“If you're perpetually broke, you should be working hard at overcoming stupidity and not getting rich.” ― Taiwo Abraham
I have a really great deal for you.
Select eleven my blog posts for just 1 dollar (plus shipping and handling). I will then send you a "Writer's Selection" blog post once a month (plus shipping and handling) at a low, low cost for another three years. After this time, you can opt out but I'm sure you will want to continue with your membership.
Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?
Sounds all too familiar I am sure.
Columbia House Records made billions of dollars on shipping and handling fees along with the monthly selection you basically had to purchase. I myself was lured into this seemingly innocent deal. On the farm back in the 1970s, it seemed to be a good way to collect music.
Surprise, surprise as it drained my weekend job savings account.
Surprise, surprise as it drained many of your accounts as well.
Well another long coming surprise is that Columbia House just filed for bankruptcy in a Manhattan court. Documents filed by the company say its debt could be as high as $10 million, and it owes its 20 biggest creditors more than $6 million. Appears they couldn't keep up with those shipping and handling costs.
The cynical person in me wants to jump up for joy in the demise of this company and its marketing and other business practices. Many people have been harmed, duped, swindled and just plain bamboozled by this company.
Then I remember I am human and allowed it to happen.
Then I remember we are all human and did it to our self.
How did it all happen? How did we allow ourselves to be duped. How did Columbia House and others like them make money? They did so by using a business practice called "negative option billing" which effectively takes advantage of human nature.
Just decline the next item before the bill arrives. Easy enough but human nature is our tendency to forget, be late and the bills continue to accumulate. You may have gotten some great music, but could you now afford the electric bill to play those records.
We learn from those mistakes of human nature.
We learn to accept those mistakes and move forward.
Life has its lessons to be learned for every generation and every person. Some lessons learned quickly while some are learned hard. Which ever way though, we must move forward knowing how to avoid the pitfalls and grab hold of the good.
Whether you bought twelve records for a penny or simply made a bad decision in life; accept it, learn from it and move on.
There will be plenty of other opportunities to learn from but also greater knowledge in taking on the right ones.
Stay inspired my friends!
