Can you sell Yourself?

We live in a time where we are taught instant gratification. The industrial age has changed the very fabric of our being. The information age goes hand in hand in with this change or what I call a reformation. In past times people very seldom ventured far away from the place of their birth. There were some good points which were the result of this. The best point is that people formed bonds which were not easily broken. There was a time when a man or woman’s word was a thing of value just like silver or gold. These days it seems that it just doesn’t matter at all. The pleasure at all costs mentality that we have has robbed us of the intimacy which man was designed to have. We were made to love each other and when it is missing it changes our very essence into something dreadful. Our pleasure at all costs mentality has robbed us of the true pleasures of life. The institution of marriage has suffered greatly. The divorce rate is the highest that it has ever been along with violent crime. Part of the reason for this is our microwave mentality. We are used to getting everything quickly. We have been socialized to want instant gratification. We have all met the fast talking salesman who could glibly find out what our personality weaknesses were and exploit us with his quick thinking and sharp wit. Those people invariably are good salesmen. I’m sure that they make a lot of money while making a lot of enemies at the same time. I would be willing to bet you good hard currency that there is a sales person who may not make as many up front sales but will make more over the long run. Here I am talking about the slow talking salesperson who is actually conce ed about what the customer actually needs. Many people won’t even appreciate this type of salesperson but the few who do will more than make up for the initial sales which were lost. Those will be customers who didn’t find out that they were duped by this person after they had purchased the product and gotten it home. Whenever they need to make another purchase they will certainly find the one who established a rapport with them and give him their business. We do business over the phone or the internet and there is no personal connection or commitment. We get used to this type of interaction in which there is no empathy for the person that you are talking to at all. Relationships become nothing more than business transactions. Unfortunately interpersonal relationships seem to take on the same character. Our attitudes about intimacy become casual and only about self gratification for the most part. Unfortunately this is the attitude which many couples even take into the marriage commitment. Marriage thus becomes no more of a commitment but a trial. The attitude is not that the couple will make the marriage work but of trying it out to see what it will be like. Divorce then turns into the solution to the marriage problem. Sell yourself to people if you want real friends and not just acquaintances. You probably won’t have as many friends if you sell yourself but the quality of the few that you do have will far surpass the quality of the many that you didn’t get. There will be some which will take advantage of your good nature but the good ones will make life all the more worthwhile. The Good Life