Let’s start this week off with some good old thinking, shall we?
I want to try something different.
And give you some homework for tomorrow (don’t worry, just a couple of minutes – and it’s worth it!).
I just stumbled on a short story, from the book “The Unfettered mind”, that made me think.
A LOT.
And it might open up your mind to what writing good copy really means, too.
From the book:
“When Ippen Shonin met Hotto Kokushi, the founder of the Kokokuji in the village of Yura in Kii Province, he said, “I have composed a poem.”
Kokushi said, “Let’s hear it .”
Shonin recited:
When I chant,
Both Buddha and self
Cease to exist. There is only the voice that says,
Namu Amida Butsu.
Kokushi said, “Something is wrong with the last couple of lines, don’t you think?”
Shonin then confined himself in Kumano and meditated for twenty-one days. When he
passed by Yura again, he said, “This is how I’ve written it”:
“When I chant,
Both Buddha and self
Cease to exist.
Namu Amida Butsu,
Namu Amida Butsu.
Kokushi nodded his enthusiastic approval and said, “There! You got it!”
Cryptic, isn’t it?
But in its simplicity, it clearly points out a couple of very important concepts.
That when applied to your copy and messaging can skyrocket conversions.
So my question to you is…
What do you think this means (especially when applied to writing copy)? How can this hidden message help us increase conversions?
Just hit reply.
Tomorrow I’ll share my insights and some of the replies I get (feel free to include a link where people can learn about you; I’d love to spread the word about my amazing readers).
P.S. No I don’t plan on becoming a Buddhist or turning this newsletter in a religion-based media outlet. But the philosophy is truly fascinating and highly applicable. And if you’re curious about what I’m reading, here’s my reading list regularly updated (including past years’ completed books).
Quote and reflection of the day:
“Humans tend to anticipate more in the way of enduring satisfaction from the attainment of goals than will in fact transpire. This illusion, and the resulting mind-set of perpetual aspiration, makes sense as a product of natural selection, but it’s not exactly a recipe for lifelong happiness.” – Robert Wright, Why Buddhism is True
The purpose of a goal shouldn’t be to keep us unhappy until we’ve achieved it. It should be to make us happy, because it keeps us on the path to achieving it. It’s about the process, not the outcome.
