Breaking News: Human Nature Still Hasn’t Changed

So you think the world is changing? Well, humans aren’t changing nearly as much as whatever breaking/viral social moment or techno-gadget would have you think.

Here’s advertising legend Bill Bernbach on the timelessness of humanity (emphasis added):

Human nature hasn’t changed for 1 billion years. It won’t even vary in the next billion years. Only the superficial things have changed. It is fashionable to talk about “changing” man. A communicator must be concerned with “unchanging” man – what compulsions drive him, what instincts dominate his every action, even though his language too often camouflages what “really” motivates him.

For if you know these things about a man, you can touch him at the core of his being. One thing is unchangingly sure. The creative man with an insight into human nature, with the artistry to touch and move people, will succeed. Without them he will fail.

Remember this quote whenever you’re thinking about cutting through the noise. It’s usually not a life-altering revelation that will get you into someone’s heart, mind, or pocket. Instead, it’s almost always a standard – but creatively employed – Trojan horse.

Real mastery is understanding how to play into the oldest drivers of human behavior and use them to help accomplish what we want to accomplish.*

*and we have to use these powers for good and not evil.