Back at the beginning of the 2000s Amazon was working on a ton of new ideas and projects that gave birth to most of the tech we give for granted today.

They contributed to a better search (often fighting with Google), to product recommendation engines, to crowd sourcing tech (with their Mechanical Turk) and way more.

But at the foundation of it there was a very simple idea.

Jeff Bezos apparently was fascinated by a book titled “Creation”, by Steve Grand, a videogame designer.

Grand, argued that the most complex systems evolve thanks to and starting from their foundational components.

From the book “The everything store”:

“Jus as electronics are built from basic components like resistors and capacitors, and as living beings spring from genetic building blocks, Grand wrote that sophisticated AI can emerge from cybernetic primitives, and then it’s up to the “ratchet of evolution to change the design.”

It’s the reason why I believe the only way we can take control over AI and to truly make it useful, is to first master the fundamentals.

So we can instill them in the technology.

Unless you master the primitives, the building blocks of any skillset, you won’t be able to make good use of any fancy tech whatsoever.

As Bezos himself once said (and I love it because it feels very close to my own brand):

“Developers are alchemists and our job is to do everything we can to get them to do their alchemy.”

So whether it’s you or your team members wanting to experiment with new ideas or to learn anything, go after the building blocks, the fundamentals.

Leave the ever-changing tactics to the machines.

And then put it all together.

🥁 Now, a drum roll please… The fundamentals of copywriting – psychology, decision making, behavioral economics… all of these and more – are what you can now find inside our free ebook which just went live!

Since you’re already an insider, here you go.

In “The Alchemist’s Journal: Thought-provoking, weird, yet magical ideas to increase your conversions”, you’ll find:

• Chapter 1 – Conversion Rate Optimization: The art and science of squeezing the most out of what you have
• Chapter 2 – Copywriting: How to get people to do stuff for you (and why words are not enough)
• Chapter 3 – Buyer Psychology: Follow me into the rabbit hole and you’ll realize how deep it goes
• Chapter 4 – Sales and Marketing: Uncomfortable truths every biz owner and (copywriter) should know
• Chapter 5 – Decision Making:How irrationality guides your life and you don’t even know it
• Chapter 6 – Life lessons & Reflections: Your next big breakthrough is right behind the corner

And because ideas are worth s*&t without execution… you’ll also get step-by-step exercises and applications, plus my direct feedback on them – for FREE.

If you’re curious, you can check out the new landing page here and learn how I build the whole funnel + ebook project in this mini series.

Quote and reflection of the day:

“To remain oneself in a world that pushes for conformity takes courage. It takes courage as well as temperance to be restrained in a world of excess, where we attack and mock those who don’t indulge in the pleasures we have rationalized and the passions we have excused in ourselves.”

• Ryan Holiday, Discipline is destiny

What’s more important to you: to be true to your values or to follow the masses? You either will rationalize or find excuses for one or the other path. The one that requires more courage is likely gonna be what you need the most.