Back Asswards Your Value System Is

This is cyberspace. Big, isn't it?

And getting bigger by the second. An infinitely expanding and growing "thing" within a set and somewhat confined area/space (all the computers on the planet).

And within this Cyber Space we call The Internet (which, whether it means something or not, has the intials IT backwards) people sell and attempt to sell their products - hard products and electronic products.

Business is tough, they cry. Help me sell my Green and Blue Bippy Dibby, they beg. Review my site, they ask, while really just wanting traffic.

And through it all, WE, the consumers, the purchasers and potential purchasers, the buyers, the ever elusive customers, make our buying decisions. Weighing up Everything. Should we buy the eBook or the software. Maybe the local book store has that hard copy book I've been waiting for. What about the audio tape set. Those videos. All of that stuff containing the Information I want. Then compare it to... McDonald's, Pizza Hut, the latest Video/DVD release at Blockbuster.

And often the non-info catagory wins.

Twenty bucks dropped at Mikey D's is done without batting an eyelid. But to spend that same twenty bucks on an eBook. My Lord, everyone has to get involved. Ask the wife. Ask the husband. Ask Granny. Ask fifteen different discussion boards. Then, only buy IF there is a gazillion years quadruple your money back under threat of vaporisation 100% money back guarantee.

All that for $20 bucks. Seem ludicrous to read it, doesn't it?

But that is precisely HOW it appears to be.

What makes this even more strange is

Those same people thought nothing of spending a Minimum of three years to get a degree just so they could get a job.

HOW MUCH did it COST to get that degree?

At least three years of TIME. But what of the money?

How's that student loan looking now?

Hurts to look at it or think about it. But you have to.

Because double standards could be taking place in your life.

You think nothing of spending three years and $75,000 for what? So you have the CHANCE to MAYBE land a job.

Twenty bucks on an eBook which could contain information which would make you financially independent if acted upon and you balk. You um. You ah. You ask a million people for THEIR opinion - as if they magically know YOU and what YOU are capable of.

Thousands. Tens of thousands. That's what I have spent on information products over the years. Some I bought for myself. Others I bought and gave to friends and relatives as gifts. Never - not once ever - have I asked if a book was any good before buying it. Never - not once ever - have I asked for a refund because I have ALWAYS learned something new from every product. Learned something I didn't know before reading/watching listening. That something new makes my purchase worth whatever amount of money I spent to buy the product.

There's a story. Carnegie is involved I think. About a guy with a "get more done" system. When told "we need more Doing" the guy GAVE his system away with the proviso to "pay me what you think it is worth after you have implemented it." He received a check for $25,000 dollars!

The time management system was revealed fully in that $10 book I bought. It is revealed fully and freely in many places on the 'net. And yet, it is not appreciated for its Value.

One man though it was worth $25,000 in yesterday's money. Today, people get it for free and dismiss it, or agree with it and then move along.

Twenty bucks or so dropped on a book to get you out of debt FASTER - without filing for bankruptcy, loan consolidation, or anything illegal. The knowledge could literally SAVE $100,000 paid in interest on your home loan. And that's just one loan. Other loan savings can only be guessed at.

How many people will spend that $20 or so?

Hardly any.

But spend that $20 or so at Blockbuster on movies, popcorn, chocolate and soda, and no thought required.

Information can save your life, make you money, improve your relationships, save you from blowing money, improve your skills and so on.

But sometimes, selling information of any kind can be like trying to get blood from a stone - no matter how well defined and targetted your market is.

TIMING plays a part. A big part. But also the value system of those within the market.

Do they go buy a Big Mac each for the whole family or your eBook?

One satisfies for an hour. The other could save the entire family from bankruptcy.

A lot of the time, the Big Mac wins out. And after three years and $75,000 spent to get an "education" so they could maybe get a job.

Do you bet on the horses? the guy asked me.

No.

Do you play the slots?

No. I work too hard for my money (mentally and physically) to leave its fate up to the roll of a dice.

Obviously we had nothing in common. Conversation ends.

Drop outs R Us. Me and a few of my uni friends. Looked down upon by those "friends" of ours who stayed on.

Years later and those who stayed have a job.

Those who left have their own business. Life is good.

Even at uni I couldn't comprehend the time/money spent just for a job...

Three year Bachelor of Science degree just to be a park Ranger? Give me break.

Three years of Uni to be a pilot?

How does that make me a better pilot?

The silence is deafening.

The choices were simple...

1. Stay for three more years (I was doing a four year course) and maybe get a job at the end of it.

2. Leave. Start my own business.

By the time I would leave uni with a degree I would have had three years worth of money under my belt. Say $75,000 earned.

If I kept earning $25k a year and IF the degree got me a $30k a year job, it would take me FIFTEEN YEARS of working that job to catch up on the $75k I missed earning while I was "studying."

And this doesn't take into account all the money I would have had to SPEND to get the degree - university fees, etc. (Taking that money into account might reveal I would never catch up!!!)

Made more sense to save three years of time and who knows how much money and defer my uni. I just did not see the VALUE in uni. MORE VALUE was to be had elsewhere Outside of Academia Land.

That was MY take on it. You may disagree. And that is quite all right. And you may point out exceptions. And that is fine too. To each their own.

But for the most part... the jobs which supposedly require pieces of paper, can be easily done by someone without that precious piece of paper. And often done to a better standard too because the paper-less person is more of a self-starter (whatever that means) than the paper-carrier.

Sure, certain pieces of paper are needed when hiring. Such as a chef or mechanic. To know they have actually got the skills. But most other "jobs" can be done by paper-less people.

Look at yourself. What can you do better than a qualified person? I bet there are lots of things you can do. Cook? Paint? Fix stuff? Build stuff? Draw?

It's a well known fact that many uni students are smarter than their supervising lecturers. And especially when Ph.D.s are being sought. After all, being granted a Ph.D. is because you have contributed NEW KNOWLEDGE... previously unknown information. So there is no way your supervising lecturer could know more than you about that subject. But doesn't that make it strange then. For a less knowledgable person being the judge on whether or not you "graduate"?

You wouldn't have anyone but an A Grade mechanic giving a pass or fail to a learning mechanic. Yet, in university, this seems to be the case and is accepted.

How's your boss? Bit of a doofus? Manager the same?

Makes sense. Why promote the skilled and knowledgable person from their position to a position where those skills will not be used. Better to promote a dumkopf instead. Otherwise productivity might go down.

Best person to do the job is how it should be.

Alas. It is not like that. Mostly.

The Value system is Back Asswards.

How is YOUR value system?

Do you hesitate to spend a few bucks on an information product, but think nothing of blowing the money on DVD rental?

Do you buy all the brands because "what would your friends think" while living a life of quiet desperation.

Do you um and ah about buying information... or subscribing to information... while making sure to "be seen" at the coffee shop?

Do you want business to be instantaneous and without cost, while willingly spending big and taking years to get a degree so you can maybe get a job?

Do you want everything for free online while expecting other people to pay for your stuff?

How many times have you seen people asking for Free hosting, web-building, templates, autoresponders and merchant accounts so they can sell their "How To Make More Money Than Bill Gates By Using The Internet" ebook?

Or they spend 12 hours a day for three days going over every domain registration service around to save $2. They SPEND 36 hours to SAVE $2. That means they value their time at 5¢ an hour.

Do you make a dozen phone calls, leaving messages, being there to receive quotes, only to save a few bucks? How much time are you spending on phone calls and talking to tradesman, as well as phone charges, just to save a few bucks? And how much does that work out to be on an hourly rate? Because THAT is what you are valuing your time at.

Do you willingly waste other people's time and money just to satisfy a mere curiosity (Just wondering how much to... When do I want it done? Oh I haven't decided, I am just getting prices), yet hate it when someone does that to you?

Nothing wrong saving money where you can. But don't spend a lot (of time or money) to save a few bucks. It's Back Asswards.

This post isn't to make you mad. Or to start a disagreement of Jobs vs Business (Rick Smith and Gordon Alexander already covered the Job v Business thing in their audio tape). This post is to make you THINK. So you can consciously see what you may be doing subconsciously without thinking. To reveal the possible disparity of your actions. And to get you to see, that while spending a few bucks on an information product might not satisfy the desired need immediately (because you first have to read/watch/listen) the long-term benefits are FAR MORE VALUABLE than the money you invest -and INVESTING it is... investing in yourself.

Thank YOU for YOUR TIME.

Michael Ross