The Wisdom of My Late Father

My father wasn’t in advertising. He was a third-generation insurance broker.

But he taught me more about copywriting and advertising than any ad creative I’ve ever met.

My father proofread everything I ever wrote.

Seriously.

The first thing I wrote that he didn’t proofread was the eulogy at his funeral.

From him, I learned the importance of storytelling.

Of putting pictures in people’s heads.

And of always making it ”more about them than you.”

He was also an incredibly talented musician. https://lnkd.in/eTGgCVf

And, more importantly, an incredible human being.

All of the above made him an incredible salesman.

Last week was the 11th yartzeit (anniversary) of his passing.

So I thought I’d share some of his best advice:

“If you can sell yourself. You can sell anything.”

“Sometimes, a dollar saved is a dollar saved. Sometimes a dollar saved is five-million dollars lost.”

“Be more interested than interesting.”

“Start with a joke if you can. Even if it’s a bad one.”

“Show them. Don’t tell them.”

“Don’t explain. Tell a story.”

“Don’t kid a kid.”

“If you see someone not smiling, that means it’s your job to try and make them smile.”

“Why say it if you can sing it?”

“If you can buy the fish, you can afford the salt.”