I made this stark YouTube video because the world is a big place and is more non-white than white.  Yet if you look at the Internet Marketing and Self-Help fields (and other) virtual inner circles, they smack of racism, mostly of the unintentional sort, and exclusionary tendencies.

I am not dancing with minorities just to show how liberal and open-minded I am, but just pointing out a blatant wrong that needs to be righted.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out. ~Pastor Martin Niemöller~

Entertainers are our escape from reality.  We often transfer our power to the star who can live out our fantasies, make love like Casanova, hobnob with the in-crowd, and rake in moolah like there is no tomorrow.

Find Your Perfect Business!

Vicariously living through others is a one-way ticket to mediocrity and underachievement.  The next time you plant yourself in front of a TV when you could be improving your life and vocational skills, remember that

“Sport in the sense of a mass-spectacle, with death to add to the underlying excitement, comes into existence when a population has been drilled and regimented and depressed to such an extent that it needs at least a vicarious participation in difficult feats of strength or skill or heroism in order to sustain its waning life-sense.” ~Lewis Mumford~

Get on your game before life kicks the wind out of you.  Movie star Will Smith says it better than most.  He consistently speaks and conveys through his body language that he believes the God-force works through him (and through us).  Watch this:

It didn’t take long for me to learn the artful and designing marketing schemes of  legitimate and illegitimate marketers online.  They play on our basal instincts, the seven deadly sins:

1) haughty eyes, 2) a lying tongue, 3) hands that shed innocent blood, 4) a heart that devises wicked schemes, 5) feet that are quick to rush into evil, 6) a false witness who pours out lies, and 7) a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

Almost every trick used by the sham masters of the 19th Century, galloping into a town a night by horse and buggy to sell pidgeon feathers or snake oil as a panacea for every ailment in God’s arsenal, have now been incorporated into the seamless, online marketing world.

Moreover,  we now hear those seedy methods of yore with cyber sugar-coating being praised  as “stealthy marketing principles.”

Continuity programs, affiliate programs and any other programs that sells information and promise are facing the scrutiny of ecommerce giants such as Google and Mastercard.  Many more are putting new-age medicine men on notice.

This new scrutiny does not make me happy, nor do I gloat.  For years I have been writing about the deceptive marketers selling us sexy lifestyles and instant success on a stick.  They are not held accountable – at least until the present crackdown – for the efficacy of what they sell or the gimmicks to get you to buy at “No Risk.”

Enter, front and center, continuity meisters with their sugar-coated, giving-away-the-farm designs with a $50,100,200 membership waiting for you thirty days down the line.  They tell you that you can cancel at any time during those thirty days, but my own experience with such matters tells me that people forget, have the first membership fee taken from their credit card, inform the seller they do not want (nor did they want) to pay anything.

Here’s the kicker.  Many people blame themselves and so they won’t ask for the first payment back.  They will just cancel.

Let’s run the numbers with  Guru X.  He has a mailing list of 300,000.  Half of his membership takes him up on the  giving-away-the-farm continuity plan (150,000 subscribers).   Of those 150,000, let’s say 20% (30,000) forget to cancel the thirty-day trial and get billed.  Generously speaking, let’s say 80% (24,000) demand their money back.  The remaining group (6000) cancel but don’t ask a refund because they were negligent by not paying attention to the deadline.  Each of them payed, for example, $50, for the monthly membership.  That’s $300,000 in booty.  Yes, the marketer must pay his JV partners for leads or however he commissions them, but that was calculated into the legitimate buyers’ commission scheme.

Does this sound at all suspicious or even unlawful?  Methinks it does.  Get this straight, however – a majority of mega-marketers are good or even altruistic guys and gals who would defend continuity to the death.  They have been brainwashed and anesthetized by the allure of riches and fame.  They like hobnobbing at exclusive country clubs or Branson events to put another feather in their marketing caps.  It can happen to the best of us.  We err because we are human.

Noam Chomsky pointed out:  “The point of public relations slogans like “Support our troops” is that they don’t mean anything… That’s the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody’s going to be against, and everybody’s going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn’t mean anything. Its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something: Do you support our policy? That’s the one you’re not allowed to talk about.”

While I’m talking about it.  And so is the man in the following YouTube video, Ryan Lee…

I just received this email from one of my favorite life coaches, Raymond Aaron, and this is his piece (not mine).  The message is important and relevant to our modern lifestyle…

The Stranger My Dad Brought Home

You are the sum total of your five closest friends.

I have a true story to tell you.

Like most true stories, it contains a lesson.

I hope you will receive it.

It’s the story of…

“The Stranger”

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town.

From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family.

The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary
instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.

But the stranger… he was our storyteller.

He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and humor.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn’t seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to
leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them.

Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home… Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.

My Dad didn’t permit the liberal use of
alcohol.

But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis.

He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.

He talked way too freely about sex.

His comments were sometimes blatant,
sometimes suggestive, and generally
embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about
relationships were influenced strongly by this stranger. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked…

And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents’ den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?…

We just call him ‘TV.’

Maybe you know him.

==============================================
WHY I SHARED THIS STORY NOW
==============================================

I hope you enjoyed that little story. It has a huge moral, and NOW is the perfect time for you to hear it.

Why?

Because at this time of year – just after the New Year’s holiday, many of us have resolved to “change our lives”.

And for most people, the #1 enemy of sticking to those resolutions is our old friend (or is it “fiend”), Mr. TV.

TV is temporarily enjoyable; but in the long run is devastating.

There is practically no real learning on TV.

There is practically no getting out of debt by watching TV – indeed commercials powerfully promote buying what you had no idea you needed 60 seconds earlier.

There is practically no education on doubling your income on TV.

There is practically nothing except the
‘drug’ of pacifying yourself for a few hours with no benefit.

You may protest and say that you NEED a TV to relax. That’s not true. People relaxed before TV.

You may protest and say that you NEED a TV because you have children. That’s not true.
People had children before TV.

Indeed, I myself have a 8-year-old daughter.
When she is at her Mom’s home, she watches TV. When she is at my home we talk, we laugh, we play chess, we swim, we play checkers, we play tic-tac-toe, we exercise, we read, we do homework. In fact, my daughter loves singing. So, she sings and I record her on my FLIP video and post her videos on YouTube. She loves it.

Has she ever complained that Daddy does not have a TV? Sure. But, those complaints have decreased lately because she realizes that they serve no purpose.

Do her friends think I’m crazy when they come to my home with her to play? Yes. Does she feel embarrassed that her Daddy does not have a TV? Maybe. But, those feelings are not as important as the guidance I am showing her and the wonderful moments we share because there is no stranger called TV.

Geez, I wrote this email in less time than most people spent watching TV!

==============================================
NOW, IT’S YOUR CHOICE
==============================================

You have spent your time reading this email and I am grateful and honored. What will you do with it? My suggestions are (from least change to most change):

* Simply record the hours the TV is on and what you learned (this will likely shock you)

* Make a rule as to the maximum number of minutes you will watch TV each day

* Make a rule as to the type of show you will watch and the types of shows you will no longer watch

* Eliminate cable or satellite so that you are limited to only a very few channels possibly with weaker reception

* Move the TV to a less desirable place in the home

* Eliminate all but one TV

* Sell all your TVs on eBay

How much will you do? I don’t know.

But I do know this… the less TV you have in your life, the more room you leave for success.

Something to think about.

Love,

Raymond

PS – With all this “extra” time on your hands now that you’re not watching all that TV, you might want to read my best-selling book. And I’ll give you a copy free…  http://www.freebookfromraymond.com

Social media is the new age where everyone struts their stuff like a Soviet Union general.

Twitter is changing our lives.  In a 140-character mincemeat message, you can create a following – no big deal – and even become a star.   Fake it till you make it has never been easier.

I’ve been around for 59 years and at this stage in my life I have seen every conceivable deception or at least read about many of them.

Everyone wants to be a star and some mortals will go to illegal or unethical extremes to get the spotlight, especially in the Internet age.

The categories that have become ubiquitous on Twitter and other social media stages are  “coaching ” and “consulting.”  Stretching those terms to the breaking point, we are all consultants and coaches-in-the-making.  As a parent, we coach.  As a worker, we coach.  Even as a spouse, we coach.  And with friends and peers, we coach.

I played tennis well when I was younger.  Does that put me in coaching class for the nearby high school?  Hmm?  Let me give it some thought.

Social networking is all about putting your best foot forward and branding yourself.  But from my treasure trove of life experience, only a select few people are good coaches and teachers.  And a 24-year-old lad or lassie with sexual urges and scents dripping from their pores can easily be confused for a coach because of our conscious and not-so-conscious desire to be around testosterone- and estrogen (my word) -driven individuals with charisma and looks.

But while these young people may brand themselves as the real-deal coach/consultant and reel off a dozen questionable qualifications, they are – by and large – frauds and ripoff artists.

A man or a woman who has never been through a major life trauma has not lived.  He or she is usually full of  hot air,  wardrobe, and the drippings of success.  Yet they should be steered clear of (on a coaching basis) 99 percent of the time.

Where is this all leading?  It’s leading to the conclusion that the Internet has become bloated with would-be leaders tooting their shallow horns.  Many are pretenders who have never taken the time to learn their trade from the inside out.  They come from the instant gratification era and they often want something for very little or nothing…NOW!

Find Your Perfect Business!

Coaching and teaching are very important professions.  People are putting their time, money and soul in the hands of a stranger.  They are hoping against hope that the coach is wise, diplomatic, and results oriented.  Just because a person is a maven in SEO or in Law of Attraction methodology, for example, does not in the least qualify them to be a coach.

There are many asshole, know-it-alls who can’t teach and lick…and shouldn’t!  Yet people, in their quest for riches and fame, will follow the shallow to the gallows.  Next time a person of dubious background does his coaching shtick, ask him for several references.

A good friend or speaking companion must not be confused for coaching on the professional level.  On the professional level it must be that near perfect blend of wisdom and ability to get results  for YOU.

Those who crow about their level of financial achievement and are under 30, are probably standing on very shaky ground.  Life does (and will!) bonk you along the way.  If it hasn’t yet, step aside and stop pretending it has.

The character of a fighter is developed when he eventually goes down for the eight count.  Until he/she does, they can only teach us empirically in a classroom setting.

Don’t welcome them into your spiritual living room, no matter how slick or how thick they lay it on you.

Yet remember that everyone has a message worth sharing.  The key is to develop your message through the slings and arrows of a life fully lived.  Then consider teaching/coaching from what you know, not just what you theorize.