Category: E-newsletter Fundamentals

How I Write This Newsletter

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28 COMMENTS

My wife and I were in Atlanta last week visiting our son Evan who moved there from Memphis a few months ago. Wow. What a great city. And it didn’t hurt that the weather was beautiful, bringing people outside for all kinds of eating, drinking, walking, pedaling, and scootering activities. I knew when we headed down there that I’d uncover some story fodder worthy of inclusion in this newsletter. But, rather than just writing it as I usually do, I’d like to walk you through the process I generally use and […] Click to read more…

Simply the Best

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23 COMMENTS

Over the past 20 years, science has delivered a ton of interesting and useful inventions. Smartphones. 3-D printing. And don’t even get me started on the burning-bush-level miracle that is Lady Gaga Oreos. Overall, the point of innovation is to make life easier, better, more efficient. Sometimes, however, things move in the wrong direction. Take liquid “body wash.” Why this is considered an improvement over bar soap (which has been around for 5,000 years) is beyond me. Whenever I visit someone and this is the only option, I spend my […] Click to read more…

Don’t Do These 2 Things

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33 COMMENTS

I arrived at my office yesterday morning as always. But I kept on going, until I drove eight more miles, wandering aimlessly through my little town. Why? Because the odometer of my 2013 Ford Focus read 99991, and I wanted to see it when it reached 99999. I knew I’d forget to look if I didn’t make a deliberate effort, so I drove around until I reached this impressive milestone (see photo). I’m quite pleased that my car has fared so well with few needed repairs, despite enduring many New England […] Click to read more…

Rekindle Your Newsletter

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16 COMMENTS

The truth is, it took me a long time to buy a Kindle. It’s not that I don’t like gadgetry, it’s just that I really like books. I like the way they feel. I like the way they look. I like sitting at my desk and seeing them happily loitering on my bookshelves across the way. But when I finally tried a Kindle, I was pretty much sold. First, and because it is Wi-Fi connected, I have immediate access to thousands of books. Plus, I can tap on a word […] Click to read more…

Make Your Stories Better

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12 COMMENTS

I had dinner last night with two of my oldest friends. Rick, Terry, and I first met in 1982, when we all belonged to the same karate school on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. For the next several years, it was a central part of our lives; we saw each other, in and out of the school, all the time. Thirty-nine years later, we still get together. Not often – about once a year – and always for dinner at the same restaurant. Interestingly, our dinner conversations are almost entirely confined to […] Click to read more…