Re my Mar. 9 essay “Becoming a Writer… in Spite of Myself”:

“My son wants to improve his writing skills. He asked what books would you recommend?” – AS

My Answer: Three that come quickly to mind are The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, On Writing Well by William Zinsser, and On Writing by Stephen King. But I’ll give you a longer list on Friday.

Re my Mar. 2 essay on “Why Good Advice Usually Doesn’t Work”:

“I so get your experience with getting your ideas accepted. I guess there’s no solution but to keep pushing.” – JR

“Maybe the problem is that your good advice isn’t so good!” – PJ

Why I keep doing what I do:

“I learned a lot from Automatic Wealth [LINK]when it came out years ago. Now that my kids are in their teens I went online looking for it, thinking it would be good for them to read now that they are nearing adulthood. But then I came across the book you wrote based on it, which was even better: Automatic Wealth for Grads and Others Starting Out. [LINK]I’ve ordered a three copies, one for each, and I’ll give them to each when they graduate. Thanks!” – SS

Re the Feb. 23 issue on Depression:

“Your article on Depression and the rating system that you’ve developed are extraordinarily accurate and helpful for readers. At this point in my life I believe it is a hormonal and cosmic energy imbalance. However, when I was in my 40s, I was hovering between 4 and 4.2 for a long time. Spent lots of money on therapies that didn’t seem to help beyond giving me something to do and someplace I was supposed to go. Thank you for sharing.” – MF

Re my Indulgence Diet:

“Love this! I have to try it.” – DB

Why I keep doing what I do:

“I was sitting down to write you a letter but I’ll just say it in this email: I really appreciate you and all you have done for me over the years. I know you are a mentor to countless copywriters and have had a major influence on the profession. But you have always been an influence and role model to me, as well. I owe you thanks and I do thank you. If there’s something I can do for you, you have only to let me know.” – BB

From BH re the Feb. 23 issue on Depression:

“I just wanted to let you know your piece on depression was the best I have read on depression since I was diagnosed last year. I have tried to make sense and quantify what is happening to others and this was the best way I could have it all make sense. Thanks for helping to make my life better.”

Re the Feb. 23 issue on Depression:

“I want to thank you Mark for being open about a very important challenge for a lot of people. I enjoyed reading your deep dive in applying an analytical metric to this problem. I do think your rating is valid. I have been aided by utilizing CBT. I am sure you have read of this treatment. Discovered by Dr Aaron Beck, a U Penn doc, David Burns, wrote a book, Feeling Good, which applies practical use of CBT…. Let me know your thoughts on CBT.”  – JM

Re my Indulgence Diet:

“Just back from Ireland after nearly two years of no international travel… and business travel packs on the pounds if you aren’t careful…. My core vices are starch, alcohol, and chocolate/sweets. I’d love a rotation like this. Your diet plan has given me hope… let me know if this 10lb loss holds up.” – EN

My Response: Give it a try! I’m down 14 pounds in three weeks and I never think about what I’m missing. Today, for example, I’m doing no alcohol, but I had a donut for breakfast and I just might have a cookie right now. Maybe two!!!

Re the Mar. 2 issue, where I included a quote from Bill Bonner about long-term stock market cycles suggesting that both in 1929 and 1966 it took the market nearly 30 years to recover from its low. AG wrote to clarify:

“I don’t know whether perma-bears don’t know this – or whether they don’t want others to know it – but the long dry spells for stocks they regularly cite are not real. Why? Because by looking only at the level of the indexes and omitting dividends, they grossly distort actual returns.

“For example, during the periods mentioned… stocks often yielded over 8%. (And when you reinvest those dividends when stocks are down, good things happen.) When the market hit bottom in 1932, they yielded over 14%. It took just 4 1/2 years for investors reinvesting dividends to be whole again even if they bought at the very top before the 1929 crash. (See link below.) Of course, most investors panicked and sold – or went broke on margin – but that’s another story.

“Nothing has beaten the return on a diversified portfolio of common stocks over periods measured in decades. Not gold, bonds, real estate, cash, collectibles, or commodities. $1 invested in gold in 1802 was worth $2.97 inflation-adjusted by 2016. The same amount invested in a basket of common stocks with dividends reinvested was worth more than $1.1 million inflation-adjusted over the same period. Yet stocks were a ‘losing trade’?

“For a fuller treatment of the subject, you might read Jeremy Siegel’s classic Stocks for the Long Run. The last edition is 18 years old. But you can extrapolate the charts forward and nothing has changed.”

Click here.

Re the Feb. 23 issue on Depression:

“I… wanted to both thank and commend you for the ranking system and the courage it took to talk about your malady. I’ve had some 3.5 days with the addition of physical pain. I never wanted to end my life but would have readily accepted it for relief. As near as I can tell there is some deficiency in the physics of my brain and it runs in the family (my father and sister). Wishing today is an 8.0 day for you!” – KK

My Response: Thanks! The suicide thing is interesting. I think it operates on a separate track, actually. I’m going to think more about that. As it happens, I was at 7.8 when I got your note. I’m an 8.0 now.

Re the Feb. 18 P.S.:

“I had not heard of Bill Burr before, but he is very funny!” – JM

Why I keep doing what I do:

“Just wanted to say thanks for everything you’ve done to help me and so many others. Every day I marvel at how my life is changing for the better… and how others’ lives are too. In fact, I just had my friend sign up for [your blog] because although I read a million newsletters and enjoy several… no one teaches quite like my friend Mark!” – SV

Re Ready, Fire, Aim:

“As a mompreneur, I had to have this book. It showed me how to set up a plan to save for me and my business. Also, my kids can learn many ways to succeed in their first jobs, and not be dependent on family. That’s an incredible gift to give to our future generation. I can encourage them by the results my business has had to be their own boss.” – HH

Re my essay on “The Soft Side of Estate Planning”:

“Great writing about family and finances. I think you are spot on. I can’t wait to read and share with my family your book on Charity. We were advised years ago to tithe 10% – 5% to our church and another 5% to local and other favored charities. We do it.” – JM

Re MarkFord.net:

“Your blog is a superlative and unique offering on my computer during the week. It simply has no peer at what it sets out to do. There’s something for everyone. I’ve gained wisdom, knowledge, background information, understanding, and, not the least, some badly needed business acumen.” – RK

“I was delighted to discover your website and learn of your credentials. I am a Mumbai-based author who publishes extensively in the US…. To date, I have published my fiction with over 70 literary journals in the US…. I have been a speaker at several international festivals. I have also been invited to speak about my work at [many] universities…. This is just to say: It’s so inspiring to learn of someone like you – your achievements and your initiatives. I hope we get to meet someday.” – MFS

Re my comments about identity theory in the Feb. 11 issue:

“Mark, I recently read a fascinating book that addresses the question of gender fluidity and trans people – as well as several other woke issues – called The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray.  It’s quite good.” – AG

From LinkedIn:

“First & foremost I need to thank you because you’ve had a profound impact on my life and career. I became a copywriter because if your writing in Early to Rise. Your articles & books have shaped a lot of my thinking about my own businesses.

“For example, you once wrote about taking a one-step-over approach to creating new products or businesses. That concept applied to networking conferences & business ecosystems allowed me to… create a network of 8-10 annual & semi-annual events….

“There are dozens of your ideas I can name with similar impact. So, thank you. You’ve been a profoundly positive influence in my life and my family and I owe you a deep debt of gratitude.”

Re my Feb. 11 review of the Clive Davis documentary:

“I liked your piece on Clive Davis. I worked at Arista back in the 80s [and] I met him a few times. Also met Whitney Houston and many others whose records I was flogging. Had a fantastic time, loved it. Arista went from around $25-30M in sales to over $100M in a couple of years on Whitney’s massive success…. Lots of fun, great memories. Feels like another entire lifetime now.” – TS

Re the Jethro Tull video in the Feb. 9 issue:

“I looked at the Jethro Tull video and had a flashback to grammar school. Sister Claire Eileen entered me in a music competition for the tuba when I was in 6th grade…. The professional in the Tull video criticized Ian Anderson for his flat fingering. Holy shit! That was the same mark against me when I was judged. It was the only mark against me but enough to lower my grade to a B. I was mortified. WTF! Flat fingers!” – JM

An email from DP:

I feel like I’m re-living many of your stories that I have studied voraciously in your books and blog posts. Thank you for being the mentor to so many that you never knew.