Sauce day

I woke up today and decided that I was going to go out and get the supplies to make tomato sauce. Tomorrow night, for dinner, we are having home made marinara sauce, angel hair pasta, meat balls, garlic bread and Italian sausage.

I haven't made this particular meal in a couple of years and around here it's somewhat legendary. It is a fan favorite amongst all who have ever tried it. And I personally love it. But it takes me eighteen hours to three days to make, depending on whether or not I start out with fresh tomatoes instead of canned. So, I almost never go through the effort.

What is funny about that is I am always saying I am gonna make it again soon. And I have tried to talk myself into it several times over the last few months. Not today though. I woke up and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was going shopping and that once I got the supplies, I was setting to work making this awesome food. It kind of a amazes me how this sudden desire came out of the clear blue and I am still wondering about it.

Why now? Why today? What makes it any better or different than any other time? As far as I can tell, there is no real rhyme or reason to it. The closest thing that I can guess is that something in my subconscious just slipped into place today when I woke up and I realized there was no reason not to do this thing that I am always saying that I want to enjoy and share with others again.

I find myself wondering how many other similar things there are in my life. How many times have you found yourself saying that you would like to do a thing and in fact you will...soon...

...And then found yourself months later still saying that thing and not having done it? I am not talking about things that you are prevented from doing by lack of funds or some other circumstance that actually stops you. This particular example is kind of a silly thing. But there really could be things that you want or need to change in your life that would massively improve it. I mean how many things can you think of that there really is no good reason for you not to do yet you still do not do them? How much better would your life be if you just woke up and decided to do those things?

You may have noticed that I do this a lot. A thing will happen to me and then I will look for examples of it in other places in my life. The reason for this is that many areas of our life are just mirrors of each other and things that show up in one aspect often show up in many if not every other aspect. And whenever possible I reflect on new information and do my best to incorporate that information into as many areas of my life as possible. That way each single thing can be used to its utmost efficiency.

I challenge you to do the same and see what kind of positive change it brings you.

What's your price?

An average looking man walks up to a rather attractive woman and asks her if she would sleep with him for ten million dollars. She smiles brightly and says "yes, of course". He then takes ten dollars out of his wallet, hands it to her and says "how about for ten dollars?" With a shocked look on her face she says "what kind of woman do you think I am?" He replies, "we've already established that. Now we're just negotiating the price."

It's kind of a funny example. But it is something to think about. In this particular example one person is asking another to do something that they probably would not do just because the first person asked them to. So he mentions a ridiculous sum of money as a bribe. Without even thinking about it, she says yes. She has literally indicated that her services can easily be bought and that ten million dollars is more than enough.Then he offers practically nothing as motivation and she gets offended. But what if he had offered ten thousand instead of ten? And then if she said yes to ten thousand maybe she would also say yes to one thousand. There is a point where she would have hesitated between yes and no and then if he offered just a little more it would again be back to a firm yes.

This example is about sex for money. But it really could be about any service that a person can offer in exchange for anything the person might want in exchange. There is very little that a person will not do if provided the right kind and amount of motivation. It is what every interaction where one person gets something from another is about.

Jobs are all about people trading time for money. An employer will have a hard time filling a position that pays $7.50 per hour if all of the people that apply for the position believe that the work being done is worth $20 per hour or more. Conversely, people will line up around the block to apply for a job which pays $20 per hour if only $7.50 per hour worth of work is required.

It isn't always about money though. When friends or family ask you to do things for them, they might attempt to get you to agree by offering to take you out to dinner afterwards or offering some other service to you in exchange. Or they might just ask the favor and  offer nothing in exchange. The strength of the relationship you have with them then plays a big part in whether you agree to their terms or you deny their request.

For every single thing that a person can ask of you, there is a price in your head for which you will do that thing. It may be money. It may be material goods. It may just be some other service that you want in exchange. It may be a reasonable sum. It may be something outlandish or ridiculous. But, it does exist. And if someone else knows your price they can get you to do what they want.  Or vice versa if you know theirs.

Sometimes a person will come right out and tell you the exact measure that it will take to get them to do what you want. Other times you can haggle with them until you find an agreeable amount. And often the best way to do that is to offer something like the opening example and see what they say or do.

Non Example

One of my best friends in this world has been (until recently) over five hundred pounds for probably about ten years. When it comes to health and nutrition and what you should and should not do to get your metabolism working properly, he has more knowledge than any other two people that I know.

If a person is looking for just about any kind of dietary information or advice, he either knows it or knows where to direct a person to find it. He can give long lectures on the benefits of one food or the hazards of some supplement. People do ask his opinion,but they rarely follow his advice when it comes to being healthy.

Why?

Because he has failed to show by his own actions that he truly understands and agrees with the advice that he gives. The two most likely options are, either he is following it and he is wrong about its effectiveness, or he is not following it and he is right. Neither of those two circumstances inspire faith in what he says.

A slim in shape person is going to have people begging them for diet, exercise and nutrition information. And people will listen to and follow what they say with near religious devotion. They MUST know what they are talking about. See how great they look!

Whether you are giving someone advice or selling them a product, people are going to judge you based on how that thing is being used by you personally.

If you go door to door as a shoe salesman you had better wear some of the very same shoes that you sell, because if you do not, people are going to want to know why not. If the shoes are not good enough for you to wear, they are not good enough for other people to want to buy.

Sometimes when I go out, I will go to a mall and stop at the food court. If I see a new restaurant that I have not eaten at before, I will go over and ask the employees how the food there is. If their response is that it is very good, sometimes I give it a chance. But every time an employee has told me they do not know, they eat somewhere else, they have never gotten a sale.

The point here is that you need to lead by example. What you say and how you say it are almost completely non important, when compared to what you do. If you provide the right example in your way of being, your advice, your product, whatever it is that you have to offer, sells itself.

Take your own advice. Be the person you are suggesting others be. Use your own products and be able to express to people what your life was like both before and after having them. If you show by your way of being that the things you are offering have enhanced your life in a way that seems appealing to others, they will want what you have.

And they will practically beat down your door to get it. You won't even need a sales pitch. All you will have to do is show up and collect payment.