June 29th, 2015 (No Comments)
This article was featured in our weekly newsletter, the Liberator Online. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here. You’ve seen it featured in crime, courtroom, and police dramas on television. A powerful and dangerous individual or group has gotten away with force and fraud for years. Finally, the police and prosecutors find a witness whose [...]
June 4th, 2015 (No Comments)
This article was featured in our weekly newsletter, the Liberator Online. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here. I was in a Starbucks, drinking coffee, and reviewing my notes in Libertarianism by Dr. John Hospers. A 20-something guy walked in the door, glanced at the cover of my book, and walked over to my table. “Are [...]
April 5th, 2015 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 20, No. 14 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) “Michael, most people aren’t very interested in liberty,” a 10-year libertarian told me. “Really?” I asked. “Would you like to find out why?” “Yes,” he said. “What are 3 fascinating things about freedom?” I asked. “Well, there are lots of interesting things,” [...]
March 22nd, 2015 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 20, No. 12 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) What’s the WORST piece of advice that many motivational gurus and personal coaches give to under-performing business and sales people? “If you’re not getting the results you want, double your rate of failure. Or triple the number of prospects you call on,” [...]
March 9th, 2015 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 20, No. 10 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Strategies and tactics of libertarian persuasion can change people’s beliefs and opinions. But they pale beside the mind-changing power of teaching others the facts and principles of liberty. A little libertarian learning can change the hearts and minds of millions. Don’t take [...]
February 25th, 2015 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 20, No. 8 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Maybe you’ve carefully read everything Ayn Rand ever published. Or you’ve studied the complete works of Murray Rothbard. Or the complete Harry Browne or Henry Hazlitt or Ludwig von Mises or Milton Friedman. So you feel ready to discuss or debate something [...]
January 29th, 2015 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 20, No. 4 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Over 110 million people will watch this Sunday’s Super Bowl. A 30-second Super Bowl TV ad costs $4 million. A 60-second spot costs $8 million. Suppose a billionaire challenged you to write a 30-second or 60-second TV ad for libertarianism that gets 10,000 or [...]
January 9th, 2015 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 20, No. 2 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) …and if we are, what can YOU DO to speed up the process? A number of libertarian researchers, thinkers, and writers strongly believe that the libertarian movement is growing faster and moving forward faster than ever before. They cite the growing and snowballing [...]
December 31st, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion PowerPoint section in Volume 19, No. 27 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) New Year’s Day is coming up. If you’re like a lot of people, you’re thinking, “I ought to make some New Year’s Resolutions.” “Let’s see. I ought to lose 10 pounds. And I probably ought to stop smoking. Oh yeah, I need to [...]
December 15th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 19, No. 25 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Want to give your family and friends a gift they’ll treasure? Want to shower them with values beyond measure? Freely email them three or four of the most thought-provoking libertarian essays that you’ve read in the last six months. From the Liberator [...]
November 30th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Power Point section in Volume 19, No. 23 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Do you want others to carefully listen to your points during a conversation? Carefully listen to theirs. Want others to make every effort to see things from your perspective? Diligently and intently make every effort to see things from their point [...]
November 10th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 19, No. 20 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Knowing what to do will make your life better. So will knowing what not to do. Knowing what to say will improve your conversations. So will knowing what not to say. Want a quick way to recognize what not to do or say? Want a simple and direct [...]
October 24th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 19, No. 18 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Have you ever been in a political argument where the other person acted like you hadn’t made a single valid point? Ever debated morality or economics with someone who ignored everything you said? Frustrating, isn’t it? Beware. This is the moment in many [...]
October 2nd, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion PowerPoint section in Volume 19, No. 16 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Successful martial arts schools nurture and protect their newest students. Their beginners. They care for and help develop their beginners’ skills and discipline. They protect them from far more experienced and skilled students. Because if new, young students make progress, they will [...]
September 11th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Power Point section in Volume 19, No. 15 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) What’s the fastest and easiest way to bring people into the libertarian movement? “Help some of them see that they are already libertarians,” says Perry Willis, former Executive Director of the National Libertarian Party and current vice president of Downsize DC. [...]
August 26th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion PowerPoint section in Volume 19, No. 14 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Have you ever put your foot in your mouth? Have you ever said something and wish you had bitten your tongue? Have you ever exploded on someone for no good reason? I have. Probably you have, too. Maybe you were abrasive. Maybe [...]
August 13th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion PowerPoint section in Volume 19, No. 13 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Look for issues where 80%, 90%, or more of the writers and readers disagree with you. Where conventional opinion is overwhelmingly against you. Brainstorm the key 3 to 6 reasons why you’re right and they’re wrong. Sketch out 10 or 20 headlines for [...]
July 28th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion PowerPoint section in Volume 19, No. 12 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Libertarian persuasion usually takes place in conversation. Not speeches or seminars, books or white papers, important though they are. Libertarian understanding usually grows out of talking and listening. So start or join a libertarian conversation. One-on-one. Or with a small group. In [...]
July 17th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion PowerPoint section in Volume 19, No. 11 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) “The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me,” wrote George Bernard Shaw. “The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.” Most of us aren’t [...]
July 7th, 2014 (No Comments)
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 19, No. 10 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Would you like to live in a world where empathy is both virtuous and profitable? A world where it pays to meet the wants and needs of others? Look for it in the private sector. Private enterprises. Free markets. Without empathy, private [...]
How to Identify and Avoid Communication Landmines
(From the Persuasion Powerpoint section in Volume 19, No. 20 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!) Knowing what to do will make your life better. So will knowing what not to do. Knowing what to say will improve your conversations. So will knowing what not to say. Want a quick way to recognize what not to do or say? Want a simple and direct [...]