Book: Evil Plans

Hugh MacLeod's "Evil Plans"

Overview:

This document summarizes the core themes and actionable advice presented in Hugh MacLeod's "Evil Plans." The book advocates for pursuing a passion-driven career, unifying "work and love," and creating something meaningful, even if it seems "evil" or unconventional to others. It is less about world domination in a literal sense and more about personal liberation and fulfillment through entrepreneurial creativity.

Key Themes and Ideas:

1. The "Evil Plan": The central concept is the "Evil Plan," which is defined not as malicious intent, but as a personal, audacious idea that allows you to do something you love and that matters to you, freeing you from the "rat race." It is the catalyst to start doing something interesting and meaningful.

• "EVERYBODY NEEDS AN EVIL PLAN. EVERYBODY needs that crazy, out-there idea that allows them to actually start doing something they love, doing something that matters. Everybody needs an Evil Plan that gets them the hell out of the rat race, away from lousy bosses, away from boring, dead-end jobs that they hate. Life is short."

1. Unifying Work and Love: The ultimate goal is to find a way to get paid doing what you love. This involves identifying what is most interesting and important to you and turning it into a career.

• "But looking back, I realize it all served a common purpose: to unify work and love. I was writing about what was most interesting and important to me, and trying to turn it into a career somehow."
• "Then I noticed, the people who have inspired me the most these last couple of years-entrepreneurs, writers, artists- they were driven by the same thing: to get paid doing what they love."

1. "The Hunger": A driving force, the "Hunger" represents the desire to create, to make a difference, to enjoy one's work, and to make the most of life. This hunger will demand everything from you.

• "The Hunger to do something creative. The Hunger to do something amazing. The Hunger to change the world. The Hunger to make a difference. The Hunger to enjoy one’s work… The Hunger to actually feel alive."
• "The Hunger will give you everything. And it will take from you, everything. It will cost you your life, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it."

1. The Infinite Market for Belief: People don't just buy products or services, they buy into a belief system. Understanding your own beliefs and purpose is crucial for building your "Evil Plan." The primary job of an advertiser is not to communicate benefit but to communicate conviction.

• "Whatever you’re selling isn’t merely a product or service, it’s also a product of a belief system-your own belief system."
• "The primary job of an advertiser is not to communicate benefit but to communicate conviction."
• "We are here to find meaning. We are here to help other people do the same. Everything else is secondary.”

1. Create Your Own Global Microbrand: Leverage the internet to create a small, but globally reaching brand. A personal brand that transcends your organization or job description.

• "In the Internet era, if people on the other side of the planet aren’t loving what you do, you’re doing something wrong."

1. "Make Art Every Day": Regardless of your profession, dedicate time to your "art" (whatever is most meaningful and powerful to you) every day. This commitment will lead to eventual success.

• "Regardless of what the rest of the world needed from me on any given day, I found the time, somehow. Simply because I made the decision to do so, somehow. Whatever your Evil Plan might be, 'Make Art Every Day.'"

1. Fill In the Narrative Gaps: Understand how your product or service fits into other people's personal stories and helps them fill in the "narrative gaps" in their lives.

• "Your Evil Plan is not about selling per se. It’s more about figuring out where your product stands in relation to personal narrative. If people like buying your product, it’s because its story helps fill in the narrative gaps in their own lives."

1. Remember Who You Really Are: Focus on the person you truly are, not the person you think you are or the person others think you are.

• "When life gets really tough, just remember the white pebble. Just remember who you really are. Just remember the person that only God can see."

1. Treat It Like an Adventure: Infuse your plan with a sense of adventure and "triumph over adversity" to make it more compelling and shareable.

• "Whatever your Evil Plan might be, there has to be some sort of sense of adventure, some sort of “triumph over adversity” baked in. Otherwise, people won’t want to talk about it, and your story won’t spread."

1. Create "Social" & "Snowballs": Your Evil Plan needs to be inherently social, fostering connection and sharing. Build momentum by embracing "Random Acts of Traction," understanding that some efforts will succeed and others will fail.

• "Your Evil Plan has to have some sort of 'sociality' baked in, or else it will fail."
• "Evil Plans are like snowballs, they require 'Random Acts of Traction.'"

1. Avoid "Dinosaurspeak": Communicate in a human, authentic way, not with corporate jargon or manipulative marketing language.

• "Talk like a human being, not like one of Stalin’s apparatchiks. People are hardwired to respond favorably to that."

1. Find Your "Moment": There will be a defining "Moment" where you stop making excuses and fully commit to your plan.
2. Embrace Crofting: Like traditional Scottish crofters, diversify your activities and income streams rather than relying on just one source.

• "Crofting is a good life, but not a very financially rewarding one. It’s very self-sufficient, though. The interesting thing for me, looking back, is that crofters never did “just one thing.” Every day they had something else going on."

1. Don't Be "Middle-Seat Guy": Don't try to sell people what they don't want. Focus on offering unique value and meeting unmet needs.

• "Too many people are in the business of trying to sell what people don’t actually want. Don’t be one of them."

1. "The Twenty": Focus your efforts on impressing the 20 or so most important people in your field. If they're paying attention, others will follow.

• "I would suggest that, right this minute, you make a list of the twenty or so people in your space who matter the most."

1. "You Can't Have It All": Recognize that achieving something truly meaningful requires sacrifice and focus.
2. If Your Boss Won't Let You Articulate Your Evil Plan During Company Hours, Quit: Don't tolerate a boss who stifles your ambition and creativity.
3. Get Other People to Hate You: The better your Evil Plan, the more people are going to love it... and the more people are going to hate it.
4. Steal Time, Every Day: Make time for your "Evil Plan," even if it means "stealing" it from other activities.
5. The Pressure to "Not Be Shit": This pressure never goes away, so learn to deal with it.
6. A Good Customer Base Is the Best Marketing Plan There Is: Cultivate a customer base that is passionate about your product and actively promotes it.
7. Create Expressive Capital: Focus on creating products that help people find and express meaning in their lives.
8. "Take the Cream Off the Top, Leave the Rest Behind": Focus only on the aspects of your work that you enjoy most and eliminate the rest.
9. Don't Worry If You Don't Know Absolutely Everything Before Starting Out: Don't let a lack of knowledge paralyze you. Start with what you know and learn as you go.
10. Death by Stuff: Avoid chasing material possessions at the expense of your passion and fulfillment. Love what you do.
11. Everything Begins with the Act of Gift-Giving: Build goodwill by giving away valuable content, ideas, and insights.
12. Be a Waker: Inspire and motivate others to live more fully.
13. Human Beings Don't Scale: Focus on quality, not quantity.
14. Evil Plans Are Not Products; Evil Plans Are Gifts: View your "Evil Plan" as a gift to the world, not just a way to make money.

Conclusion:

"Evil Plans" is a manifesto for unconventional success, encouraging readers to pursue their passions, embrace creativity, and find fulfillment in a world that often prioritizes conformity and material wealth. It's a call to action for anyone who feels trapped in the "rat race" and dreams of doing something meaningful and rewarding.

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