you'll want this stuff. Trust me... 

I don't think so. You already lied to me once.  All I wanted was a coffee. You caught my eye with your wink. But now I hate you. Leave me alone and don't call me. Oh yeah, you don't have my phone number so you won't be able to anyways. 

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Story 2:

I was surfing Facebook when another ad caught the glimmer of my eye.

"Buy my travel services and you'll get a deep discount to celebrate our nation's 150th birthday", said the pimp.
I don't need your services. But it looks like fun. The price is right. Maybe I can take my whole family with me at that price.

Sure, why not?
You're right. Why not? I'm making plans already in my mind. This is going to be so much fun. We just have to figure out the details.

You're the man. Your family is going to love this trip. Your family is going to love you.
What's this in the fine print?

Oh, don't worry about that, you're under 25 years old, right?
Umm, No.

Are your kids at least 12 years old?
Umm, No.

A man with your beauty must surely have a bride under 25 years old.
Umm, No.

Well we only have a few limited seats for this offer. You don't qualify so leave me alone.
Wasn't it you that was looking for my business?

I said leave me alone. You're not the person we're looking for.
Is my money any less valuable than a 25 year olds?

Well, no. But you can afford to pay full price. We still want you to book with us. Just pay full fare.
But you told me the fare is only worth $150. I'm an idiot if I pay more. I liked the original offer, but I hate your exclusion condition. Here's a condition for you: I won't use your services unless someone forces me to or if I don't have any other choice.  I wish you a long and painful death.

************************************************************


I hate offers that have conditions.

Conditional marketing is a slimy way to catch the audience off guard. It tricks the audience to believe one thing to be true, when there is an alternative motive.

Alternative motives are sneaky cream pies filled with hidden agendas, lies and exaggerations. Transactions filled with these ingredients don't allow for healthy customer conversions.

If a company wants to sell extra product by putting it on sale, they should put it on sale. They do not need to be shady in their message

These tactics are supposed to be reserved for the weasel sucking used car dealers who are looking to take advantage of innocent customers.

There's no place in business for those behaviours, used car dealers included.

If you're looking to increase your marketing efforts and you're not a weasel trying to trick customers, you can contact me at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com. I can help in the marketing process to be honest, real and most importantly believable.

No country for private men (and women)

Living in a small town reminds me of the differences between country people and city people.

The city is cold, impersonal, friendly but mostly distrusting. Even friends and neighbours are merely acquaintances. The neighbours can hear you fart in the shower. The streetlights light up the neighborhood and the same farting neighbours can see you naked through your window.

In a village, everyone knows everyone. You are so and so’s cousin, or you grew up with Jimmy’s son or daughter. You worked with my mom. You can't hide from your reputation and everyone knows the shit that kept your parents up at night. 

They even know your love interests...all of them since you were five...

If you grew up in a small town, there are few strangers. 

Those who move to town are outsiders but eventually someone nosey enough finds out who bought the Dave Johnson property.

Country folk do that. They name the property after the owner. The owner could be dead for 20 years but the house will still be referred to as the Dave Johnson property.

The newcomers are outsiders. Eventually they get indoctrinated into the community. Because there are no strangers in a community where everyone knows everyone.

I’m one of those newcomers. I come from the country but moved to a new town where I didn't grow up.  

No one knows me. 

They don't know my parents, grandparents, cousins, uncles or friends.

They don't know the shit I did when I was a youngster.

They know the house I bought. It's Sylvie's house, even though I have proof she sold it to us.

I love small towns. 

I witnessed the interactions between six people on this spring morning. We were waiting for the bank to open. Three people were giving each other hugs. They were joking, laughing, consoling and asking how each other’s parents were. The last time I witnessed something like this in the city was at Christmas. But on this April morning, it looks like this could be a daily occurrence in this small town. 

The sense of community was beautiful.

And that’s why I moved to a small town. No one sees me naked. No one hears me fart in the shower. And the sense of community inspires me to be a better person. Even though my house will always be referred to as someone else's.

Choice is all we have

Speaking with a young teen reminded me the importance of choice.

It's all we have.
Money comes and goes.
Material possessions break.
Even love wanders around like sunshine.

We choose,
Therefore we have or have not.

From the time we leave the protection of our parents,
The choices become real.

To buy or sell.
To move or stay.
To spend or save.
To walk or run.

Friends, jobs, businesses, partners.
It's all our choice.

Bad choices cause problems.
Bad choices layered on bad choices is called bad luck.
Bad choices twice layered on other bad choices warrant panic.

The life we live is ours and ours alone.
No one is responsible for our outcomes except us,
And the choices we make.

So the next time you are in a situation that isn't what you wanted,
Ask yourself what do you own in the problem?
Don't beat yourself up about poor choices.

Fix it. Find a good choice to make, then make it.
Good choices layered on a good choice is considered luck.
Good choices twice layered on good choice warrants celebration.

At the time, we don't always know what is a good choice and a bad one.
Unless we're hurting someone.

Ask yourself next time you're faced with a challenging decision, "What is the consequence of this decision on others".
If you're hurting more people than you are helping, it's probably a bad decision.

You are powerful in your choices.
Use it wisely.

Those you affect also have choices.
They have the power to hurt you too.

A selfish mentality generates turmoil as bad situations keep returning.
A selfless mentality powers happiness.

And happiness is the key to living a fulfilling life.

It's your choice: Be happy or not.