This morning I got up with a headache and went to the medicine drawer to check out my pain pill stash. Upon reviewing the results claimed by each fixer… I had an epiphany!
Every person in our society experiences some sort of pain at times, whether it is a physical, spiritual, financial, relationship, or business, etc. This need opens the door ‘of possibility’ for the ‘fixers’ who make big promises of healing from the services or products they provide. The fixes are usually so broad and so vague that the seeker fills in the gaps with their desire for a possible relief. For example: the two pain medicines I reviewed covered claims of relief for… headache, muscle ache, toothache, backache, fever, common cold, premenstrual and menstrual cramps, minor pain of arthritis, sinus pain, fever, etc. WOW, relief at last! I had found a miracle inside one of these little child proof bottles. OK, I digress.
The more I thought about the idea of ‘needers and fixers’ the more my mind surveyed a broader landscape. Since I have been in the career of coaching, motivational speaking and training for several years; I thought of how many professionals in that industry have sold themselves as the ‘fixers‘, how many speakers seller their 3-step plan as the answer to another’s pain; how all the webinars and seminars tout their got rich in 3-months strategic model and how the ‘fixers’ grab onto these ‘needers’ with their fixes!
People who act as if they have the answers are busy creating a list of letters behind their name to prove that they are experts; writing books and developing well designed marketing plans and selling speedy fixes to stress, sleepless nights, anxious moments, and all other sorts of sales pitches to prove they have the answers. We have become a society willing to allow the sales pitches of others to be the answers for our needs.
“Where is this all leading”, I ask myself?
Years ago we were aware of the Snake Oil Salesman touting miracles… today we seem to seek them out. Giving way to profiteers selling their remedies and panaceas to an unsuspecting and needy public. For Example: Jason DeLand, a New York advertising executive and a board member of DOSIST a cannabis company in Santa Monica, California, that makes disposable vape pens with CBD, says, “Right now, CBD is the chemical equivalent to Bitcoin in 2016. It’s hot, everywhere and yet almost nobody understands it,” he says. It is just like any other new ‘in-thing’, where businesses jump on board with a myriad of ‘fixer’ claims while the ‘needer’ jumps on the bandwagon to buy. (Article link below)
It is interesting and somewhat sad to observe a society that has lost its ability to think and has become a bunch of followers with a few hungry leaders selling their fixes. Wake up ‘needers’, there are no easy ways to success in life; no three-month get rich quick strategies; no answers to a perfect anything. No… the ‘fixers’ do not have the answers to your life and success!
Please note that this is not intended to be a slam at any product, service, or business, however; it is intended to be a wakeup call for a society that searches for a fix, any fix, to reduce their pain by exerting little effort on their part. Of course, life does have its moments of pain. The question is, will you choose to grow from those moments or seek a ‘fixer’ with a quick fix? Your decision is about knowing what you want, then choosing carefully.
Oh, by the way, I did not take any pain medicine this morning; but instead went to the gym and worked out! Feeling much better!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/style/cbd-benefits.html
Patricia Leonard, CEO – President
Patricia Leonard & Associates
Inspirational Speaker, Author, Coach
615-406-9644