Eugene Schwartz, an epic synthesizer, once got paid $50,000,000 (FIFTY MILLION) to write a textbook on natural health. Imagine getting paid 50 MIL to write a book?! And in 1966, he wrote a book called โBreakthrough Advertising" which is now widely regarded as the 'holy grail' of copywriting books. So how did Eugene Schwartz (one of the highest paid synthesizers to ever live) become such a great writer? He did two things - a lot: He read and he wrote. When he read, he read things that interested him. And when he wrote, he wrote about things that interested him. But he did so with structure... He always wrote using something called the "The 33 Minute Rule." Here's how: Every morning Schwartz would chose ONE topic he wanted to work on that he knew would require a lot of focus and concentration. He then turned off all notifications & unplugged his phone. Anything that could distract him (like his dog) was in a separate room. He then set a timer for 33 minutes and 33 seconds. For those 33 minutes and 33 seconds, Schwartz only allowed himself to do two things: 1) Stare at the page. 2) Write on the page. NOTHING ELSE. He said, "I would often get so bored of staring at the page, that after a couple of minutes I would just write to overcome the boredom." "But once I began writing, I began flowing, and it was effortless." And once the timer went off, whether he was in flow state of not, Schwartz took a mandatory 5 minute break. During this forced break, Schwartz deliberately took his mind off writing completely by playing with his dog, making a cup of coffee, speaking with a friend, stretching, or using the men's room. After his 5 minute break, Schwartz would reset the timer for another 33 minutes and 33 seconds and return to either: Staring at the page Or Writing more. Schwartz said he would go on to repeat this 33minute/5min process until 4-5 hours had elapsed. The rest of his day he took off work and just lived his life how he wished. If you want to become one of the best, and highest paid synthesizers you know...
