Joshua Lisec, The Ghostwriter Profile picture
Aug 6 β€’ 26 tweets β€’ 5 min read β€’ Read on X
Reading good books is the most underrated writing hack in the world.

But there are millions of options to choose from...

Here are the 5 gems you wished you read earlier:

πŸ†πŸ“š
The first book is one that many people on Money Twitter already own.

I know this because I've had conversations with you where you've told me:

"Joshua, I want to write a book like this one day."

You hold up a copy of it- and it's one that I ghostwrote.

πŸ’ͺ
Gem #1: Mass Persuasion Method by Bushra Azhar

Bushra is the best known online marketing influencer bar none.

She's also the most beloved.

She has a bombastic personality.

I ghostwrote her book.

Then it sold tens of thousands of books per month.
What offers did Bushra use her book to sell?

-Services
-Courses
-Coaching
-Communities
-Subscription products

People needed her perspective, she gave it, then they bought all her other offers. πŸ’°
Bushra's entire business model is the application of Robert Cialdini.

You know, the Influence guy.

His books are THE textbooks on the psychology of persuasion.

They leave you knowing you need to apply persuasion, but they don't tell you how.

Enter Mass Persuasion Method.
Bushra's book answers the tactical questions that business owners want to know:

How do I persuade people?

How do I style in my email subject lines?

How do I structure video scripts?

How do I talk about myself online consistently?

How do I make people see me as an authority?
Mass Persuasion Method tells you exactly how to do these things where most business books just rehash Cialdini without giving any specifics and call it a day.

Watch Bushra's case study of success here: entrepreneurswordsmith.com/bushra-azhar/
Gem #2: Congo by Michael Crichton

Yes, that Michael Crichton, the Jurassic Park guy.

Congo is a book that purports to be non-fiction.

If you wrote your non-fiction book like Michael Crichton in Congo, you would sell a lot more copies.
Congo reads like a novel.

Consider Dr. Ross.

A typical non-fiction writer would describe the real person Dr. Ross like so:

Her personality was cold.
She was distant.
She was aloof.
She often seemed far away from people.

Michael Crichton names her after a glacier.

πŸ‘‘ Image
He used one metaphor and what do you already know about Dr. Ross?

She's distant.
She's icy.
She carries a lot of secrets.

πŸ₯Ά
Crichton also writes in the present tense.

It's a play by play of all the interesting things happening as they happen.

Not only is it fun read, it's an excellent lesson on how to write non fiction so your reader cannot put it down.
Gem #3: More Than Two: A Practical Guide to Ethical Polyamory

You are thinking Joshua, what the hell, why are you recommending this book?

Because this book is an excellent primer on all of the communication skills and relationship building tools we don't have.
The book teaches you how to be honest.

We're not taught how to be honest in relationships.

We realize that in a monogamous situation we are lying to our partner all the time.

We can do better and this book shows us how.
I recommend this book to people in any relationship or structure, particularly straight people in monogamous relationships, because what this book teaches and presents helps everybody.

The great irony is it will probably help monogamous people the most!
Thank you to @AlexandriaHatch who first introduced this book to me.

Now with the polyamory book out of the way, let's step away from business for a moment for this one personal book recommendation.
Gem #4: The Beginning of Infinity by by David Deutsch

Naval described this as his favorite book, the most important book he's ever read, and the book everyone needs to read.

All of those are true.

From my perspective, your mind will be expanded. Image
It's like listening to synthwave, except the synthwave is a book.

The synthwave you're listening to is the soundtrack of the entire observable universe.

That's what reading this book is like.
I will not say anything else about The Beginning of Infinity besides that.
Gem #5: Obvious Adams by Robert Updegraff

For this last one we will return to business.

It's a business fable called Obvious Adams.

It's like Who Moved My Cheese, The Go Giver, and The Richest Man in Babylon.
It's a fun book to read, regardless of where you're at in your business journey.

It's fun for the aspiring entrepreneur grinding away at your 8 to 5.

It's fun for the current entrepreneur busting his butt.

It's fun for everybody!
This book will also teach you that maybe you don't want to write a non-fiction book.

You might need to write a fable instead, like Obvious Adams (or Congo).
Now you know my 5 Gems and why I think they are good books.

Why is reading good books critical to good writing?

πŸ”” You write (and think) what you read. πŸ””
Read normie books that are recycled repurposed content from decades ago, and you'll find yourself thinking the same thoughts and feeling the same feelings as everyone else reading that tripe.

You're actually not learning anything new.

Boring!
Read books outside the mainstream, read books that are a little uncomfortable, and you have a chance at learning something new.

I've given you uncomfortable books with all of these Gems, some more uncomfortable than others.
You can't learn to be a great chef by eating at Subway.

You can't learn to be a great writer by reading normie books.
Which of these 5 books have you read?

Which are you most excited about reading?

Retweet the first post and tell us.

β€’ β€’ β€’

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
γ€€

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More from @JoshuaLisec

Aug 2
1 retweet = 1 borderline unethical persuasion tip

Because you deserve to know how manipulator-marketers seduce your mind, soul, and cash-money.

Your first 25 are on me.

πŸ”₯πŸ‘‡
Manipulators use pseudo social proof.

They tout the success of "inner circle" clients and students who would have made it anyway.
Immoral persuaders self-flagellate before you over a "good deal."

e.g., "My boss is gonna yell at me for giving you this price."
Read 55 tweets
Feb 27
Hypnosis is a superpower.

It's subconscious persuasion.

Thread: 3 principles of hypnosis you can start using today.

πŸ‘€
No, I'm not going to teach you to swing pendulums or get hot blondes to sleep with you.

Hypnosis is not getting someone to eat dog food on stage.

That's entertainment, not hypnosis.

Here's what Hypnosis is:
Principle #1

Hypnosis is generating a multi-sensory simulation in someone's head that moves them to take an action of some sort.

Sometimes that action is changing a belief.

Sometimes it's changing a habit.
Read 41 tweets
Jan 2
45 UNHUMAN ACTIVITIES

W. Cleon Skousen is the greatest anti-communist most have never heard of.

In January 1963, his book THE NAKED COMMUNIST was read into the US Congressional record.

He EXPOSED 45 ways to undermine America.

Are they working? This will SHOCK you.πŸ§΅β¬‡οΈ Image
UNHUMAN ACTIVITY, 1963 EDITION: #1πŸ€šπŸ»πŸ’€βœ‹πŸ»

"U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war." Image
UNHUMAN ACTIVITY, 1963 EDITION: #2 πŸ€šπŸ»πŸ’€βœ‹πŸ»

"U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war." Image
Read 50 tweets
Dec 18, 2024
Are we about to witness #MilkmaidGate?

@Evie_Magazine just dropped a hot new dress and 𝕏 is melting down.

We say β€œhot” on purpose because, well, look at it.

Come with me as we analyze this brilliant viral marketing masterclass: Image
@Evie_Magazine First of all, β€œraw milk” has gone from internet meme to real-world beverage preference thanks in part to Rep. Thomas Massie, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Ballerina Farms, whose founder Hannah Neeleman is Evie’s latest cover girl. The farm is known for raw milk. Image
@Evie_Magazine So, β€œraw milkmaid.” Get it? Also, β€œgot raw milk?” The ads write themselves.

Evie is going hard in the paint, so to speak, for TRADITIONAL FEMININE BEAUTY. Image
Read 11 tweets
Dec 14, 2024
I've ghostwritten for billionaire tech founders and CEOs.

Here's what I learned that can make you stupid-rich.

Like and retweet, please.

Thread πŸ‘‡
In every case, my billionaire clients began the middle class way: working parents, OK college, modest money goals.

But in every case, they made a bet that changed everything. πŸ‘‡
That bet went something like this:

"If I take this big risk, I can get big leverage."

That's it. That's the risk.

So what was the risk? πŸ‘‡
Read 17 tweets
Dec 12, 2024
I WAS WRONG ABOUT MARY SUE.

The 13 million-view thread that made me insta-infamous made a key MISTAKE.

Today, we correct it β€” and reveal a POWERFUL truth about feminine wisdom in storytelling.

MARY SUE II BEGINS NOW. 🧡 ⬇️ Image
OK, so I need to correct something important about my viral Mary Sue thread.

I made a fundamental mistake that I only realized after returning to faith β€” and attending Catholic Mass these last 4 months:

The Hero's Journey was NEVER meant for women.

Let me explain...
The Hero's Journey is FOR MEN ONLY.

It is a "male-only space." It is not co-ed.

The Hero's Journey is slaying the dragon, stealing the gold, and getting the virgin.

And women?
Read 37 tweets

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