Learn from a disciple before moving to the master

BAP, Ben Settle and The Boron Letters

I can’t believe I’m talking about BAP again. Two days in a row.

It’s kind of risky.

This is a public facing platform for me. One that I let prospective clients and other copywriting opportunities read.

I’m not writing anonymously either. Aidan is my real name (after my grandfather on my Mother’s side).

And BAP’s a very divisive figure. Admitting that you’re a fan of him in polite company could get you into a little or even a lot of trouble.

Especially with deranged, blue-haired, online addicts and other commies.

But perhaps there is an upside too?

BAP is polarising. Openly liking him could both scare away the type of clients that are not right for me while also attracting those that are a good fit.

After all…

Part of my shtick is to not have boring advertising in general and god-awfully-dull emails in particular.

Having a target market often means also having to know the market you don’t want. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Because that’s the fastest way to end up boring.

So, what does BAP have to do with learning?

Well a lot if you like history.

But for today, I just want to briefly mention one little nugget of insight.

BAP has often spoken about how when you want to learn about a complex thinker, such as an ancient philosopher, it may be better to read one of his students or disciples first.

The reasoning is simple.

The disciple will have a good understanding of the master. But their own work and writing is nearly always a simplified version of the teaching.

It may lack some of the profundity but it can be more explanatory and easier to grasp.

BAP himself always claims that he is only a Nietzsche populariser. And having studied both, I can agree that BAP is a good entry into Nietzsche.

And this is where Ben Settle and copywriting comes in.

I’ve had Gary Halbert’s The Boron Letters book for quite some time. I got it back when I was still a recruiter and looking for ways to improve my messaging.

I read it and I liked it.

But only after diving into Ben Settle’s work did The Boron Letters start to make more sense to me.

Ben is a huge fan of Halbert and has him on his Mount Rushmore of copywriters.

And I could see through Ben’s work how a book about direct marketing and copywriting from 1984 made sense in the age of the internet.

I just finished re-reading The Boron Letters again.

This time everything was jumping out of the page at me.

Despite its very simple style, I could see just how deep the teaching really is.