#103 – 1908 Cars & Live Demos

Quote, Podcast, Story, Hack, Tweet.

Good morning everyone,

Hope you’re having a great week!

Let’s jump in.

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read time 3 minutes 

#103 at a Glance:

  • Quote: One thing at a time…

  • Podcast: Why are young men feeling so lost?

  • Story: The car race from New York to Paris in 1908.

  • Hack: The ‘Live Demo’ Pitch.

  • Tweet: AI is coming for you.

Quote I’ve been thinking about:

“The genius can do anything, but he does one thing at a time.”

Matthew McConaughey

Podcast I listened to:

Modern Wisdom #607 – Mike Thurston

Why are young men feeling so lost?

Are the distractions of modern life stealing your purpose?

Who are the female role models out there?

Really enjoyed this chat, I love when these guys collab. Chris and Mike went to university together 17 years ago and so the conversation always has a familiar vibe that makes it really easy to listen.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

[Podcast Length: 1 hour 19 minutes]

Story I’ve been thinking about:

In 1908, there was a car race from New York to Paris 

Came across this incredible story courtesy of History Facts about a car race from New York to Paris in 1908.

Here it is:

“In the early 20th century, when automobiles were in their infancy, the idea of driving long distances was still ambitious. But that was precisely the challenge of the 1908 New York to Paris race, a bold, 22,000-mile competition that spanned three continents during the dead of winter.

On the morning of February 12, six teams representing four countries — France, Germany, Italy, and the United States — gathered in front of 250,000 spectators in Times Square in New York City. The cars and their teams, made up of drivers, mechanics, and journalists, departed at 11:15 a.m. The American Thomas Flyer car quickly pulled into the lead. Behind it came Italy’s Zust, Germany’s Protos, and three entries from France — a Motobloc, a De Dion, and a Sizaire-Naudin (the latter broke down and dropped out of the race after just 96 miles).

The ambitious plan was for the teams to reach San Francisco within 22 days; from there, a ship would take them to Alaska, where they would drive across a presumably frozen Bering Strait into Siberia, continue across Russia and Europe, and finally reach Paris. But the race didn’t exactly take place as planned. The cars took twice that time to reach the West Coast, and the spring thaw made the Alaskan route too difficult. Competitors were instead rerouted to Seattle, shipped across the Pacific to Japan, and then shipped again across the Sea of Japan to Vladivostok, Russia.

Along the way, drivers endured blizzards, sandstorms, and nearly impassable roads — if there were roads at all. Mechanical problems, personnel changes, and visa delays also caused setbacks. In the end, just three of the original six cars completed the journey. On July 30, the Thomas Flyer finally reached Paris. A police officer initially refused to let the car proceed with its broken headlight, but a passerby offered up a bicycle light. Though the Protos had technically arrived three days earlier, organizers issued a penalty for shortcuts taken along the way. So at 6 p.m., after a 169-day journey, the American car officially won the great race.”

Isn’t that just remarkable?

I really felt quite inspired after reading that.

The courage and adventure of man is something we must frequently be reminded and seek to embody amidst the perpetual sanitisation of the modern world.

Source: History Facts.

Hack I’ve been using:

The “Live Demo” Pitch

Brilliant sales tactic from Alex Hormozi:

“People will believe your future the moment you show it to them.

Most businesses try to close sales with big promises of future results...

But we found something far more powerful: giving prospects a tiny taste of the actual experience before asking for the sale.

Here's how it works:

Instead of just describing what you'll do, do a small piece of it right there on the call.

Real Example we did with a marketing agency about 9 months ago:

Old way: "We can get you 100 qualified leads a month."

New way: "Mind if I play you a live call that’s happening right now with a lead we generated for a plumber in your area…plays call yea, this is happening right now. Do you think you could handle 100 of these a month if we sent them to you?"

Watch the glint in their eyes. This will beat any pitch you can come up with.

More examples:

  • Gym: Do one perfect form correction

  • Marketing: Fix one headline live

  • Consulting: Solve one specific problem

  • Software: Show one premium feature live

The key: It must be:

  • Fast (under 60 seconds)

  • Valuable (obvious benefit)

  • Easy to understand

  • Impossible to fake

Tiny proof beats a big promise every time.”

Tweet I liked:

AI is Coming for You

Thanks for reading! Grateful for your support.

Stay hungry, stay humble, stay curious. ⚡

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