Don't Drink the Kool-Aide

My dad invited me to come with him to this make a living at home on the internet workshop. Really, what they called a "seminar" was nothing more than a sales pitch. Throw out a few technical terms, give them a free lunch and a voucher for a free MP3 player and it's game on. For about an hour, the salesman (excuse me, "instructor") walked around the room selling you the moon. I mean, he was brilliant. His "honesty" in telling you about people who washed out makes him seem trustworthy, and his charm & charisma make you like him & keep people paying attention.

A quick check with the Better Business Bureau revealed everything you need to know about his "offer": eight hundred complaints & an "F" rating with the BBB (not to mention legal action by several states). What amazed me was watching him take a room with probably a hundred people & convince them they were special because they "qualified" to attend the next special training & that they were privileged to only give them $99 to get in. After all, they'd get a free computer as part of the deal. Naturally, when he called their name as being qualified for a spot, they flocked back with credit card in hand like sheep to the slaughter. They ran back to buy that ocean-front property in Arizona.

Why did people respond like they did? They wanted an easy way to improve their life. He offered what they wanted, and they bought & drank his kool-aide. I mean, if "Donna"  could go from being a struggling single mom with no computer skills to quitting her four jobs & make a full time living by creating a website selling Rand-McNally maps, they could too!

He sold people a quick fix to problems they've spent their lives creating. They don't know how it's going to work or even what they're going to try to sell, but they know this: my life can change & I can make a living working ten hours a week. A little effort for two months & then it's living on easy street!

Don't drink the kool-aide. Most problems in life have no quick fix. Whatever your current reality, it took time & small decisions to get you there, and it will require time & discipline to change. Short of a miracle, it won't happen overnight, but if you will focus in on daily decisions and commit over the long haul to be different, your life can change. It's not magic or a miracle cure- it's small daily decisions & time that can change your life for the better. Anything else is a sure-fire way to keep circling around the same mountain the rest of your life.