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GuestUser112
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Now, I might catch some flak from some people who think ethics aren't important when it comes to the pursuit of the dollar.
F*ck them.
This post was inspired by a thread I recently viewed about some douchebag named Anton who made up a bunch of lies about himself and how he made money in order to make more money through blogging and the like: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...e-fail-of-epic-proportions.56376/#post-415960
You who are reading this, let's pretend for a second that you are a billionaire. You've decided that you've made enough money, and you don't want to spend any more seconds of life chasing money because that's what you've done for the last ten-plus years, and while it has definitely paid off, now all you want to do is enjoy life.
What would you do next? Probably go jetskiing, right? Or clubbing, or maybe get a whole bunch of hookers and cocaine...
What is 'fun' for you? Is it what the media tells you it is? Or do you have your own definition?
What I'm talking about is the difference in satisfaction from getting a "HEADSHOT" in Counter-Strike (remember that?) compared to the satisfaction of working out so goddamn hard that when you finish you can't even move but you've got a big smile on your face because you know you pushed yourself to your absolute limit.
Now lets relate this to business. Many people might like to think that what Anton did was a 'cool, smart way to make money'. Just like people think that Ponzi schemes are great if you're the perpetrator, because they make a lot of money. If you think that, then you're very confused and you should read on (rather, read what better men than I have to say about this below)
Lets say I have this product. It's a really shitty product, but it's the only one I have. I created it myself in a couple hours because I want to make money (hey, couple hours, TIME is part of CENTS, right? Not bad!) as fast as possible. Now I want to sell this product, but I have a problem: if I'm completely honest in my copywriting and sales tactics, people will know the product is garbage and they won't buy it. So I 'stretch' the truth a bit and try to write the 'best' (notice quotation marks) copy I can in order to convince people to buy as fast as possible. And it works! I sell millions practically overnight!!! Yayyyyy!!!!
Of course, once the reviews about the product come out, nobody ever wants to buy it again. But I made a whole bunch of money so who cares, right? Satisfaction level: 10, right?
Perhaps by your standards. Rewind!
Lets say I have a shitty product. And then I throw it in the garbage, where it belongs. I've just learned that it takes more than a couple hours to make something good, and I decide that I've going to make a great product and put in as many hours, days, or weeks as it demands until it reaches a standard high enough for me to say: "Damn, I've made a damn fine product. Let's see what the market thinks". So I do that, and then I say that, 18 months later.
So I write some copy. And since my product is amazing, all I want to do is show people how great it is! So I be as honest as possible, explaining how months of rigorous work and care went into crafting this product. But I want the copy to be awesome too, just like my product. So I spend a lot of time trying to develop the perfect balance between something brief and powerful and something informative. And when I write the final slogan for the product, the USP, I say, "Damn, that's a damn fine slogan".
Then I put it on the market. And it sells a dozen practically overnight! Yayyyy!
And then, as the weeks go by, I sell hundreds, then thousands, and by the end of the year I've made hundreds of thousands! Satisfaction level? 10 out of 10, and I don't have to ask...
That is, until I decide I want to do better. Make something better. I want to make the best goddamn Jet Engine that's ever been made now.
Back to the point. Both Satisfaction levels were 10, right? But what kind of person would you rather be? Which 10 would you rather have?
Because the latter is made of Gold, and the former is made of dirt.
F*ck them.
This post was inspired by a thread I recently viewed about some douchebag named Anton who made up a bunch of lies about himself and how he made money in order to make more money through blogging and the like: https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...e-fail-of-epic-proportions.56376/#post-415960
You who are reading this, let's pretend for a second that you are a billionaire. You've decided that you've made enough money, and you don't want to spend any more seconds of life chasing money because that's what you've done for the last ten-plus years, and while it has definitely paid off, now all you want to do is enjoy life.
What would you do next? Probably go jetskiing, right? Or clubbing, or maybe get a whole bunch of hookers and cocaine...
What is 'fun' for you? Is it what the media tells you it is? Or do you have your own definition?
What I'm talking about is the difference in satisfaction from getting a "HEADSHOT" in Counter-Strike (remember that?) compared to the satisfaction of working out so goddamn hard that when you finish you can't even move but you've got a big smile on your face because you know you pushed yourself to your absolute limit.
Now lets relate this to business. Many people might like to think that what Anton did was a 'cool, smart way to make money'. Just like people think that Ponzi schemes are great if you're the perpetrator, because they make a lot of money. If you think that, then you're very confused and you should read on (rather, read what better men than I have to say about this below)
Lets say I have this product. It's a really shitty product, but it's the only one I have. I created it myself in a couple hours because I want to make money (hey, couple hours, TIME is part of CENTS, right? Not bad!) as fast as possible. Now I want to sell this product, but I have a problem: if I'm completely honest in my copywriting and sales tactics, people will know the product is garbage and they won't buy it. So I 'stretch' the truth a bit and try to write the 'best' (notice quotation marks) copy I can in order to convince people to buy as fast as possible. And it works! I sell millions practically overnight!!! Yayyyyy!!!!
Of course, once the reviews about the product come out, nobody ever wants to buy it again. But I made a whole bunch of money so who cares, right? Satisfaction level: 10, right?
Perhaps by your standards. Rewind!
Lets say I have a shitty product. And then I throw it in the garbage, where it belongs. I've just learned that it takes more than a couple hours to make something good, and I decide that I've going to make a great product and put in as many hours, days, or weeks as it demands until it reaches a standard high enough for me to say: "Damn, I've made a damn fine product. Let's see what the market thinks". So I do that, and then I say that, 18 months later.
So I write some copy. And since my product is amazing, all I want to do is show people how great it is! So I be as honest as possible, explaining how months of rigorous work and care went into crafting this product. But I want the copy to be awesome too, just like my product. So I spend a lot of time trying to develop the perfect balance between something brief and powerful and something informative. And when I write the final slogan for the product, the USP, I say, "Damn, that's a damn fine slogan".
Then I put it on the market. And it sells a dozen practically overnight! Yayyyy!
And then, as the weeks go by, I sell hundreds, then thousands, and by the end of the year I've made hundreds of thousands! Satisfaction level? 10 out of 10, and I don't have to ask...
That is, until I decide I want to do better. Make something better. I want to make the best goddamn Jet Engine that's ever been made now.
Back to the point. Both Satisfaction levels were 10, right? But what kind of person would you rather be? Which 10 would you rather have?
Because the latter is made of Gold, and the former is made of dirt.
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