Jordan Belfort finally explained what “Sell me this pen” really tests, and most salespeople fail it in 1 sentence. The moment they hear the line, they start pitching. The pen is great, it writes upside down, it’s the best value for the money. To Belfort, that’s the clearest sign someone doesn’t understand selling. The right answer doesn’t mention the pen at all, at least not at first. A fan in the audience asks Belfort to sell the pen. He jokes that no one has ever asked him that before, then explains what the test is really for: before you pitch anything, you ask questions. How long have you been in the market for a pen? What have you used before? Is it for business or personal? How much do you usually spend? Pitching without asking, Belfort says, tells the buyer you don’t give a shit about them. You’re just ramming the product down their throat. The questions also tell Belfort who to walk away from. If someone says they’re not looking for a pen, he says “Great, have a nice day” and moves on. To him, the biggest rookie mistake is trying to sell to everybody. Only then does Belfort pitch: “Based on what you said to me, this pen is perfect. Let me tell you why.” And the pen, he says, is just a stand-in for any product. Rookies sell the pen. Pros sell what you just told them. Be honest: would you have pitched the pen, or asked the first question?

Hellraiser is such a sad series because the first movie is insanely good and all the sequels are trash Just retcon everything but Hellraiser and do a movie about the cenobites being summoned by a poly sex cult in Silicon Valley after one of them solves the Lament configuration

I recently watched Alien & was struck by how young Tom Skerritt looked, compared to his later roles. Wondered if he ever actually looked young. I didn't realize he was already 46 when Alien came out. First film credit in 1962.