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Over Catering To Consumers. Avoiding Failure #236.

Over Catering To Consumers

The Customer Is Not Always Right. And We Need To Stop Over Catering To Consumers. For All Our Long Term Benefit.

When you have the Walmart’s and Amazon’s and The Uber’s and Lyft’s of this world over catering to consumers. It creates a distorted understanding of the true cost it takes to get products or services into our hands. Same goes for our food supply and large monopolistic suppliers. Small farmers are dropping like flies under mountains of debt because the pricing structure is far too skewed for them to survive.

When you only have a dominant few supplying all of our goods and services. Who are able to off set loses by borrowing billions of dollars. And who are able to pass on a price far below true market value in order to stomp out competition. It shifts the balance from the many to the few who have that access. And since this is the current model you have everyone bending over backwards to appease the consumers needs at a near loss and sometimes a loss to themselves. Instead of competing to create the most value we’re instead competing for losses. At the cost of the smaller business who actually has to pay true value for their offerings.

Over Catering To Consumers
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Sure we as consumers are passed the saving in some of our groceries and products and services we use. And getting anything has never been more convenient. We can argue that this is a good thing, we as consumers are winning but are we really? We don’t take into account cost of living has increased ten fold so we need the products we consume at the lowest possible rate.

What is the cost of that convenience? If a large company gouges its suppliers only to pass the the savings to the consumer. The producers will eventually stop producing. If cost of goods is below what it takes to get those goods into your hands there is a fundamental flaw in economic model. Quality suffers and only the small few own the market. Yet we’re all still in this race to lower. Big business needs to stop selling 100 dollar bills at 50 dollars a piece and price accordingly.

Not Taking Into Account Everyone Is Different. Avoiding Failure #235

Everyone Is Different

Everyone Is Different In So Many Ways We Need To Avoid The One Size Fits All Solutions.

Everyone is different. Different mental wiring, different body compositions, complexions, biome, genetic make up. No two people are exactly alike. So why do we try to solve problems like everyone is the same?

Self Help

The self help guru peddling his self help porn will say do these affirmations just think it, wish it, want it, and achieve it. Which most definitely works for some. But for some it creates animosity to the life they live and if you destroy the life you have in chase of what you think you want. Only to find you were happiest where you were then you failed yourself because you didn’t truly know yourself. Just because you want something doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get it.

Body Dependence

A non drinker will say to the alcoholic just stop drinking. I can, why can’t you? We take in no account that the physiology of the two could be drastically different. While one created a dependence the other abstained and their bodies went to work in different directions. Not only the physiology but the brain wiring is completely different as well.

It’s also why no diet has the same exact effect on each person that tries it. While some may get in the best shape of their life others may feel ill and depleted.

Education

People will teach high price classes and use the success stories of a few to show that it works. They never display the people who took the class did everything exactly how it was taught and still didn’t manage to find success. If the system worked for some it’s destined to work for all right? But It’s because everyone is so different that even hidden in the subtleties of our actions hides the micro adjustments that some make and others do not. Actions that could never be perfectly duplicated.

Experience

Everyone Is Different
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It’s why two people walking the exact same path can see the road so vastly different. One sees a miserable hellscape, an arduous journey through perilous terrain. While the other sees a beautiful sunshiny trail through epic luscious foliage with birds chirping and happy honey bees buzzing. Not only is everyone’s environment different, the way everyone views that environment is different as well. It’s just difficult to say do this and you will achieve that.

Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs. These archetypes of massive success are wired differently then the rest. And that’s okay. Each one of them is drastically different from the other in many ways too. Maybe you’re not a titan of industry and that’s alright. But maybe you want to be that’s okay too. Hopefully you have the correct make up for it.

Embrace The Real You.

Sometimes we try as we might and our outcomes are just different from the rest. Or what we feel the rest achieved along that same path. But rather than be upset or jealous of others experiences or successes. Stop looking over your neighbors fence at there perfectly manicured lawn and just start doing whatever you want to yours. Plant a small forest, build some out buildings, add livestock. Make it exclusively yours with an individual touch only you could derive.

Just know that everyone’s journey and experience in life is unique. Rather then dwell on what you don’t have. Embrace who you truly are, find your individual strengths. Always be in search of what makes you you. Self reflect. It’s better to know oneself and cultivate that, then spend a lifetime chasing someone else’s ideal.

Justifiable Inaction. Avoiding Failure #234

Justifiable Inaction

A Lack Of Actions Assisted By Excuses. Avoid Justifiable Inaction.

Essentially it’s just us making excuses to not do something. Absence of action can never truly be justified. Accountability will override justifiable inaction every time. Easy is making excuses not to do something. I could not for the life of me find anything to write about today. Sometimes you just can’t find fault in things. It would have been easy to say since I can’t find anything to discuss I’ll do nothing at all and go do absolutely nothing. My answer was in the possibility of inaction. Always search for answers to combat listlessness.

Being committed to a driven purpose can counter any notions of your desire for inaction. However when you have no mission you can easily flounder. Not only will you get comfortable and used to inaction but what little action you contribute will be vastly ineffective. Stay in motion and believe you are contributing and you soon will.

Another option, rather than toil away on a dead end. Would be to create new paths of action. If you can’t find an action to be accomplished in your current environment change the paradigm. If I couldn’t find anything to write about I could work on upgrading the website or work on another project all together. I could read educational material to build a mental model for future discussions.

There is an absolute endless supply of possibilities one can occupy their time with. Choose the ones that will push you forward and benefit others in the process. Laying around doing nothing is an activity but not one of any action or any benefit. Add creative thought or meditation and sitting around becomes a positive. No lack of action is quite justifiable.

Elevated Stress Levels. Avoiding Failure #233.

Stress

When Tempers Increase And Stress Levels Rise. That’s The Time To Become The Calm. Decrease And Defuse Rather Than Elevate With It.

Stress
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Breathe deep for this will being a trying exercise of patience. But breath work can be the strongest weapon against the rise of stress. Sometimes the hardest thing in a escalated field of this negative energy can be the come down. More often then not we tend to continue the escalation and pass it on to others who might in turn pass it on to even more. And so the chain will grow unless you decide to not give into that energy and be the strength and calm healing energy that will end the cycle and restore peaceful homeostasis to your environment.

It is not always accomplished in the environment you are currently in either. Sometimes we just need to step away, find solitude, and count our blessing. To find our happy place of gratitude. And most importantly breathe deep. If we can’t step away, focus on your breathing. Count long inhales and longer exhales.

Escape within your mind to a peaceful place. And radiate that inner world to your outer world. And watch as the wave of calm energy overtakes that which was once a heightened sense of anger fear frustration and stress wash away from others as well as yourself. The more you stay in this state the easier it will become to languish in it for longer periods of time. To the point you begin to except all stressful situations and know that you not only have the tools to keep yourself in that peaceful state but you can create a space that draws others into calm as well.

Lastly if you know a topic is triggering to you or a situation is going to increase stress related chemicals throughout your body. Avoid those topics and situations. If you find yourself up in arms about certain subjects don’t broach those subjects. Just learn to keep the peace and stay at peace. You’ll thank yourself and so will everyone else around you. You’ll become others prozac.

Unwillingness To Humble Yourself In Life’s Defeats. Avoiding Failure #232.

Humble Yourself

When Life Knocks You Down, Humble Yourself. Than Get Back Either Stronger Or In A Different Capacity.

You could say Michael Jordan would never humble himself. He was the consummate champion. It would take off his winning edge. Sure that’s true when your the best. But he had to humble himself when he played baseball. He realized he would never be as great as he was in basketball and came back to the sport where he needn’t be humbled again until the end of his playing days.

When he was with the Wizards, as the sun was setting on his illustrious career he was humbled again then as well. Though I’m sure he would never admit it. But he came back and continued his competitive spirit in a different capacity. He purchased a basketball team. And the work will never be complete with that endeavor. Businesses can last much longer then the body can hold up in some cases.

Businesses, relationships, and ideas all end too. And in those instances you will need to humble yourself and pivot to a role better suited. Be it a different business, relationship, or idea all together. Or simply changing the structure of the current model you are in.

We see it in sports all the time. Its a perfect model of this in action. As a player ages and their body can no longer keep up with what their mind thinks they’re capable of. Or they refuse to adapt, as their environment changes. They will quickly be left behind without change. But those who humble themselves and assimilate into a team role they may not always think suits their talent. Will often thrive when they take out their ego and play in that new capacity.

Humble Yourself
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How To Not Blow It Solution.

So if you find that you may have reached your peak, first work harder to make sure you have hit that limit. And if you find you can go no further. Humble yourself, eat a slice of that pie. Reexamine your strengths, and plan out a new strategy of attack. Then implement it with fierce dedication until success is again achieved.

Passive Action. Avoiding Failure #231.

passive action

People Want Passive Income, But Income Takes Action To Generate. And Passive Action Is An Oxymoron.

Two words that fundamentally do not go together are passive action. Some things definitely take more action than others. But no matter what you do you have to put in work consistently. While there are definitely examples of work becoming more passive after massive effort. The fact remains if they stay passive they will begin the process of atrophy. Than wither and decay and eventually die.

And that is the case with all things passive. They eventually die. If you don’t continually put in effort in some way you are signing that death certificate. Be it in business or relationships or housing or your body. There can never be full passivity. So why even strive for it?

I believe this one fact is why we have such catastrophic failures in our marriages today. People often quickly switch to a passive approach to the relationship as soon as those marriage papers are signed. When the real work is supposed to be just beginning.

Same goes for the wantreprenuer businesses of today the real work begins after the idea, after it’s the business is setup. Once the clients begin coming in. That’s the time to work even harder. Its simply another relationship to cultivate and you don’t want to let it atrophy.

As a matter a fact everything we do is a relationship to something. You have a personal relationship to your body, mind, spirit, and an external relationship to the outside world around you. To people, to money, to experiences. And you can not be passive about any of it.

Passive action
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Progress is what the goal should be. Even when you reach that mountain top. Know that passive action didn’t get you there. Celebrate the victory but know you still need to get to the bottom alive and falling a sleep while you sled down is simply not an option. Well it is an option but good luck with that. That is a passive approach. The descent is technical and demanding it takes even more work sometimes and when you reach safety, plan for the next peak. So instead of striving to reach passivity. Strive to have the strength to except more challenges into your life. And know with each one you’ll become stronger while you fly past the passive observers.

Is The Amazon Economic Model Destroying The Fabric Of Our Society? Avoiding Failure #230.

Amazon

Amazon And The Tech World Are Fundamentally Changing How We Operate As A Society.

Depending on what edge of the financial spectrum you fall on. It could have great benefits or substantial cost. We see it all over the major cities along the West Coast. As software companies take over an area. Housing cost become astronomically high. And as mid range jobs can no longer afford to keep up with the pricing increases, homeless rates rise. And only the top earners can afford to live in the area. Yet even they still work hard for mediocre dwellings.

Amazon

Amazon has created this microcosm of economics. Where they have employees earning top 1% wages. While other employees barely scrape by at near poverty wages in dystopic work environments. All the while trying to cohabitate in the same living quarters.

Trade Borders.

Years ago economics were controlled by trade borders. A shoe was manufactured in another country. Those workers were paid a living wage for their general economic output for that locale. Prices were low because cost of living was drastically lower then that of the consumer nations. Phil Knight the president of Nike once said he’d love to pay third world employees better but it would wreck havoc on the local economy.

Yet here we are trying too make it all work in tiny cities. Where a few blocks can mean the difference between million dollar earners to those living in tents. If you’re part of the software side you earn well if you’re part of the distribution side you’re living close to poverty. All so we can get everything delivered for free.

Which is another economical disaster waiting to happen. Amazon has to be taking a loss in delivery cost. All in order to stomp out competition. Competition that might be paying their employees appropriately and not exploiting workers that simply need a job to live. They also stomp out competition within their product selection and create algorithms to drive sales to amazon only products.

Are Our Taxes Subsidizing Free Delivery?

Amazon pays nearly zero corporate taxes. Tax payers foot the bill to have this economical hurricane come to gentrify their city. Only to find out later it throws everything out of whack. But hey, people have jobs right? Even if its soul crushing and barely earning a living wage.

That being said, Amazon is a great tool and the benefits are plenty. And if you can get on the high side of the industry. Use you mind rather then your body. We also just need to make sure we don’t give them all the keys to the castle.

Mouth Breathing Children. Avoiding Failure #229

If You Have Mouth Breathing Children Who Are Acting Out. Get Them Checked Out With A Sleep Physician. As Well As Ear Nose and Throat.

Mouth Breathing

If a child is acting out we often jump to conclusion of the sad diagnosis, ADHD. Children are often pumped full of drugs that they often don’t need because of failures to spot more underlying cause. We tend to avoid digging deeper and except that fate. But we should always dig deeper especially when it comes to children.

Sleep has such a profound affect on all humans especially young children with rapidly developing brains. And as one mother recently pointed out her son was wildly acting out and was slightly uncontrollable. Usual diagnosis would categorize this as ADHD and he would be put on ritalin or something similar. They may have to try numerous drugs to find the right concoction. One that would insure he remains vacant and docile but more focused. But the hidden in this child’s suffering was a severe lack of sleep brought on by sleep apnea. And blocked nasal airways.

This could have easily gone unnoticed if it wasn’t for a diligent mother who noticed her child would sleep with his mouth open. Children should not be breathing through their mouths ever. It’s a huge red flag and one that should never go unchecked and untreated. Especially if your child is having behavioral problems and acting out.

Always check the quantity and quality of their sleep. The brain doesn’t get enough oxygen when mouth breathing and the lower oxygen saturation the brain receives the worse the sleep quality. And it can have a major impact in life. This child was getting absolutely no REM which is detrimental to brain health. Just be sure to exhaust all options before medication when it comes to the health of you and you child.

Paying Extra For Water With A Tea Bag. Avoiding Failure #228

Tea

Purchasing Tea At A Cafe. Where Common Sense And Capitalism Clash.

Tea
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I completely understand the concept of charging more for the enjoyment of more. Tea is an interesting category though. If you order it at most any cafe you are presented with a choice paradox. On the one hand they charge more for each increasing size. I suppose the idea is you’re getting more of that beverage which you enjoy. So the cost justifies the action. But on the other, you still only need one tea bag for every size there is and water is essentially free. It may cost a fraction of a cent but no company charges for a glass of water.

So the company charging increasing amounts for increasing volumes pays the exact same amount no matter the size. It’s possible that larger cups cost slightly more but I can’t imagine its much. Why isn’t this cost transferred to the guest? All we should pay is the one tea bag fee and whatever minimal cost for the cup and water.

As a matter of fact it should just be one fee no matter the size. Yet here we are paying nearly a dollar more for a few extra ounces of hot water. It’s a conundrum that as a consumer I can’t quite wrap my head around. But as a business owner it makes perfect sense. Maybe I’ll find a cafe that charges this way and only frequent that place. Than again maybe there are not many because they don’t make as much money as the rest.

Waiting For Inspiration. Avoiding Failure #227

Inspiration

Inspiration Doesn’t Come In The Waiting. It Comes In The Doing.

Inspiration
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You will never be able to sit and wait for inspiration to strike you. Waiting is inspiration’s antithesis. Inspiration fades fast if you do nothing. Wanting helps increase desire. It helps to push you forward to engage in actions directed at achievement.

But wanting also can increase depression and dissatisfaction. You cannot be content and at peace in life if you are also dissatisfied with that life. The two are like oil and water they just don’t mix. However dissatisfaction can be the most powerful motivator. It will push you farther than you ever imagined. The highest achievers among us, are usually the most dissatisfied. But it comes with that high price of when is anything enough?

How Do We Balance That Driving Force Of Dissatisfaction, With Gratitude For The Life We Currently Have, All In Order To Create The Life We Want?

I think the only possibility for this is in isolation.

Isolate the areas you want change in and don’t let it affect the others. Be happy and content with the family you chose but never let the dissatisfaction from possibly the work your currently doing affect that family. Just because you’re dissatisfied in one area of life, doesn’t mean it has to cascade into all areas.

Or we could possibly use a “this/and method.” We can tell ourselves we are grateful for this and we also want that. That way we are only adding to the possibilities. We don’t always have to lose in order to gain.

No matter the possibilities without steady actions. Doing it regularly, even when you don’t feel like it. Inspiration will evaporate. And all that will be left is a list of broken dreams and wants you’re never due to receive.