Why I’m such a merciless prick
Published: Fri, 07/30/21
“not too long ago i understood everything you did but... I didn't agree with that ‘hard way’ you deal with some people. Now (after being screwed) I see how right you are.”
I don’t know if I’d call it “hard” or not.
It’s just knowing what I am dealing with:
Human beings.
We are a curious folk, we humans.
I like how Vox Day put it recently:
(paraphrased)
“Humans aren’t rational, they rationalize”
Knowing that — which sometimes takes years of putting up with disrespect, people wasting your time, others trying to take advantage of you (when you are starting out and naive especially), and even outright screwing you over — makes it very easy to be the (perceived) merciless prick I’ve been accused of over the years.
But it’s not so much about being a prick.
I have many more thrilled subscribers than people whining about me being mean or whatever.
It’s about getting results.
And in my experience:
The best way to get those results is to have standards & rules, stick with them, and be dogmatic about enforcing them while only making rare — very rare — exceptions and adjustments if the situation allows it or demands it.
If that costs you short term sales, so be it.
If it makes you less “liked”, good.
If it makes people angry, jealous, or irrational, too bad for them.
This is something that is bigger than you or me.
And by violating the standards you set down you are almost guaranteed to get pinched — whether sooner or later. It’s why, for example, I spend a lot of time blocking ex-subscribers from coming back to “Email Players”.
Not because I don’t “like” them.
Frankly, 99 out of 100 times I don’t even know them.
But I know types.
I know how the human mind rationalizes.
And I know how these days most adults are functionally children about how they make decisions, and are more likely to be a complete pain in the arse to deal with that is not worth the money. I also know that when I reward good behavior I get more of that good behavior, but if I reward bad behavior I get more of that, too, and would just be enabling whatever their rationalizing is.
Thus, the policy.
This comes off as rude and prickish to some people.
But those are the people who should not be subscribing anyway.
That bit of irony always writes itself…
Okay, ‘nuff said.
For the grownups in the room:
The 10-year anniversary August “Email Players” issue deadline is tomorrow. This issue has been — quite literally — 10-years in the writing in many ways. And had someone handed this info to me back then, I suspect I’d have dramatically short cut the time of success in a lot of areas of my life, while probably having even more people think me some kind of prick.
Is what it is.
I will also say this:
There is nothing to swipe, and there are no hacks to be found.
It’s pure strategical but actionable content.
But if you are one to complain about “too much content, I can’t keep up!” this issue will simply stress you out. It’s double-sized in pages and content. And it’s meant to be read, then re-read, then re-read again… while aggressively applying it along the way.
Will it be worth the time and effort?
That is up to you and I make no guarantees.
But I can say it has been worth everything to me over the years.
Here’s the link to click to subscribe:
https://www.EmailPlayers.com
Ben Settle