There are three types of people:
Dear reader,
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On a scorching summer day in ancient Greece...
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... the great Aristotle was asked to define humanity.
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He paused, stroked his beard, and said:
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"Holy shitballs, it’s hot!"
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Wait. Wrong quote.
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No, what he actually said was this:
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"There are three sorts of people: those who are alive, those who are dead, and those who are at sea."
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***
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Now, Aristotle had plenty of insightful observations in his day, but this one?
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Not exactly his greatest hit.
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Personally, I’ve heard drunken Uni students come up with more profound theories on humanity while puking in an alley.
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Oh well, I guess even The Beatles had their fair share of duds.
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So what exactly did Aristotle mean by that?
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Your guess is as good as mine.
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But hey, why let Aristotle have all the fun? I figured I’d try my hand at a cryptic quote of my own.
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Will it be quoted two thousand years from now? Probably not. But stranger things have happened.
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At least you'll benefit from having my cryptic quote explained. And trust me, it will need to be explained.
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Here it is:
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There are three types of people in this world:
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(1) those who buy a horse
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(2) those who buy a horse and lead it to water, and
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(3) those who buy a horse, lead it to water, and... make it drink!
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I shall explain:
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Almost everyone forms relationships - friends, acquaintances, business connections - even if it’s just having a boss. That’s the first group.
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The second group? They try to influence those relationships, to lead people toward their way of thinking… but they fail.
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The third group does the same thing, but with one key difference:
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They Succeed!
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Still confused?
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As always, I shall further explain.
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We've all heard this old chestnut: you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
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Well, that’s only true if you don’t know what you’re doing.
You see, it's very easy to make a horse drink IF...
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... You Know How to Make it Thirsty!
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Lemme break it down for you in a way that even a brain-dead city slicker could understand:
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First off, salt.
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That's right, you sprinkle some of that white gold in their feed. It's like dropping a family-size bag of Doritos in a teachers' lounge during standardized testing week - they'll be chugging water faster than the cast of The Real Housewives downs boxed wine on a Tuesday night.
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Next, exercise.
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Get that four-legged grass muncher moving! Run it around like it owes you money. By the time you're done, that horse will be thirstier than a divorced guy at last call.
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Now, here's a trick - limit their water. Just don't overdo it, or PETA will be on your arse faster than you can say "glue factory."
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Clean water?
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It's obvious but overlooked. You wouldn't drink from a toilet, so why would a horse?
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Lastly, wet the feed.?
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It's like sneaking vodka into the punch bowl - they're getting hydrated whether they like it or not.
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Bottom line:
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To get a horse to drink, you simply make the horse want to drink.
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Well guess what?
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People are no different, my friend.
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You can’t force anyone to do something they don’t want to do. But you can make them want to do it.
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For those still waiting for their morning coffee, that was all one big metaphor for persuasion.
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What exactly is persuasion?
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Persuasion is the art of getting people to:
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(1) Agree with you. And...
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(2) Act the way you want - while believing it was their idea.
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To be prudently redundant:
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Persuasion means syncing with people’s thoughts, desires, and fears - then gently guiding them to your way of thinking while letting them believe they got there all on their own.
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Do it right, and they’ll act on your requests like it’s the last donut at a police precinct.
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Do it wrong?
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You’re just another schmuck yelling into the void, hoping someone cares.
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But Kelvin, you didn't really give any actionable ways to do this.
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Time and place, Freckles... time and place.
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The time is at the beginning of March, and the place is inside the March issue.
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Comprendo?
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To get in on the action, go here: https://kelvindorsey.com/mavericks-inner-circle/
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Your friend,
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Kelvin
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