Re my essay on Cultural Appropriation in the July 12 issue: 

“Thanks for your recent article on cultural appropriation. It triggered me to confirm that the University of Utah also has a written agreement with the Ute tribe for use of the Ute moniker for its sports teams – and has since 1972.” – DC

“In the 1980s, the Regents of Eastern Michigan University (EMU) decided that the name ‘Hurons’ was somehow inappropriate. Never mind that EMU borders on Huron Street and the Huron River. Never mind that the tribe issued an official plea to keep the name. Noooo, the Regents conducted a public poll to find a less offensive replacement.

“I submitted two entries through the local newspaper in case the obvious and fun ‘Emus’ didn’t win: the Blands and the Regents. So what did they latch onto? The EMU ‘Eagles.’ (Yawn.)

“Love your blogs; please keep it up.” – JM

“Cultural Appropriation. Before it became bad, it was apparently acceptable to liberals to appropriate culture and use it to boost their woke egos.

“The Maori culture was always taught in schools as part of history and social studies. This occurred for 75-100 years. In the last 25 years or so, this transitioned to Maori culture being more important in NZ schools and woke society than the 3Rs. Children in grade school were forced to learn, read & write in Maori. This was odd, for Maori is a verbal language only. There was no written word, ever! So a written language was created in order to force-feed the culture on the citizenry. Now all kinds of non-Maori people converse online, in person, and even legal contracts in a dead verbal-only language.” – TM

Re my essay on Grandparenting in the July 15 issue: 

“Freaking hilarious, Mark! And I love the long-term babysitting responsibility. Brilliant.” – KT

Re the Omeleto video in the July 15 P.S.: 

“The video… was something else. What was it, 10, 12 minutes? I’ve watched two-hour movies with less impact than that. It’s amazing when you can combine great dialogue, great direction, and great acting. It’s so condensed yet you come up with such an emotionally charged segment. I’ll spend the rest of my day wondering what happened next.

“Is it part of a movie or is that all there is?” – AS

My Response: Yes, that was the whole of it. As I said, Omeleto specializes in short films. I recommend it. It’s free. And If, like me, you sometimes find that you want to watch a good film but don’t have 90+ minutes to spare, it’s just the thing!

Why I keep doing what I do:

“Your blog is, as is everything you write, absolutely terrific.” – BB

Re our ongoing discussion about Wokeness: 

“[My] business professor… told a story about a businesswoman in Japan who traveled with an assistant who was a man who pretended to be the boss. A girl from the class got offended, saying the story was sexist. It was an international business course. He was just trying to give a look into another culture. I reached out to tell her that ‘I don’t believe he was intending to make a sexist comment.’ Too late, she complained and he was immediately fired, and I was labeled ‘a non-ally.’ That is the state of wokeness. The state of working as an employee for most businesses is similar. There is not a lot of conversation between the sides. Input, questions, or creative discussion is seen as a negative if it challenges entrenched beliefs.”– JG

Re what I said last week about the bad beginning of our recent trip to Greece: 

“Think you were being too hard on yourself… the thief was the problem there.” – AD

“At least you fed some fish!” – SL

Re my July 11 review of Delicious:

“I thought Delicious was terrific! Loved when they were brainstorming what was to become a restaurant. When they were all set up, waiting for people to come, it brought back familiar feelings of anticipation, apprehension, and excitement from my early days in business.” – AS

Why I keep doing what I do: 

“THANK YOU for your inspirational books. I have read The Reluctant Entrepreneur, Ready, Fire, Aim (many times), and The Pledge. Yes! You planted the Entrepreneur Bug in me. Can you please help me answer one question? How do I know if I’m an Entrepreneur?…. I’ve tried many businesses. But honestly, I’m not very good at it.” – SV

My Response: My first suggestion would be to reread those books and compare the advice given to what you have actually done. I guarantee you that there will be major differences. But because you’ve been kind enough to buy and read those books, I’m going to give you a brief, six-step protocol that – if you follow it assiduously – will virtually guarantee your success:

1. Pick a business in an industry that is currently growing. The faster the better.
2. Get a job in that industry. Preferably on the “revenue” side of the P&L ledger (rather than the “expense” side. Great options are as a junior marketer, salesperson, or copywriter.
3. Work your ass off to become a valued employee, while learning the business from the inside out.
4. While you work your way up, make contacts in the industry within and without your business.
5. When you are ready to go out on your own, test yourself by setting up something on the side while you keep your main job. (Yes, you will be working 60 hours a week!)
6. Once the side business is making enough to replace your current income, invite your boss to be your partner. If he declines, wish him well and become his competitor.

“Do you have any words of advice you would be willing to share with a newbie to the content marketing/copywriting world?” – KN

My Response: I have thousands of words of advice. They are contained in the books I wrote about writing and copywriting – The Architecture of Persuasion, Great Leads (cowritten with John Forde), and Copy Logic! (with Mike Palmer) – and in the basic program for copywriting that I wrote and AWAI publishes.

Why I keep doing what I do:

“I’ve been a fan of your books for some time now…. I owe my success in financial copywriting [to what] you gave in your books (Great Leads, Copy Logic, etc.) many years ago.” – TY

Re what I said about Carole King in the May 13 P.S.: 

“You really thought her fame was based on her Friends??? And the two guys you mentioned makes me wonder if you are speaking of Carly Simon?” – SH

“Carole King and her husband Gerry Goffin were a hit machine at the Brill Building. She’s not a celebrity; she’s one of America’s best-loved popular songwriters.” – VS

“Did you see the Carole King play? I knew she wrote many songs but I was surprise by how many, how good they were, and who sang them.” – AS

My response: I did have that idea – that her fame was at least partly dependent on the bigger artists she hung with. My point was that until I saw the video I posted, I underestimated her talent and appeal. For example, I remember seeing her do a song with James Taylor, whom I’ve always been very high on. And I thought she was tight with Mick Jagger. But the reader is right. I may indeed have thought that it was she, not Carly Simon, who wrote You’re So Vain. I remember also not particularly liking any of her songs, which may have been the cause of my bias against her. But seeing that video helped me understand that I was both ignorant and wrong.

Re what I’ve been saying about conceptual art: 

“Seeing all conceptual art as fraud is quite a broad stroke… there is much – as in all forms of art – that has validity, and plenty that doesn’t appeal to the masses.” – SH

My response: Yes, quite the broad stroke. And yet, I will make that statement again. Because I’ve yet to see an example of conceptual art that strikes me as anything but conceptually (i.e., intellectually) pretentious. My feeling about art is that pretentious art is, prima facie, bad art. And that plastic artists specifically should avoid dealing with ideas because they are generally ill equipped to distinguish good ones from bad ones.

Why I keep doing what I do: 

“Mark, may I get your opinion? Last night, I had a conversation with my son [who’s in an MBA program]. He’s been offered three CEO positions…. After telling me the money side, I asked him, ‘Which one inspires you? Which has a challenge that excites you? Which brings your vision to the company in a way that inspires growth down to the meanest employee? How will they be better off because you’re there? Which one leads you closer to your vision of the life you really want?’ Mark, was I leading him in the right direction?” – BM

My Response: I have two views on this.

I understand the idea of pursuing one’s passion. If one has a passion. Otherwise, I think this line of thinking is problematic. For one thing, we all have the primary responsibility of supporting ourselves and our families. So that must be a big consideration. If your son has no particular passions, or if his passion is something that is unlikely to earn him a decent living, I would recommend he put his passion where it belongs. On the side. Something he can do for pleasure while he learns how to make the money he needs to support himself and his family.

Passions change. And there is no greater source of self-satisfaction than to know that you can take care of yourself and your family. You’re his mom. So, you get a pass on this one. But make sure he reads Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting Out. That will give him the other view.

Re what I said about knock-offs in the June 24 issue: 

“Mark, if you haven’t already done so, I hope you write more about cigars in your forthcoming emails. It’s yet another area where you are expert and many of your readers would like to learn about cigars from you.” – BB

Re what I said about tourists in the July 1 issue: 

“I will never be dismissive about generalizations again. Great read!” – SL

Re my review of Ted Chiang’s book Exhalation: Stories: 

“Was really happy to see you’re enjoying Exhalation. Which story was your favorite?” – SC

My response: I can’t say I had a favorite. They were all great in the same way. I felt like I was reading a new kind of fiction. Not experimental, which I generally don’t like, but a style of writing stories that was fresh. That made me feel like I was looking at a familiar situation from a new perspective. It was clear that Ted Chiang is in full command of his craft.

Re my comments on gun control legislation: 

“Forget gun control. Start charging people $10 per bullet.” – AS

Why I keep doing what I do:

“I’ve come across your video about the power of one and I’m definitely going to implement it in every area of my business. Thank you for sharing.” – JO

Why I keep doing what I do: 

“Mark Morgan Ford, thank you for being such an inspiration to the world of words and to us!” – MR

“Thank you! You are my biggest inspiration when it comes to direct marketing. I study your Ready, Fire, Aim and Great Leads books. I bought AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Seven-Figure Copywriting, too. They’re brilliant.” – MO

“Hi Mark, I attended the AWAI Opal Resort Retreat. I appreciated your teachings about building financial success. I think I’ve shared your thoughts at least three times with people I know.” – BM

Re the P.S. in the June 14 issue: 

“Thank you for the video of the guitarist. He plays with his heart for sure. Listen to Omar, a young Nicaraguan now playing in London. Watch him on Instagram at Orimel17. He played in concert at Rancho Santana several years ago.” – MF

Re the P.S. in the June 1 issue about Bob Dylan: 

“After reading so many insightful comments from you about art over the years, I’m surprised that your column linked to this… column about Bob Dylan being the greatest artist of all time.

“I’m a huge fan of both Dylan’s acoustic and electric work. Even as his already thin voice has worsened over the last couple decades, he has continued to turn out top-notch compositions and recordings with a superb cast of musicians. (‘Tempest’ is particularly strong.)

“But greatest artist of all time?” – AG

My answer: 

Okay… this should be embarrassing, but I don’t embarrass much anymore. First… Dylan is not even in my top 1,000 list. But I loved the teaser for the article. It made me want to read it. And so I put in the link as a PS, with the intention of reading it later.

But then I forgot! And I still haven’t read it! But I will…

Re the June 6 issue: 

“I love your newsletter. I always read it and sometimes print it off to read again more carefully later…. This was a good one, too.” – TD

Why I do what I do:

“Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to answer some questions I had from Ready, Fire, Aim. It’s much appreciated, and I’ve been putting your advice to use.” – EG

“It’s a beautiful morning… thank you so much for all the wonderful teaching you share. Here’s a pic of my office…” – AD