The vague blue flashes from the television screen is the only source of light this lonely night. Seemingly like gallons of luminescent paint, electric hues are splashed incessantly across your walls, a different color every second. Your eyes wide, as you lay there, reflecting the rapid images being projected upon them. In just a few short minutes you are told what to what to eat, what to drink, what to wear, what to drive, how to sleep better, how to feel better, how to look better, how to have sex better, how to save money on flights and hotels, and how to chop your food simply by slapping it!
We live in a place and time where we can almost literally get whatever we want. If you want to be on the other side of the world, you can book a flight in minutes. If you want any kind of food imaginable, you can easily find it. If you want to learn anything at all, the resources are readily available. If you want to change your whole lifestyle, image, and persona, you can.
This is what has been on my mind this past week. I tried to stop for a moment and look around, to take a step back to try and see the effect this craze for convenience has had on our culture. It made me begin to ask the question, "Is getting whatever you want necessarily a good thing?"
Like I said before, we live in a place like never before in history where convenience is king, where getting what we want is more accessible than ever before. Still, we can look around and see that we are a nation that tops the charts for depression, obesity, and violence. It seems that many times what we want isn't always what is best.
I had a very interesting discussion last night with a fellow 20-something, small business owner about how our society tends to demonize many of the large corporations such as McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Nike, etc. They say that when you meet someone you don't like, many times, it is because they embellish the characteristics that you do not like about yourself. I think something similar is true with these companies. In our discussion, I made the point that all companies simply supply a demand. If the mass population stopped purchasing food at McDonald's because it was unhealthy, or products at Wal-Mart because of exploitation, the company would stop making money and be forced to change their business model in order to stay in business. Sadly, these titans of industry do so astonishingly well because of the overwhelming demand. They are quite simply a reflection of our society's wants.
I think that the mindset of getting everything you want is somewhat of a syndrome we have created. We have been inundated and trained my marketing/advertising to think first of yourself: what do YOU want? There is nothing wrong with "Having It Your Way", but we must also think what effect it has on bigger picture. The key to a positive change is not depriving what you want, but wanting what is best. It is a mindset. It seems insignificant sometimes, making the small choices each day for what is best, but it takes individuals making small steps together that soon leads to making giant waves for greatness.
It is the core belief here at Numbers For The Cause that together we can do amazing things. $5 of every t-shirt we sell goes to an incredible cause until we have raised $1 million together. It only takes a small ripple that can lead to a great change, but first you have to want it.
Have an astounding weekend! Catch you all next friday!!
Bear hugs and Eskimo kisses,
Joey
