The Scam of "You've Got to Spend Money . . . "
Beware of Dangled Carrots
If you have spent any time here on LinkedIn or any networking platforms, you will have run into something like these offers:
In other words, the world is rife with people who want to help others get ahead in life, as long as you spend a fortune first. If you say no, then the argument is often “you’ve got to invest in yourself,” or “if you don’t take chances and trust me...” or, (the worst one), “I can help you manifest your goals, but if it doesn’t work, then you just don’t believe in yourself enough.”
I honestly find the whole game disgusting.
I’m not saying that everyone is dishonest. There have been a few legitimate offers—or at least offers from people who are truly qualified, but more often than not the investment means more money in their pocket while I do more work, and not much changes in my world.
I suppose you could accuse me of blaming them for my issues, but the truth lies in differing attitudes. I would rather work with people who see me as their equal. People who seek true collaborations. People who say, I will invest in you while you invest in me. I’d rather give a share of the profits of whatever I am doing, then get nothing in return after hours and hours of work. I don’t want more experience, more views, more connections, or anything else unless we are all lifting one another up.
I have rarely found people willing to do this. I’ve actually been scolded for promoting my stuff on someone’s page, even after paying for their help.
Perhaps I’m not made for entrepreneurship, or perhaps I see the world through a different perspective. I think the second is more likely, for you see, I’ve lived most of my life building a name and juggling projects that lead to new collaborations and projects. Sure, I never called it an actual business, but I am proud of what I have created and have rarely, if ever, produced shoddy work.
But still, I’m expected to pay for possibilities all the time. Why? Because our priorities are upside down.
We’ve Got the Wrong Priorities.
Here’s an unpopular opinion: Time is more valuable than money.
I know, that’s crazy, isn’t it? After all we need money to live. We need money to have time to make more money. We need money to build AI apps that will free us up with more time to make more money in new ways.
The above paragraph is sarcastic.
Time is more valuable than money. With time, we build connections to one another, we see the world, and we allow our ideas and creativity to grow. Time gives us space to write, read, create, and breathe. Every project youwork on takes time. In creative fields, every moment you spend creating for someone else takes time, and takes away from other projects.
But the offers come in
Join our team by providing sample articles that we have the right to use. If we use them, you’ll get paid.
Write sample articles and post them on the platform. If someone selects it, you’ll get paid, and they may keep working with you.
Work as many hours as you can, but you don’t get paid unless you submit the task, and if you submit it late you might get paid less than your hourly rate.
Agree to send me your entire follower list, and I will do a short podcast about you so that it reaches my followers (a list shorter than money).
Do you see the problem? As long as we prioritize our own needs, our own bank accounts, over the reality that any good work takes time, we’ve got it all upside down.
How do I deal with this? By being honest. Whenever I get an offer I speak my truth. I’ll say something like:
Thank you for reaching out to me. Your (project/work/product, etc.) sounds interesting. I’d love to connect as long as this is not a sales pitch. At this time, I do not have the funds for this. If you are interested in connecting to support each other’s goals, or in collaboratin with me, I’d be happy to talk with you. Otherwise, I will reach out if I decide I can use your services.
More often than not, the person disappears. Sometimes, though, I end up having wonderful, interesting conversations with people who have great ideas. Those are the ones I am more likely to partner with in the future. I may never be wealthy this way, but I know that I will always be using my time well, because I will be using time the way I want to use it—by supporting those who recognize that my work has equal value to theirs.
Below, you’ll see my subscribe button. Do I have it monetized? Yes, because I take time to work on these posts. Because I think (or at least I hope) that my insights might connect with readers. My dream is that, together, we can shift the broken parts of our society by prioritizing creativity, connections, collaboration, and time over money.
Do I limit my posts to only those who pay for them? Not so far. I know I have to develop some benefits for paid subscribers—most likely those will be in the form of conversations and discussions, maybe free workshops. In other words, if someone supports me with money, then I will support them with time.
At least that way I don’t disgust myself.