It was refreshing to read on Seth Grobin’s blog that he agress that taking the high road (as suggested in my Be up market post) is a good idea and is working well for some very large and very successful businesses. I think the reason many people take the low road is because it appears to be easier. It’s easier to learn a few tricks to emotionally persuade someone to buy something they probably don’t need and may never use than it is to spend the time and energy understanding their needs and matching their problems with a great solution.
So the next time you read about a new really easy get rich scheme just take a minute to think about how the person is selling you on the idea of their scheme. Have they given you enough information for you to be able to fully evaluate the scheme or do they just use generic terms and tell you that you can work from home and do it all in half an hour a day. The truth is that hard work pays and no work … doesn’t. Capitalism relies on the fact that some people will make more money than others and they do so because of their ability and hard work. Communism doesn’t work because there isn’t enough incentive to motivate people to really work hard. (There’s a lot more that could be said but I’m trying to summarise the main issue here.)
Suffice to say that taking the high road will produce better results but will require some hard work on your part. The good news is that the rewards are much greater and can be sustained over a longer period.