George Mack Quotes

British marketer and high-agency essayist

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George Mack is a British writer, advertising strategist, and entrepreneur renowned for viral essays and X threads on mental models, marketing psychology, and high agency—a proactive mindset of clear thinking, action bias, and shaping reality.

The single biggest thing the most successful people I've met have in common is that they have nothing in common. They rejected "the way" and did it their own way. Rather than fit into some pre-defined hole in the wall, they drilled a me shaped hole in the wall.

How to increase creativity -- without taking drugs:

Avoid content made after 2016.

If you create something and you're disappointed that nobody noticed, about 90% of the disappointment can be killed by reminding yourself that nobody noticed that nobody noticed.

The adults don't exist. Normal doesn't exist. If you don't think someone is weird, you've simply not spent enough time with them.

If you put the 110 billion humans ever to live in one giant room -- alive or age at death -- 40% would be under the age of 5. And 50% would be under the age of 15. Forget waiting for an age like 30 or 40 to do things. You're already elderly.

Useful rule of thumb: If someone says "trust the science", distrust them and whatever they've just said.

Great interview question: Tell me about a time you solved a problem with extreme attention to detail? It’s hard to lie about extreme attention to detail on the spot.

Useful rule of thumb: If you’re over the age of 25, assume your initial reactions about new trends are wrong. It’s ok to have no opinion until you’ve spent a few hours getting your hands dirty.

Alive mode = When you make choices based off what makes you feel the most alive, regardless of the status of the choice.

Dead mode = When you make choices based off status and sacrifice what makes you feel the most alive behind the eyes.

One of the most ironic lessons in life: The pareto principle is the pareto principle for principles. When you find yourself exploring other principles, first assume you haven't taken the pareto principle seriously enough. It's true even when you factor in this rule.

Rule of thumb for spotting future trends: If you’re mocked for it, it doesn’t mean it’s the future. But if you’re not mocked for it, it’s almost certainly not the future.

Golden rule: Never underestimate someone’s ability to get in their own way.

The three biggest myths society tells children: Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and adults have everything figured out.

Some people live hundreds of lives. Some people barely live one.

A skeptic wants to see the truth. A cynic wants to see you depressed.