July 10, 2007
So Pure
If I think something sucks I generally am rather blunt, and sometimes that can cause lawsuits, fake comments, hate email, dual challenges, etc. The ugliest parts of humanity are anonymously drawn in to a person who wants to be honest...especially if they are against the grain and gaining influence.
As time passes people try to wear you down and make you fit in their shoes. This comes from the top and the bottom. At one point in time I remember when I thought most everything was overpriced. Looking back, I now appreciate how skewed my worldview was back then, especially in a world full of capitalism when I was valuing my time at nothing, helping out whoever I could in an industry where a 7 figure salary is not uncommon if all you care about is money.
Business is not about who creates the most value. Business is about who creates the most profit while looking as legitimate as needed to continue the model while ignoring the cost of externalities.
Oddly enough after enough time passes you become the standard for others in what not to do. But like a tidal wave the person who knocks you down rises only to later fall, eclipsed by their own ego, both standing in line waiting to wear your shoes.
Ebb and flow in human nature, or envy? Who knows. :)
Posted at July 10, 2007 7:48 AMThat's an often true but unfortunate realization about the dark side of business, but there are people out there whose goal is to add value to people's lives and have done phenomenally well on the profit side as well. I've generally noticed that only about 5% of the people in any slice of life care about doing the right thing. Not that we should give up, or anything - definitely makes it a challenge to not get discouraged by it all.
Just keep being true to your values and forget all the wankers. You've done a great job w/ the blog & with your investments into other people's lives.
