It's a flawed concept from the start. It's an outdated concept from the early Industrial Revolution when employers told laborers, "Hey, if you'll work for me for 40 hours a week for 40 years...then you can quit and get a gold watch and a pension."
That plan hasn't worked since the 1950's. It probably didn't work for your mom and dad and it's definitely not going to work for you, either.
Here's the good news: it doesn't have to. I'm not saying that you have to work 'til you die. I'm saying that the concept of deferring your life's pleasures until you're 60+ years old is STUPID.
Consider Timothy Ferriss' perspective from his wonderful book, "The Four Hour Workweek":
There are at least three good reasons why the concept of "retirement" is flawed:
1. It is predicated on the assumption that you dislike what you're doing during the most physically capable years of your life. [Tony's comments: It's already an impossible situation. There is no logical reason in the world why anyone would choose to do something they dislike for 50+ years.)
2. Most people will never be able to retire and maintain even a hotdogs-for-dinner standad of living. Even one million dollars is chump change in a world where traditional retirement could span 30 years and inflation lowers your purchasing power 2-4% per year. The math doesn't work. The golden years become a replay of lower-middle-class. That's a pretty bittersweet ending, isn't it?
3. And if the math DOES work, it means you are one ambitious, hardworking machine. If that's the case, guess what? A week after retiring, you'll be so bored that you'll want to stick toothpicks in your eyes. You'll probably look for a new job or start another company. Kinda defeats the purpose of waiting, doesn't it?
So, what am I (and Ferriss) saying? That you shouldn't aspire to have a life where you can relax and do as you please? Not at all!
On the contrary, my point is that you should begin living that life NOW. How much sense does it make to work hard for 40+ years so that -- when you're 60+ years old -- you can finally start doing the things you want to do?
Life is not a dress rehearsal. Start living yours today
My Microphone Doesnt Work
Advertising doesn't work any more.
Did I get your attention? I hope I did.
How can this be? "Advertise to succeed" has been the mantra
in America for at least the last 100 years!
I am not going to say here that advertising is TOTALLY useless,
because it does have its place, and direct marketing
still works, both in mail and on television.
Now pay attention. Because you are about to learn the real
secret of advertising, beyond that fact that it doesn't work.
Advertising will not change people's mind about your product.
Advertising will not convince them your product is great, if
word of mouth of a review from an authoritative source has
already taught them otherwise.
Advertising works only when it reinforces what people already
believe to be true.
So, you may ask, how am I supposed to get my product out there?
How can I increase sales?
How can I build a big powerful brand?
You have to turn advertising on its head. Advertising is actually
the last step of your marketing process, not the first.
People have access to more information now than at any time
in history. This means several things. The first is that since
news travels fast, so do product reviews and opinions from
press and online media of all kinds. The second is that since
people are also suffering from information overload, they turn
to "filters" to do some sorting out of all the choices for them,
which means those same press and online media carry a lot more
weight than they ever did before.
You can't advertise your way past this. One of the easiest things
to hide is 10 million dollars worth of advertising, especially
if not spent wisely.
What's the best way to spend your money now?
It is actually quite simple, if you can get past the "broadcast"
mentality of the old economy. In the old way of doing things,
you got a "big idea" then manufactured your product, then
advertised broadly and sold it. If you made a good product,
you could also get some publicity for it which didn't affect
sales much, but was useful because it gave you some added credibility.
Fast forward to today- Before you can even get your product out
the verdict is already pronounced, and no amount of advertising
can really change it.
The solution for our new information based economy is actually
to reverse the process. Crazy as it seems, let the consumers
create the product (or service)
This is actually far less costly and far more effective then the
traditional forms of marketing.
So first, you do a thorough survey of your target market. Find
out what they like or dislike about your new potential idea, and
especially compared to the alternatives.
Take their input, and then use it to construct a product
or service for them.
Once you have a couple prototypes contact them and others again
and further refine what you have, and establish the correct price
point that they would pay for such a product.
If you have done this right, you will make some sales just on word
of mouth. Don't go into full scale production yet.
When you are convinced you have a winner, send free copies to the
media you have identified as being most influential for your target
market. How do you know? Because you asked your target market
this in your first survey above! Ask people "Where would you turn
to for a review of this product?", or "Who do you turn to for advice
and information about _______?"
Depending on what you are trying to market this can be adjusted,
but you get the idea.
Get your feedback from the media and fix any shortcomings that they
have identified. With this feedback from both the media and your target
market, present the first stable version of your product to the media
as an official release.
If you listened carefully to the feedback and adjusted your product,
you now will have good reviews in the most influential publications
for that particular market niche. The most expensive advertising in
the world cannot buy this credibility.
Now, in your advertising, take the most important benefits that people
said they wanted out of your product or service, and use that in your
advertising, along with testimonials from real people, and mention of
your favorable reviews.
If you do this, you will be able now, to broadly advertise and your
advertising will actually be profitable. If you try to do it the
other way, you will launch a major advertising campaign, and both
the media and "consumer advocates" will eat you for lunch.
Is this better than losing money in advertising? You bet!
Both Tony Rush & Steve Blom are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tony Rush has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Marketing and Health. Want to learn more about living a "life without limits"? Visit Tony Rush online at http://www.tonyrush.com or check o. Tony Rush's top article generates over 9900 views. Bookmark Tony Rush to your Favourites.
Steve Blom has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Family and Site promotion. Steve Blom is a founding partner of In touch Media Group, and Adwordstraining.org and is an internationally recognised Outsourcing Expert.. Steve Blom's top article generates over 880 views. Bookmark Steve Blom to your Favourites.
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