We interviewed Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of Win Bigly, How To Fail At Almost Anything And Still Win Big and The Dilbert Principle. As a trained hypnotist, Adams viewed the 2016 US Presidential election through a different filter: he saw a Master Persuader who brought a flame thrower to a stick fight. He gave Trump a 98% of winning, not based on policies and politics, but based on his ability to influence, persuade and hypnotise the masses. 

We think it's vitally important to learn and understand these principles and techniques. Like many other books we've read and reviewed, you have a few options: you can learn to recognise someone trying to influence you, you can use your own persuasion for good, you can use persuasion for pure evil. 

Check out Scott's comic and blog: www.dilbert.com

Check him out on twitter at: https://twitter.com/scottadamssays 

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Win Bigly - by Scott Adams

'Persuasion in a world where facts don't matter'

This book is all about persuasion, and it's phenomenal. Scott Adams uses the 2016 U Presidential campaign to dissect and tools and techniques of persuading others, both on an individual level and to the masses. Things like 'cognitive dissonance' and 'confirmation bias' make it possible for persuasion to work, and Adams shows us things we can use ourselves, like the 'high ground maneuver' and 'two ways to win, no ways to lose'.

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We thought we'd do something a little different this week. We're both doing a 'comfort challenge' this week and stretching ourselves WAY outside of our comfort zones by taking a 5-day stand up comedy course where we have to do a live public performance at the end... If you want to come along and watch us, the show is on Thursday 29th March in South Yarra in Melbourne. Email us at [email protected] or DM us on social media and we'll send you the info to get tickets.

A big takeaway from this book is how to structure a joke:

1) Set Up. Don't try to be funny here, this is the serious/insightful/original observation on every day things. The Set Up is comprised of Topic + Attitude + Premise

2) The Funny. Don't just deliver the punch line, you have to do an Act Out. For bonus points, go for a Mix and combine in a seemingly unrelated topic. 

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Crushing It - by Gary Vaynerchuk

'How great entrepreneurs build their businesses and influence - and how you can, too'

After reading and reviewing Gary's first book, Crush It!, we were eagerly awaiting the follow up. Crushing It goes deeper into the eight essential components that are required to build a great business as an influencer, and then dives deep into all of the current hot platforms you should be spreading content on.

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Michael Shermer is the founder of the Skeptic Society, which boasts over 55,000 members today. He is also the editor-in-chief of Skeptic Magazine. 

Skepticism means viewing the world through a rational eye, always looking for scientific evidence to support or refute new claims, and always beginning with the null hypothesis (assuming it's false and putting the onus on the claimant to prove that it's true).

In this episode, we talk a little bit about the philosophies of being a skeptic, we talk about conspiracy theories, and we talk about Michael's brand new book 'Heavens On Earth', which took a look at the scientific evidence of the afterlife, heaven, utopia and so on. 

Check out Michael here: http://michaelshermer.com/ 

Check out Skeptic magazine here: http://skeptic.com/ 

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Skeptic - by Michael Shermer

'Viewing the world with a rational eye'

This book is a taste of what it means to be a 'skeptic'. Put simply, it means not believing everything you see, hear or read. It means putting all new claims through a series of questions and examinations in order to find the truth, not just the opinions of fringe thinkers. 

The book covers a whole bunch of short essays on a wide range of ideas - out of the hundred or so in the book, we pick our favourites three or four each to discuss and talk about the approach you should take for viewing the world as a 'skeptic'.

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So Good They Can't Ignore You - by Cal Newport

'Why skills trump passion in the quest for work you love'

This book is a real-world look at career progression and getting the most out of your working life. Newport argues that 'follow your dreams' is almost always bad advice, and in many cases, it's actually dangerous.

Rule #1 - Don't Follow Your Passion

Rule #2 - Be So Good They Can't Ignore You

Rule #3 - Turn Down A Promotion

Rule #4 - Think Small, Act Big

Get the book summary we wrote here: www.whatyouwilllearn.com/summary 

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Crossing The Chasm - by Geoffrey Moore

'Marketing and Selling disruptive products to mainstream customers'

If you want to build a new multi-million-dollar disruptive technology, your first step should be to read this book. Moore breaks down the market according to their psychographics into: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards. Many new technologies can appeal to innovators and even to early adopters, but the 'chasm', where all the dead bodies lie of crushed hopes and dreams, is when companies try to cross over to the early majority.

If you're building a business, its something you need to understand.

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Greg McKeown is the author of the book 'Essentialism'. 

In this episode, we talk about: - The 'Busy' Bubble

 - Elon Musk's 'First Principles Thinking'

 - How we can be less 'busy' but more productive

 - How employees can apply the principles of Essentialism even if they're not the boss

 - And much more.

Check Greg out at https://gregmckeown.com/

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Essentialism - by Greg McKeown

'The Disciplined Pursuit of Less'

Why are people so 'busy'? Why do people feel like it's a badge of honour to have a calendar full of meetings? It's important that there is a MASSIVE difference between 'activity' and 'productivity' - just because someone tells you they're so busy, doesn't necessarily mean they're actually achieving anything. 

Centred around the German maxim weniger aber besser, 'less but better', Essentialism is all about finding what is truly essential and cutting away everything that is not. It's about doing less, but achieving more.

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