"Top of mind isn't the same as close to heart"

My working on my business focus for the past few weeks has been via two books by Bernadette Jiwa.

'The Fortune Cookie Principle' where the fortune is the story, the thing that makes people feel something, and the cookie, the product or service, is full of great case studies and probing questions at the end of each chapter. These questions have really made me think about who I want to work with and what I have to offer them that will really make a difference to them.

This book is full of a great many insights such as "Product - Meaning = Commodity, Product + Meaning = Brand." and my favourite "Top-of-mind isn't the same as close-to-heart."

I highly recommend this book to you. Like me if will help you to clearly define your niche and the reasons people buy which Bernadette defines as:
"it makes them feel ..., they are looking for a short-cut, they want to feel more connected to a group, to belong, it works, it makes their lives easier, it gives them a story to tell, they need a solution to a problem, they like what you stand for, it helps them get from where they are to where they want to be, there friends are doing it too.

I recommend reading Bernadette's first book 'Make Your Idea Matter' before reading 'The Fortune Cookie Principle.'

As I am sure you do, I have a lot of ideas. Reading this book helped me to get really clear on which ideas I want to take to my niche and how to better create the story around my ideas because without a story most ideas go nowhere.

This book came from Bernadette's popular blog The Story of Telling which I also recommend you tap into.


I have added both these books to my recommended reading list.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian