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You’ll hear me say over and over again the words “does it work for you”. This is to carry the importance of getting your own data. We live in a society where we are conditioned to be handed our answers on a silver platter, whether they are right or not.
Only by getting, interpreting and using your own data will you get the results that you really want. Asking yourself this question helps to remind us that our techniques are still experimental and that we’re still expanding.
But, does the fact that it works mean that it’s good?
It’s an important question. One that Armand (Thanks!) brought up recently. This question is as old as time itself: Does the fact that we can mean that we should?
I confess that I had unwittingly side-stepped this question. When I looked, I saw that I could very easily use methods which are underhanded, which are unethical, which just plain aren’t nice.
But, they wouldn’t truly work for me. Let me explain.
I have spent a lot of time getting to know myself. As such, I find I can tell what would exact too high a price. Sometimes the steep price is that it would drain too much energy. Sometimes (but less often) the steep price is that I wouldn’t do or have an object or situation that I desire. On occasion, the steep price is that I couldn’t live with myself if I were to do it. I couldn’t face the man in the mirror.
Steve Pavlina posted an excellent poem he found on that very topic (the article can be found here). An excellent poem, and I got a rush when I read it. It is very clear, and speaks to the heart. It served to crystallize something that I had been using for some time: I look to who I am and why I am here first, and then work from there.
Recently, in discussion on another blog (see here), I articulated this in a simple cost-vs-reward fashion. I suggest following the link and reading the whole thing, but I will summarize: A choice is given to either take a key and walk away penniless or to push a button that will kill someone at random. If the button is pushed, you get $10 million. I chose the key. I had and have sentimental reasons for this, as well as pragmatic ones. Here is the pragmatic reason I left:
I had looked at both sides of the equation, but in the end, if I pressed a button, I would be directly responsible for the untimely death of someone, and that would ride me the rest of my life. Could I have helped people with the money? Probably. Could I have restored a life taken? No. The irreversable act of killing another would have weighed heavily on me and would have skewed anything I would later on in my life. Moreover, the guilt of the action taken to get the money would probably cause most people to blow it in a subconscious effort to “balance the books”….they need to get rid of the blood money.
No. Even for all the good that money could offer, the cost would be way too high for me.
Who are you planning for?
Remember: Only you are capable of making decisions for you. When you ask yourself the question “Does it work for me”, remember to think of the whole question. Remember the “me” part. If you can gain wealth by cheating your neighbor, and you know that would kill your spirit, then you know right from the start that it won’t work for you. You may see some cash come in, but the destruction caused by it would far outweigh the income.
Here’s a modern example: Many people like to modify their Xbox consoles. (I’m talking about the classic xbox here). They do this for any number of reasons. Some just like to monkey with things. Some like to set it up to stream media and such. Some like to play backup discs. Some, of course, are plain and simple pirates. Why they do it is a discussion for another time and place however.
For those of you who don’t know, the Xbox is designed to connect to an online service that allows for multiplayer across the internet. However, if Microsoft finds out that you have done anything to the Xbox, they will ban you from this service. Is that too high a price to pay? Maybe. Then again, maybe not. If you aren’t interested in using the service anyway, then it really doesn’t matter, does it?
The same can be said for the choices we make in our lives. What may not be comfortable, or seemly, or even right for one may be perfectly fine for someone else. The important thing is to find/remember who you are, and plan for that person. Once you know who that is, you’ll have a better idea what to use.
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