14 Comments
Aug 22Liked by Terry Freedman

"I didn’t know what had happened, but I knew that it felt good." Yes, finally! Sometimes we have to wait a while for these life-changing epiphanies, but when they come to us, they come BIG and can change our life-direction. I, myself, was 38 years old before I discovered my own gift and became shockingly successful. Great post today, Terry. I loved the inside story.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks very much, Sharron. That means a lot, coming from you.

Expand full comment

'work at a level beyond my self-doubt' ... Now there's a motto I can relate to! And I remember going to school on tubes with rows of newspapers exactly as you describe!

Expand full comment
author

😁 thanks, Drew

Expand full comment
Aug 22Liked by Terry Freedman

I laughed out loud, the perfect thing to me as I just put my drawing things away and thought, I'll just read one more 'stack before I move on to the next thing. The tube story is fantastic, as well as "I know how to engage an audience and work at a level beyond my self-doubt." Bingo! I know what that feels like!

Expand full comment
author

Thanks Mary! 😁

Expand full comment
Aug 26Liked by Terry Freedman

I think sometimes. Clickbaity titles have their virtues by making the content be widely distributed. However, the success (longevity) of the content depends on the quality.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, though I'm not sure how this relates to my article.

Expand full comment

It’s never what we expect. Public speaking is a gift. Engaging an audience is oh so fun.

I had a library of those books too. Do you ever refer to them?

Expand full comment
author

Yes, I sometimes look at the Personal Success Library books that my mum bought for me. Much of it is common sense, as I said to Jim, but some things are worth knowing or being reminded of. For example, there's a chapter on how to be good at figures. I was already doing some of the things it recommends, but there are other little tricks that I'd forgotten about, such as how to check if a calculation you've done is correct. (This was written in the days before pocket calculators or phones, but it's not always convenient to use them.) As someone who was useless at maths in school I need all the help I can get!

Expand full comment
Aug 22Liked by Terry Freedman

My favorite line:

"I often thought to myself that probably the best way of attracting money is to give talks and make tapes with titles like “How to Attract Money.”

I share your innate cynicism of these types of books/courses. I'm sure there are some valuable nuggets of wisdom in many of them but nothing life-changing as is often the promise.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Jim. I'm glad I'm not the only cynic around here! I agree with you about nuggets of wisdom. Sometimes I have a look in one and (re)discover something that I think bears remembering. I wonder if it's mostly a matter of common sense really.

Expand full comment
founding
Aug 21Liked by Terry Freedman

I read How to Win Friends and Influence People before my first post college interview. My mother suggested it. Sigh. I got the job. It was collecting taxes for the IRS 😂So there is that. I should have read “The Very Rich and How They Got That Way”. Instead. As always, I enjoy your stories.

Expand full comment
author

Lol. I hadn't heard of that book. I wish I'd read it too! 😂 thanks for kind words, Jeanne

Expand full comment
Error