What people believe -- and what you can do about it

Here's one of Seth Godin's great "riffs," this time on Belief:

• People don't believe what you tell them.
  
• They rarely believe what you show them.
  
• They often believe what their friends tell them.
  
• They always believe what they tell themselves.

Clip this. Tape it to the upper left of your monitor. Remind yourself: You can't use marketing to change what people believe. It just doesn't happen.

Use marketing to speak to what they already believe. Even if they're "wrong." When you assimilate this truth, you'll do better fundraising and marketing. You'll stop being Sisyphus, and start rolling your stone along level (or even downhill) terrain.

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