I’m reading this terrifying ancient Chinese book right now.
Check out the excerpt:
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This is an age of deception.
Con men ply the roadways. Bogus alchemists pretend to turn one piece of silver into three.
Devious nuns entice young women into adultery. Sorcerers use charmed talismans for mind control and murder. A pair of dubious monks extorts money from a powerful official and then spends it on whoring. A rich student tries to bribe the chief examiner, only to hand his money to an imposter.
A eunuch kidnaps boys and consumes their “essence” in an attempt to regrow his peen-is.
These are just a few of the entertaining and surprising tales to be found in this seventeenth-century work, said to be the earliest Chinese collection of swindle stories.
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Why am I reading this 400-year-old Chinese “Book of Scams”?
Well, simply because…
It was recommended by copywriting historian, Lawrence Bernstein. And I thought it’d be a good read. For getting insights into the human psychology of how scams work, why people fall for them, and how to avoid them. And basically anything else I could squeeze out of it, to increase my addictive copywriting chops.
But:
Contrary to what the excerpt says…
NO, it’s NOT entertaining at all!
In fact, the stories inside are so brutal, and downright TERRIFYING, that I’m shivering, and a little afraid to go out of the house right now. Even though it’s midday!
Is someone going to scam me the moment I step out?
Will I ever be able to ever trust anyone again?
Will there ever be true justice?
The world is such a cruel, dark place…
Nevertheless:
In spite of all the atrocities, I did learn a lot of things. Things that’ll help me… not get scammed! Especially online, by crypto and AI guroos. And that’ll help me create more ethically addictive content too.
The most important of the lessons being:
- Stop trying to get rich quick!
It’s crazy how many scams revolve around trying to get really really rich, really really quick.
Even when some of the guys getting scammed…
… were already rich in the first place!
If that new AI or ‘magic traffic trick’ or ‘biz opp’ that promises to turn you into the first one-person-billionaire without you doing hardly anything sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
Especially if it doesn’t adhere any of the fundamentals…
Not saying there aren’t legit ways to make money really fast. But most scams that follow zero basic principles ain’t them.
- Don’t get tempted by any of the 8 deadly sins!
I’m talking about greed, lust, envy, wrath, pride, sloth, and gluttony.
Somehow or other…
… it seems like almost every single scam and terrible decision mentioned in the book starts with the worst and darkest recesses of the human psyche. Con guroos love tapping into those. Especially online. And it’s the easiest way to send a victim straight to the ‘chopping block’.
- Don’t get drunk if you don’t wanna get scammed.
There’s no easier way to pull out the worst in someone, and scam them for everything they’ve got… than by getting them drunk!
But not just drunk with alcohol.
Which is probably the worst.
But drunk with success, tiredness, over-confidence, relief, anxiety, worry, and… basically any situation where you’re not sober!
- But probably the most deadly ‘sin’ of them all?
Getting started!
Because all scams start with the scammer giving you, and pushing you, into the tiniest actions that snowball faster than you think.
A little over-confidence.
A little careless indulgence.
A little cheating, and…
… it all ends up spiraling out of control.
Which brings me to probably the most important thing I learned from this book, as it relates to ethically making more sales and profits the real legit way, without scamming anyone.
And that is?
Getting people started!
Because probably the hardest part of getting people sucked-in to your content and copy, so you can move them towards making the sale, is getting their attention!
And getting them ‘addicted’ to finding out more.
Especially in today’s ADHD world.
But more specifically:
This ancient book holds a ‘hidden’ lesson for a very simple way you can use… a word or two to do just that!
Instantly start grabbing people’s attention so they can’t look away…
… getting them hot and hankering to know more…
… and getting them ‘hooked’ on the path of reading, watching, and listening to whatever you’ve got, or whatever you’re selling!
But, yes…
You can use this ethically.
Without any scams whatsoever.
And inside my new collection of 21 One-Minute Word Hacks, I talk about exactly how this ‘word hack’ works. Along with another (brief) attention-hacking lesson, straight from the heart of China… with what you can learn from the rise of Chinese counterfeit food… from fake beef and lamb chops, to rice made from plastic, and even… aluminum dumplings!
If you haven’t had the chance to tap into this ancient Chinese wisdom yet, you can do so here:
https://themysteriousmarketer.com/one-minute-word-hacks/
Allen Walker
The Mysterious “Suddenly Paranoid” Marketer
Allen Walker, the Mysterious Marketer, is the marketing genius who’s deleted more 6 & 7 figure businesses than anyone else on the planet (*all because he gets bored). He’s also known as the world’s most genius renaissance marketer. Visit his blog to read thousands of his ‘secret’ copywriting tips for getting paid to grow your email list.
This post (https://themysteriousmarketer.com/this-is-an-age-of-chinese-deception) was originally published by Allen Walker, The Mysterious Marketer. And yes, you can click that link to read his newest secrets for free…