Incline thy ear unto my sayings:
Over the past day and night, I’ve had an unusual influx of new subscribers. I went to check my website analytics.
There was nothing unusual except extra traffic to a post with a weighty and smooth title:
“The 7th pillar of influence”
“Huh?” I said. I couldn’t remember ever writing this. I had no idea what it was about. But I did find the title intriguing so I looked it up. It turns out the “7th pillar of influence” is an email I wrote in very earliest days of my newsletter, back in 2018. I won’t tell you about the content of that email — you can look up the 7th pillar on my site if you like. But I will tell you about that title:
The 7th pillar of influence was a play on T.E. Lawrence’s 7 Pillars of Wisdom, his memoirs of serving in the Arab revolt. I read that book some time ago, but I never did figure out what the 7 pillars of wisdom are. I checked just now. It turns out Lawrence’s title was itself a reference — to the book of Proverbs, chapter 9, verse 1:
“Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars”
Now I betcha that this Old Testement reference in Lawrence’s title is one good reason why we are still talking about his book today, one hundred years after it was written. And perhaps it’s the reason why my email from 4 years ago, archived in the chambers of death that is my website, got some surprise visits today.
James Altucher called this practice plagiarizing.
And what else can you call it? Stealing from another text, word for word, without giving credit. And yet, James himself has stolen in this way many times, for the following reason:
Because out of the thousands of documents written over the past 5,000 years, this document has survived. Thousands didn’t.
Religions and philosophies sprung from it. Millions worshipped it.
The text is somehow primal to our experience as humans.
So let me reveal a secret to you:
If you want to instruct or influence people, and you want to find an attractive way to package up your message, then dig through the Book of Proverbs. Find a formulation that has survived thousands of years, and stuff your message in that box.
Perhaps you think it’s foolish for me to reveal this secret. But I find that the more I scatter good ideas about, the more they increase.
On the other hand, the Book of Proverbs also promises blessings to those who sell. So let me sell you a spot on my daily email newsletter. It’s worth more than fine gold. You can pay for it by clicking here.