1) Aristotle outlined the foundations of marketing and persuasion in “Rhetoric” over 2300 years ago:

Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Steve Jobs made it clear why Ethos and Pathos are *always* more important than Logos, yet I perpetually struggle with this.

2) Everyone on FinTwit/TechTwit is selling. It is *really* hard for me.

Fund managers sell to clients.

Analysts sell to PMs.

VCs sell to founders and clients.

Founders sell to employees, investors and customers.

3) Ethos is your values and credibility. One cannot persuade without Ethos.

Pathos focuses on the needs and emotions of the audience.

Logos encompasses all attempts to persuade by use of logic and reason.

Together they are Aristotles’s “rhetorical triangle.”

4) Maya Angelou’s famous quote is another reminder that Ethos and Pathos are more important than Logos. People will only remember how you made them feel. I know this, yet I generally underindex to Ethos and Pathos.

5) Personally, I find it difficult to convey energy, enthusiasm and intensity without appearing overconfident and inflexible. And when I focus on being self-effacing and flexible, I often come off as low energy. It is a difficult balance for me.

Live wire vs. wet noodle.

6) Investing - in all its aspects - requires finding the right balance between conviction and flexibility, between the arrogance to believe the market is wrong and the humility to recognize when you are wrong. And humility is essential to being able to be rational when wrong.

7) Very grateful to AG, one of my wisest friends and mentors, for reminding me of both Aristotle’s framework and Maya Angelou’s quote.

Yet it is still a constant struggle for me. Kaizen.