creativity Archives - Stoic Athenaeum

Stupid Ideas And The Rhythm Of Direct Response Copywriting With Glenn Fisher

Who was Glenn Fisher before he was a copywriter?

I was an accountant/auditor. I was going through life writing reports about the financial systems of places in the local council. And then something broke in my head and I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore.

I wanted to write in some form or another. Since I liked creative writing, I decided to do a degree locally. Flash forward, I needed a writing job and knew I didn’t want to be a journalist. So, I applied for every job that had the word ‘writer’ in it and by pure chance I applied for an Agora job in London. The role was for a junior copywriter and I didn’t know what copywriting was at the time. It seemed cool and I got to learn about direct-response copywriting.

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Ethical Leadership & Philosophical Training At Work With Ben Wilberforce-Ritchie

Great to chat Ben and to see all the work you’re doing with philosophy. What were your earliest experiences with philosophy and has your perspective changed over time?

It’s changed a lot throughout my life. I studied philosophy at school, starting back when it was called theology and philosophy for GCSE, and then at A level and what captured me was the philosophical aspect.

So we ran through things such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus. The big hitters of the time. It was very much Western philosophy and that interest then flowed naturally into my university degree.

The real reason why I ended up doing it at uni was because, at that time, I didn’t know what to study. My background was military, so my intention was to join the Royal Marines. But I wanted to get a degree and enjoy university at the same time.

My perspective was that philosophy, because there are no right or wrong answers, would be perfect. I thought: “I basically can’t get it wrong! I just have to argue really well”. That was my illogical teenage reasoning for choosing philosophy. Thankfully, I got really into it as I realised how well it teaches you to think.

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Blending Science, Creativity And Comedy In Copywriting With Justin Blackman

There are lots of great copywriters in the world and the beauty of the industry is that each has their own voice, unique style and way of doing things.

Learning from other copywriters is a fun exercise for me and it was awesome to interview Justin Blackman, who is pretty fly for a write guy.

Blackman has made a name for himself with voice guides and his scientific approach to copywriting. In this interview, we chat about the crossovers between science and creativity in copywriting, distinguishing yourself as more than a freelancer and the many flavours of voice.

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Learning How To Spar With Wisdom In Simon Drew’s Powerful Poet & The Sage

Philosophy comes in many shapes, forms, roads and paths. All these directions lead to the same direction: the pursuit of wisdom. Of finding ways to be better. Of getting to know yourself and others a little better every day.

It’s this pursuit of wisdom that informs Simon Drew’s The Poet & The Sage, a book that dives deep into the essence of philosophy and invites you to find your own meaning.

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