The Ascendence Group

I wish I could take credit for what you are about to read, but I can’t. It comes from Robert Cialdini’s brilliant book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

If you are ever failing a class and need to break the bad news to Mom and Dad, send them this letter (if you’re a guy, you’re going to have to modify it just a bit):

Dear Mother and Dad:

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 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 an attendant 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 burntout 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. …

Note: This post comes directly from this site. It’s so funny that I had to repost it here. Enjoy!

__________________________________________________________________

Us Recruiter types get unintended cover letters and resumes all too often. This, however, was an outright attempt to be funny and succeeded. This was a response to an ad posting for a job at a university.  I’ve been told that they were laughing so much they actually contacted him for an interview!

His degree: creative writing. Enjoy this very real cover letter.

Subject: Campus Representative / Financial Aid Counselor

Dear Sir/Madam:

I saw your advertisement looking for a Campus Representative / Financial Aid Counselor and I am very interested in finding out more about the position.

I’m not sure I have the education and the experience required for the job, but I think there are more important qualities to look for in a potential employee.  Coincidentally, I happen to possess these attributes and have taken the liberty of enumerating them for you.

1. People tend to like me.  Why?  I am not really sure.  It could be my cherubic disposition or my devilish good looks.  It’s a puzzle that’s liable to stymie philosophers for centuries to come.
2. I am intelligent.  My mind is like a razor slicing through data with surgical precision.  No, it’s like a sponge soaking up every sight, sound and texture. Actually, I guess it’s more like steel wool, which is very effective in its own right.
3. I am a disciplined worker.   My mother never mentally left the Corp and she felt the need to pass her Marine training on to me and my brothers.  I still have flashbacks.
4. I am honest.  I wet my bed until I was eight years old.  See?  Honesty is even more important than my dignity.
5. I have excellent hygiene.

With nine FAFSA applications behind me and nearly $50,000 in student loans, I would be an excellent financial aid counselor as well.  If you fail to follow that logic, then consider how the federal government pays ex-cocaine addicts to show up at high schools and counsel the students.  If it’s good enough for that great bastion of reason known as Uncle Sam, then I am hoping it is good enough for you.

Well, I hope I have persuaded you into granting me an interview.  If so, I can be reached Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the numbers below.

However, if my impeccable (albeit sparse) resume has failed to lure you into a hiring frenzy, then I suppose I can forgive you.  Either way, you better decide quickly as I am considering several lucrative offers from some of the finest plasma donation centers in the region.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

(name has been removed)

Steve Jobs has mastered the art of becoming interesting.  How?  Because he always makes you think.

“If you live each day like it’s your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”

~ Steve Jobs, CEO Apple, 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech.

In Becoming the Most Interesting Man, I wrote about the three ways for winning vested interest connections [these are people that will actively help you in your career].  Today, I want to focus on the 3rd method: making someone think.

Have you ever had a conversation about the weather?  Or have you ever started a conversation with, “Have you been here before?”  Well, if you have, I’ve got some advice for you:

STRIKE THESE TIRED, WORN-OUT TOPICS FROM YOUR MENTAL DATABASE –  IMMEDIATELY.

Why?  Because they waste your breath.  They waste your time.  And most importantly, they are boring.  Boring is the death knell to the people you want to meet – the people that can make an impact on your career and your life.  Boring is like a poisonous gas that – once released into a conversation – destroys any chance of building a positive, lasting relationship.

You see, to get someone to find you interesting – interesting enough to want to help you – you must create compelling conversations.  You must be unique.   You must inspire thought.

HOW?

There is one place.  There is one supreme source of compelling content.  Content so fascinating that leaders across the world – from all disciplines and backgrounds – attend just to be a part of the conversation.  That place is called TED.

If you want to create compelling conversations yourself – conversations that can fundamentally alter the direction of your relationships – all you have to do is watch the videos.  Then share the ideas.  Spread the ideas like confetti at a parade.  And witness how easy it is to create successful, lasting relationships.

BONUS: I’ve got a special bonus for you. Here is a database of every TED talk that has ever been recorded.  Watch them.  Understand them.  Then share them with your world.  It’s the world’s best shortcut to becoming interesting. Just click here.

Continue reading "The World’s Best Shortcut to Becoming Interesting"

In TAG’s Mentorship Program, session #9 is devoted to the topic of “Becoming Interesting“.  Why is “Becoming Interesting” such an important topic that TAG devoted an entire session to it?  Well, to succeed in life you’re going to have to get people to like you.

How do you do that?  How do you get people to stop Twittering, Facebooking, Blogging, and whatever else-ing and get them to pay attention long enough to form an emotional attachment to you?  Then, once you’ve captured their attention, how do you become meaningful to them – so meaningful that they want to help you?  My answer – simple yet complex – will no doubt shock you…

You must become the Most Interesting Man.

…