In 1906, magician Harry Houdini started to research an ambitious book he planned to call The Encyclopedia of Magic.
But the more Houdini worked, the more maniacal and single-minded his focus became — to discredit Robert-Houdin, the great 19th-century magician that Houdini had originally modeled himself after, down to the name.
Even the title of Houdini’s book changed. First it became Robert-Houdin’s Proper Place in the History of Magic… and then, The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin.
Robert-Houdin was a hack, Houdini was effectively saying. Robert-Houdin had managed to fool magicians into thinking he was something great and original, when he was not.
Yesterday, I wrote an email about how negotiation coach Jim Camp snubbed his mentor Dave Sandler.
Sandler was a sales trainer who had influenced much of Camp’s thinking — take a look at their published works — but Camp never seems to have given due credit to Sandler for his influence or ideas.
You might call that — along with Houdini’s attack on Robert-Houdin — petty, shady, or simply inevitable human ego that crops up even among great men.
You might call it that.
But I might call it smart personal positioning.
Hear me out:
It’s undeniable that being unique, new, distinct, never-before-seen is a tremendous advantage to your personal positioning.
The trouble of course is that you’re probably not unique, distinct, or never-before-seen, just like the other 117 billion humans estimated to have ever lived.
We’re all quite similar to each other, and we’re all really the outgrowth of our families, friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers, mentors, living and dead.
That might be true. But like I said yesterday, it’s not really what the human brain responds to.
The human brain responds to contrast. That’s the basis of cognition.
And what bigger contrast is there than saying about yourself, “There was darkness upon the face of the deep… and then there was light.”
So there you go. If you’re looking to improve your personal positioning, work on being more distinct, unique, new.
That’s given.
What you might not have thought about is to make yourself distinct and unique at the expense of the people who helped you get there.
It might seem like one of those unsavory and pointless things done by people who have made it to the top… but I disagree. At least about the pointless part.
People who get to the top often do things that seem unnecessary or even self-defeating — if you’re not in their place.
Anyways, that’s just an idea for you to consider.
I realize today’s message might seem a little dark, but that’s what happens if you want to reach into all corners of human nature. Some are nice and cheery… others are dark and disturbing.
If you are willing to face the dark and disturbing corners of human nature, and maybe even figure out how to work with them to your advantage, then I have an entire sub-training all about that.
That sub-training is Round 19 of my Copy Riddles program. It deals with the dark psychological things that are present in the best sale copy, which go deeper than mere self-interest.
For more info on Copy Riddles, from Round 1 to Round 20: