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In the middle of dinner last night, an old friend from high school stopped by my table to say hello. After we caught up for a few minutes Adam said, “You know Scott, I was just reading about you the other day.” “Really?” I said. “What were you reading?” “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.” “What?! Ripley’s? Get the hell outta here!” “Oh yeah, it’s in there. I just bought…

On the way up to my mastermind meeting at The Hughes Groupthis morning, I noticed something unique in the elevator. There were 18 floor buttons, but one of them didn’t have a number on it. Rather, it simply said: HUGHES. (Good thing, because I’d completely spaced out on the floor of my meeting!) Later on the way out, my friend Andy Masters made a comment about how the labeled…

Which of these sentences sounds more credible? They say Xbox 360’s are selling like hotcakes I read an article on CNN.com this morning that said Microsoft planned to sell 3 million Xbox 360’s within 90 days of today’s launch. Here’s the link. There’s a simple reason #2 is the obvious choice: credibility comes from specificity. And when people fail to be specific in their communication – both interpersonally and…

I started writing HELLO, my name is Scott during my senior year of college at Miami University. And since I was a marketing major, I like to think I applied some of my knowledge… So, as graduation drew close, I began collecting emails. LOTS of emails. And not just the addresses of my close friends with whom I wanted to stay in touch, but every classmate, casual acquaintance, radio…

In Al Ries’s famous book, 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, he explains that if you want to build a brand, you must “focus your branding efforts on owning a word in the prospect’s mind. A word that nobody else owns.” I couldn’t agree more. But it wasn’t until October 20th that it all came full circle: “Yes, Mr. Ginsberg, I’m one of the editors of Cosmopolitan Magazine. I’d like…

I had the opportunity to share the stage with three excellent St. Louis authors yesterday. Fellow panelists included Harry Samuels, Art Shamsky and Leslie Savan. Once the speech was over, we moved into the bookstore for a signing. And as usual, every person that approached me asked the same question most people pose after hearing me speak: Scott, HOW old are you again? You know, it’s funny. After nearly…

Every once in a while I meet audience members who point out something so insanely obvious; I wonder how in the heck I missed it. Ah, the wisdom of curbside observers. “Yes sir,” I said as a hand shot up. “Well, it’s not really a question, but more of a comment,” the man from the audience explained. Everyone turned their heads towards the back of the room as the…

I’ve been to 97 concerts in my lifetime. I know this because every ticket stub of every show I’ve ever seen since I was 12 lay under a sheet of glass on my coffee table. Some of the stubs are signed by my favorite musicians; some are tattered and torn from the pouring rain through which I stood and sung for hours. Some of the tickets aren’t even tickets!…

Since August of 2000, Idea-A-Day has published 1,910 ideas contributed by people around the world. I just stumbled upon this site on a Google search, and I think it’s probably the coolest website I’ve ever seen. Here’s today’s idea, contributed by John Kappa: DAY 1,910: Install an indoor switch near the exit of homes, offices and other buildings which turns off all lights and appliances. Certain devices, such as…

I’m frequently asked by audience members, readers, friends, family members and strangers alike, “Scott, how do you write your books and speeches?” (Click the image to look closer!) It’s a method I’ve been using for about three years. Actually, I have no idea what it’s called. For the sake of this post, I’ll just call it “The Ginsberg Method.” Anyway, I’m not sure where I came up with it,…