This Just In… Myspace Tom Is Cool Again

Thanks for tuning in! This week’s post features: The Prince by Machiavelli (book), Myspace Tom Beat Facebook in the Long Run by Jeremy Gordon (blog), How to Speak so that People Want to Listen by Julian Treasure (ted talk) & more. Enjoy…

Book: The Prince by Machiavelli (138 pgs)

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the importance of reading the Introduction to books, especially historical ones. It paints a better picture of what was going on in the time of the writing and gives more context to the message the author wanted to convey. The Price is typically associated with maniacal deception and manipulation to prosper as a leader by way of exercising their power. While The Prince definitely has devious themes, reading the introduction gives you a better understanding of why Machiavelli wrote in this tone. Given that, there are also times in the book that Machiavelli stresses the point that the Prince must build his state on the goodwill of the people, which is commonly ignored.

It’s also important to note that this writing was never meant to be published for the mass public. This was an application, of sorts, for a job in the government of the time and I would like to say he went above and beyond. While it’s not certain, it is believed that he treated this work as an opportunity to audition. He didn’t wait for an interview, he saw an opportunity and went for it. He addressed the common problems prince’s are known to face, offered thoughtful solutions and showed his potential value. Machiavelli applied a strategy that Ramit Sethi modernized and dubbed the Brief Case Technique. I urge you to at least learn the level of preparation and offense driven mindset that Machiavelli embodied and apply these traits at your next audition (read: job interview).

Blog Post: Myspace Tom Beat Facebook in the Long Run by Jeremy Gordon (2 mins)

Don’t let the semantics of the amount that both of these people are worth distract you. The same could be said for our example last week in the TED Talk section. Seriously though, how much do you really need? This is proof that more isn’t always better. As the saying goes, “mo money, mo problems.” If I were to judge, I would say that even though Tom hasn’t reached the level of success or notoriety that Mark has, this is probably a good thing. I would rule that Tom is winning the game of life right about now. It’s crazy to think that months ago he wasn’t on anybody’s radar. Nobody was talking about him and even now hardly anyone is. Yet at this point in time, it looks like Tom is the clear winner. I know it’s not a competition, all I’m saying is that from my perspective I would rather have Tom’s life as opposed to Mark’s. It just goes to show that life is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s like when you analyze movies, you don’t look at the individual scenes, you consider the whole film. Only then should you make your judgements.

Ted Talk: How to Speak so that People Want to Listen by Julian Treasure (x mins xx secs)

Hint: this isn’t the way

We are surrounded by noise that seizes our attention which makes conversing difficult. Because of this, we generally don’t speak to others very well, we don’t engage them when we talk so how can we expect them to listen. Furthermore, our attention span has become almost as short as the attention span of a goldfish. Apparently, we only retain 25% of what we hear.

In this talk, Julian shares the 7 deadly sins of speaking, the 4 cornerstones of powerful speech, some tools to make the cornerstones more powerful and 6 warm-up exercises to perform before giving a speech. I know I am guilty of all of the 7 sins and definitely need the tools to bring the 4 cornerstones to fruition. One thing is for sure, I learned more in this talk than I did in my public speaking class in college. Without further ado, here are Julian’s tips:

The 7 deadly sins of speaking:

1. Gossiping
2. Judging
3. Negativity
4. Complaining
5. Excuses
6. Exaggeration/lying
7. Dogmatism

4 Corner stones to powerful speech or H.A.I.L. ( to greet or acclaim enthusiastically):

1. Honesty
2. Authentic
3. Integrity
4. Love

Tools to consider before speaking:

Register (tone), timbre, prosody (opposite of monotone),

pace, silence, pitch, volume

6 warm up exercises for talking

1. Arms up deep breath in and sing out
2. Ba with your lips
3. brrrrr with your lips
4. La with your tongue
5. roll an r with your tongue
6. The siren weeee (high) awww (low)

The exercises probably don’t make any sense; luckily, Julian demonstrates in the video. So if anything, watch just for that.

Bonus: What Are You Looking For? By Gary Vee (2 mins 04 secs)

One more thing from Gary Vee.

You will find what even you are looking for. The world is like Google, if you search for something you will get results that are aligned with your search. Simple as that. Additionally, you get back what you put in and you attract what you think about. All of these play to the same topic and yield similar results. Meaning, if you think about happy things you will attract happy things, if you put positivity in the world you will get back positivity, if you look for the good in life you will probably find more good deeds, same with the opposite for all of these. Meaning, if you do the opposite you will get the opposite results. To illustrate this point I like to say, the mind is a magnet, the world is a mirror.

Now, I’m well aware this isn’t a flawless system, you will always have haters and/or lovers regardless of which side you are on. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and sometimes good things happen to bad people. Either way, it just makes sense to have this outlook. It’s almost like Pascal’s Wager in the fact that it makes so much sense to favor one side over the other.

Don’t believe me, try for yourself. Take up Gary Vee’s challenge and only acknowledge positivity for the next 24 hours and see what happens. If you think this is nonsense and you’re too negative to even attempt this challenge, well, I think that’s telling in it of itself.

Quote: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulder of giants” — Isaac Newton

If I ever write a book, this is going to be the opening quote. I have learned a tremendous amount from taking on this project. All of the wisdom that I have gained is due to learning from others that shared their thoughts with the world. In no way am I saying that I have come close to the level of intelligence of Isaac Newton or any of the people that I have referenced throughout this blog’s history, all I am saying is if you learned anything from me, thank these people, don’t thank me. At best, I have been a vessel, sharing my ideas on other people’s ideas. One day, however, I hope to share something great with all of you. When that day comes, I want to remember the source of my knowledge, I want to remain humble, and I want to continuously be grateful.

What was your favorite bullet in this post? If you had to pick only one bullet to keep in this post what would it be and why and if you had to get rid of one what would it be and why? Send a message or comment below.

Find any good content lately? Send it to thejustproject@gmail.com. Include “I want to be featured” as the subject for a shout out.

Like us on Facebook to stay updated on everything that is The Just Project.

Please share with anyone you think might be interested!

To your growth! Stay curious…

P.S. If you want my notes for the book above, send me an email with the subject “Notes for (insert book name)” and I will happily share.