Yesterday someone told me, in his emphatic half-duplex communication style whereby he’s so focused on espousing his wisdom to you that he has no brain left over to detect his listener’s rolling eyes:
“Looks aren’t important at all! All that matters is...”
Which reminded me of another guy I’d once met, a chronic exaggerator, who gave his insight on becoming a millionaire:
“All you need is one good idea! One good idea!”
That’s right. Forget what you think you know about success. The real factor for success is...
I call this persuasion tactic The Real Factor Pitch. Less obviously retarded than its retarded cousin The Magic Bullet, but in essence just another form of exaggeration. This shit is the shit that’s the shit. That other shit ain’t shit.
On the heels of The Real Factor Pitch comes the exceptional anecdote. The ugly guy with the beautiful woman. This proves that looks aren’t important! Well, no. His ugliness was a big handicap, which he compensated for by having a ton of other compelling factors. And of course maybe she’s a handicap herself. In a competitive world, low hanging fruit don’t last for long. They’ll be eaten long before you have a chance to read about them. The Real Factor Pitch relies on your naivety in believing the fruit is right in front of you if you just open your eyes.
Typically, success requires multiple contributing factors. Including skill. Including luck. Including shit you have. Including shit you don’t have. Including shit you can change. Including shit you can’t change. Including shit we know. Including shit we don’t know.
The least you can do for yourself is to objectively weigh up the factors that you do know.