The Secret To Magnetic Headlines That Grab Attention!

We live in a bungalow that was built in 1918, in the California Arts and Crafts style. It’s a “Craftsman Bungalow”. Since the walls are lathe and plaster, they didn’t want people hammering in nails to hang pictures, so they always put a “picture rail” on the walls.

It’s a thin strip of wood that runs about a foot down from the ceiling. It’s got a groove cut in the top so that you can put a double ended hook in the groove and hang a picture from the bottom end of the hook. Clothes hangers are also at home in the picture rail. If you get lazy, you could also just set pictures on the top of the picture rail.

It’s a very modern idea.

Geocaching is a hobby that uses GPS to locate small containers, called caches. Look up more information about it at www.geocaching.com. I have built some caches from mint tins using small magnets that to stick the tin to the back or bottom of metal signs or metal boxes. I ordered some magnets to build a bunch more of them to hide. When they arrived, I put the magnets somewhere away from my desk, because I have all kinds of computer things that might be harmed by the magnets. I hid them in a safe place.

That was in August.

The urge to build them finally took hold and I decided to find the magnets and put them to use. I looked everywhere in my office, in my bedroom, the storage room, the back porch, and everywhere I could think of. At this point I should repeat the phrase “I looked” followed by a huge list of places in the house, but I won’t bore you.

I got depressed and gave up.

After a week of looking, hoping that it would come to me in a dream or something, I ordered another set of magnets. It took a day to fill the order, then a couple more days to ship them. They finally got here last Saturday. I got the mail about 4:15pm and there they were. I finally had my magnets. My life was complete.

The idea flashed through my head that now that I have these new magnets, I would probably find the old ones. Ha! Life’s like that.

No time to think about that because I had to get ready to attend an event, the 10 year anniversary of the Survivor TV. Now, being male, I have my wife pick out my clothes. About 5:00pm, she asked which shirt I wanted to wear. I didn’t care.

She brought me out one of my many Hawaiian shirts. Since I was working on my Mac in my office, she just hung it on the picture rail for me. “What’s this?” she asks? “What’s what? I’m busy.” She pulled something down from the picture rail.

It the plastic bag with my magnets.

After two weeks of looking, they were found less than an hour after I got replacements.

Telling stories is how to get people involved with what you are doing. Making promises in the headline is how to get them to read your story. Personal stories really suck people in.

Stories should have three parts, the set up, the conflict, and the resolution. Do you see those three parts in my story above?

Don’t just tell people facts. Tell them stories.

PS – I have one more story that has no point. It’s just funny and I wanted to use the word “grab” in the title.

I always wear Levi 501 jeans. Always. Of course, a wide leather belt goes with Levi’s 501 jeans.

My wife and I went out to a nice lunch today. It was pleasant weather, so we sat outside in the patio. The chairs were iron and had curves and doo-dads on them.

When I got up to leave, the back of my belt had been grabbed by the hooks on the chair. I couldn’t get up. My belt went into and out of, or around, the hooks in the chair. My wife had to unhook me.

The food was good.