Ask anyone in radio or TV broadcasting who they think their audience is and they will answer with some form of “unwashed.”

The general managers of these stations want to believe that their audience is made up of successful stockbrokers and other affluent people. This narrative helps them to sell ads.

But ask any copywriter worth their ink the average grade level they write for. The best selling copy is targeted to the grade school level.

Politicians know their voters fall into the same low grade category. That’s why attack ads work and sophisticated ones are just a waste of money.

Radio and TV talk show audiences are pandered to by their hosts. They tell them what they want to hear. They know their general audience is not upscale or informed. So they can treat them like the morons the hosts believe they are.

The general population is not informed on issues because the only issue that means something to them is day to day survival. And when they want to know who’s to blame for their lot in life, their “friend” on the radio, TV, or social media, will tell them who the enemy is and it’s accepted without question.

Aaron Sorkin writes incredible political screenplays but they’re not targeted to the average voter. They’re for the already informed. The dialogue is too “snappy” and not relatable to the general populace. To reach them, you have to reach down.

It sounds snobby to quote Winston Churchill, but he goes right to the heart of the matter when he says, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

The message here is this: The people you watch, listen to, and read believe you fall into the category of “Collective Moron.” I’m not making this up. Ask any one of them privately who they think their general audience is and their disdain will astound you.

And if you don’t feel you fall into that low grade category, ask yourself the last time you reposted something scathing on social media that you didn’t vet, and you’ll know why they consider you all wet.

All the best,

John

Today’s question: Can an old saw still cut it?

Old saws are expressions that have been around longer than most of us can remember, but many of them remain memorable and apt.

Please feel free to add to the list but here are a few that come to mind that don’t nibble around the edges; they cut right in.

My all time favorite is an anonymous Chinese saying: “Talk doesn’t cook rice.”

Here’s one that will stand the test of time through time immemorial: “A stitch in time saves nine.”

And now a couple more.

“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.”

“A shoddy workman always blames his tools.”

I could go on and on with additional adages, proverbs and bon mots, but the real value is living them, not citing them.

Living them lets you cut through, citing them keeps you on a see saw.

It’s like Ralph Waldo Emerson reminded us, “Who you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

All the best,

John

The Grasshopper woke me up with this: “A counter thought is still thinking.”

He seems to be offering a prescription for not arguing with yourself.

First off, you have never won an argument with yourself, so there’s that. But secondly, the act of thinking keeps you from creating.

We are conditioned to believe that if we weigh the pros and cons in our head that we will come up with a creative solution. When has that ever happened?

Counter thoughts are just more thoughts. And if your mind is filled with thoughts, there’s no room for creativity.

Ah-ha moments don’t come from internal debates. Don’t take my word for it, just let the words of a great “thinker” sink in. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”

The next time you catch yourself gearing up for a debate, just notice the counter thoughts arising without engaging with them. Just the unemotional observation of these thoughts will dilute them, making space in your mind for something new to come through.

Let me leave you with this: The only “counter thought” that will serve you well is what kind of pie to order.

All the best,

John

“Beyond the shadow of doubt” indicates in crystal clear terms that which is being asserted, is not a mere shadow of the truth.

Such is the case when we discover that we aren’t who we “think” we are. I’m of the opinion that if we distance ourselves from our thoughts about ourselves, most of our perceived problems will fade into the shadows.

Coming to the realization that we aren’t who we “made up and got comfortable with” is the passageway to becoming more authentic.

There isn’t a person among us who wouldn’t benefit by getting out from the shadows of our false self.

The process starts by un-labeling yourself. “I’m a mother, father, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, or pole dancer” are assertions that need to be peeled away.

Once you stop describing yourself with nouns, you come closer to the you that can’t be named, yet is deeply felt.

Digging deep into the Tao te Ching – a 2500 year old Chinese philosophy – we find this:

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao

The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name

The unnamable is the eternally real

Naming is the origin
of all particular things

I guess in modern terms this philosophy can be reduced to this: Don’t take yourself so seriously, otherwise you’ll become a shadow of yourself.

All the best,

John

Just like footwear makes imprints in the snow, past events make imprints in our lives. Yet, trying to find those footprints after a new snowfall is as close to impossible as it gets.

Going back looking for what imprinted us is, at best, a history lesson. Looking for the cause, causes us to use the wrong pair of shoes. We don’t need ones that sink us deeper in the drifts, we need snowshoes – ones that facilitate walking forward, not descending into submersion.

I know some people who are in perpetual counseling. I wonder if they ever reflected on how going back over their cause keeps them mired in “because.”

“I’m this way because” is an abdication phrase that keeps us in a haze.

It may very well be true that past events cause you to react in a certain way now . . . until you notice. In the past, you’ve let your history handle you. It’s time now to handle your history. That means to notice it when it comes up as an excuse. And to quote The Grasshopper, “Excuses are like bad checks; they can’t be cashed.”

Start noticing your excuses for “why you are the way you are.” The more you notice them, the quicker they’ll go away, making way for sunnier days.

All the best,

John

Many people come to a choice point in life: whether to survive or thrive.

Surviving a crisis is one thing, but surviving as a way of life is soul sucking.

Thriving is a 2-step process:

1. Start

2. Continue

Starting is often easy. Think about how many diets you have started or projects that remain undone. The most important step is next: continuing.

Nothing starts without the first step, but it’s the second step that’s crucial to your success.

Inertia is the enemy of “second steppers.” Nike would probably insert “Just Do It” here, but it takes more than willpower. It takes passion.

As The Grasshopper reminded us moons ago, “You can’t be a rock star with part-time passion.”

Quiz yourself about what you’re passionate about. You may come up with a short or long list, but if there is nothing on your list, you are destined to remain a survivor.

Step in the direction of passion and discover that continuing is easier than ever before.

Survive or Thrive? It’s passion that gives your second step drive.

All the best,

John