🏆 Winners and losers (new series!)

The antidote to FOMO in a weekly wrap up                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 May 26, 2023 | [Read Online]( [Rob Allen]( [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20How%20To%20Win&body=%F0%9F%8F%86%20Winners%20and%20losers%205.26.23%3A%20The%20antidote%20to%20FOMO%20in%20a%20weekly%20wrap%20up%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fhowtowin.beehiiv.com%2Fp%2Fwinners-losers-may26) Happy (early) Memorial Day weekend! I’m going to do my best to enjoy some time outdoors. And maybe throw some elk steaks on the grill. But if I’m being honest… I’m going to be biting my nails right up to Sunday night at 9pm. Because the SEASON and SERIES finale of Succession is coming up. And if we don’t get a good ending, I might have to take 6 weeks off to recover 😂 [tw profile: Film Updates] Film Updates @FilmUpdates [tw] ‘SUCCESSION’ finale in 3 days. May 25, 2023 6.21K Likes 491 Retweets 64 Replies But before I chew off my own hand, I wanted to share a new series I’m calling Winners and Losers. Where I highlight some of the biggest winning (and losing) ideas and trends over the past week. So you can add even more winning strategies to your toolbelt (or know exactly what to avoid). This week on the docket we’ve got: - 🏆 WINNERS: 2 masterclasses on storytelling (that you’ll instantly want to reread) - 🏳 LOSERS: 2 extremely controversial pieces of news (that the internet didn’t take well) - 🤔 AND A DRAW: A compelling case exploring the dark side of AI (that I couldn’t stop watching) Let’s dive in! The Winners First… 2 masterclasses on storytelling (that you’ll want to bookmark ASAP) I. The most incredible story of a “high-agency” person I’ve ever read [tw profile: George Mack] George Mack @george__mack [tw] Who is the most high-agency person you've never heard of? Rudolf Vrba. He escaped Auschwitz by soaking himself in gasoline -- to give a memo to Churchill, Roosevelt, and the Pope. Meet the man who saved 200,000 lives from the Nazis: May 24, 2023 8.04K Likes 1.24K Retweets 126 Replies I’m a big fan of George Mack and his [0.1% of ideas newsletter](. But man, this piece he shared on “the most high-agency person you’ve never heard of” stopped me in my tracks. Not only is an example a Level 9,000 journalistic find (the guy literally escaped Auschwitz by soaking himself in gasoline and saved 200K people), but the writing is masterful. Seriously, it’s one of those pieces I wish I could experience finding and reading again for the first time. For anyone interested in the art of viral storytelling, I highly recommend bookmarking and studying this. (Psst! Btw, one of the content series I’m working on with How To Win will be exploring Twitter and specifically “how to win” the platform. This instantly made it to the top of my “study this!” file. If you’re into growth on Twitter, stay tuned for more there coming soon) II. How to write an EPIC opening line (with EXAMPLES!) [tw profile: Robert Allen] Robert Allen @robwritescopy [tw] Every writer needs to know how to write a GREAT opening sentence Because if readers don't make it past the first line... Well, the rest of the work is wasted Here’s 10 first lines from my FAVORITE books (and what you can learn from them): May 25, 2023 53 Likes 9 Retweets 5 Replies The other day, I was on my way to my infrared sauna session (yes, I’m one of those people 🙃). When all the sudden I stumbled onto [this EPIC thread]( from Nathan Baugh where he shared his “weird habit” of collecting opening lines from his favorite books. It was such a fun thought exercise that I as soon as I finished my sauna session, I ran home and started frantically pulling my favorite books off my bookshelf while covered in sweat. My girlfriend (also a writer) walked into the living room and was like… ”Uh… are you okay?” Then, I told her about the exercise and she joined me doing the same thing for her favorite books. Writing nerds unite! 😂 Anyway, I wrote up [a fun thread]( breaking down some of the opening lines for my favorite books and what you can learn from them. People seem to love it. [[Follow Jay, he’s great and clearly has good taste]( 😜Â]( ALSO: If you’re a writer or want to get better at expressing your ideas, I would highly recommend trying it as a fun exercise with some of your favorite reads, too. It tells you a lot about the kind of hooks that you find fascinating (and what you can do to better pull people in to your pieces, leveraging your natural strengths). I’ve found out I’m a “OMG, WTF, PLEASE KEEP TELLING ME MORE” kind of person. What about you? Now, To Our Losers… 2 extremely controversial pieces of news that the internet didn’t take well I. HBO rebrands to MAX, fans are FURIOUS, and GLORIOUS memes ensue You might have seen the news that HBO completed their rebrand this week to MAX. Dropping the name behind some of the most EPIC TV shows and series in history — Game of Thrones, Veep, Sopranos, Silicon Valley, and more. And fans, well… They didn’t like it. Not one bit. [Many voiced their frustrations online](. And really, when you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense at all. They’re the PINNACLE of so many TV shows and then they scrap… the name? [tw profile: Andy] Andy @FrancisTheSailr [tw] I love how HBO Max changed its name to "max" so now has to clarify that it's the one to watch for HBO May 23, 2023 5.05K Likes 639 Retweets 102 Replies It’s basically a case study in how NOT to pull off a rebrand. But there was one bright spot: The memes we got out of it: Seriously, there’s too many good ones to include here. But have [a scroll through the top posts]( and I promise you’re in for a good laugh. II. Bryan Johnson’s blood (… or maybe just his haters?) Bryan Johnson is one of the most fascinating people in the world right now. If you don’t know him yet, he’s the guy spending $2m a year to develop the perfect health routine and reverse aging that he calls “The Blueprint.” And if you couldn’t tell from the price tag, this is no ordinary health protocol. It’s extreme. Involving gulping down 54 pills, an intense vegan diet of exactly 1,977 calories, an abdominal machine that sends an electric pulse so strong it simulates 20,000 sit-ups in just 30 minutes, and a ton more stuff (which you can see in detail on his website). But the newest to get added to the list is: [Swapping blood with his teenage son](. OBVIOUSLY this quite controversial. With some critics even questioning whether or not this is legal. So there’s been a lot of backlash. And a lot of media coverage. But all the controversy and write ups have propelled Johnson’s content to a stratospheric level of reach. And so, I guess if the goal is to make more people know about “The Blueprint” I guess… technically that’s a win. But as someone who doesn’t like needles, I can 1000% guarantee I’m not doing this even if it makes me live to be 300. And Finally, The Dead-Even Draw… 1 compelling case exploring the dark side of AI that I couldn’t stop watching I. [Exploring the dark side of AI]( Over the last couple months, I found myself in an echo chamber of people screaming only about the benefits of a AI. Heck I even wrote [a book about it]( (pssst! get a “mystery deal” as a How To Win reader with code WIN1). But a quote I often refer to is: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause or reflect.” So I decided to do some digging, look at the potential cons, and hear some of the cases why we might consider slowing adoption down. And what I found was pretty eye-opening. Not because I’m worried about some kind of AI apocalypse or anything of the sort. But because I had no idea how much more AI work was going on behind the scenes outside of it being an advanced chatbot. ChatGPT really is just the start. [I found this video from Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin to be particularly eyeopening](. If you want to be informed on all sides of what’s happening on the cutting edge of AI — both pros and cons — I highly recommend throwing it on 2x speed and listening to it on a long drive or flight this holiday weekend. Alright, that’s it for me, bye now! Rob “Counting down to the Succession finale” Allen P.S. In case you missed it, here’s some of the newest pieces on How To Win [Living As An Artist Among Algorithms]( See how to create in a world that wants you to be like everyone else. [Why Sh*tposting Works So Well]( Discover the secret strategy top creators are using to unlock 100,000 followers FAST [How To Stop Overthinking Everything]( See how to overcome one of the most crippling things in life: self-doubt [tw]( [yt]( [in]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here]( © How To Win (previously Kings of Conversion) by Rob Allen 1621 Central Ave Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001, United States of America [[beehiiv logo]Powered by beehiiv](