THE GREEN EYED MONSTER

As a quick aside, I recently passed 1000 cumulative views on my blog.  WOOHOO!  It may not be much, but I always enjoy tracking my progress, and blog views let me know someone out there is reading or at least looking at my blog:)

S u c c e s s, that's the way we spell success.

                                                              Photo found on yahoo images

What is wrong with Success?
I get the feeling that many people in America tend to only try for a little while.  When they can't hit their goals they fall into a very mundane lifestyle, following the masses to work everyday, spending most of what they make, not planning for the future, and in the end looking up and hating where they are.

Then to make matters worse they talk about it with their co-workers, neighbors, friends, etc...

"I can't get ahead."  "Life always seems to screw me."  "Other people are lucky, maybe I'll catch a break one day."  "Johnny is so lucky, he got a promotion."

After we start to get down on ourselves and can't figure out why we are not making it, something sinister starts to crop up.  JEALOUSY.  ENVY.  THE GREEN EYED MONSTER!

                                                           Photo found on yahoo images

Dang OSC, adding two pics in one blog!  You must be passionate about this!  I am.  Back to the topic at hand...

Envy creeps into our lives in a rhetoric that sounds like this

"Did you know xyz makes this amount of $$$$...NO WAY!  He/She isn't worth that much, I could do that."  "I can't believe that those people make that much money for singing,playing a sport, endorsing products."

Envy has become a mainstream movement.  Don't believe me?  What was the Wall-Street movement all about?  Turn on your T.V. and listen attentively for a couple of minutes.  If you don't have a T.V. pick up a newspaper.  Usually there is always a story about some greedy businessman who is avoiding taxes or doing something illegal or "morally wrong."

Why I witnessed some main stream envy just the other night...
The other night on ABC news they aired a segment entitled "Who can you trust?"  The segment was not bad, and I enjoyed watching it.  They highlighted a girl who became friends with other young women and then stole their identity, bad nannies, and of course Craig Newmark.

Wait, who is Craig Newmark?
Craig Newmark is the guy who invented Craigslist.  You know, that little site that we in the PF community love so much.  You can buy and sell items locally so you don't have to pay shipping fees. I liken it to an online garage sale that runs year round.

Now regardless of what you think of Craig, which would be opinion and not fact, here are some facts about the man.

1. He is very wealthy, probably worth over 400 million dollars.
2. He has worked hard for a long time, serving at IBM, Charles Schwab, and been a board member on many charitable programs helping veterans, cancer patients, etc... (In other words he has donated a lot of money to a lot of good causes).
3. He provided a program, Craigslist, that has helped millions of Americans buy and sell online.

So what is the problem with Craig you may ask?  He doesn't sound like a bad guy, certainly not a child beater like the nanny, or an identity thief.  Why was he featured in this segment?

People, a lot of them apparently, don't think Craig is a good guy.  They think he is evil because he profits from Craigslist.

They say that Craigslist is at fault for allowing individuals to sell illegal items on its site without regulation.  The particular item that was brought up was a Bumbo baby seat.  This seat was not safe when originally invented, and children could fall out of the seat.  Now I am by no means a genius, but when I look at one of those original bumbo seats I don't think for one second that it looks "safe" and in fact.... I don't think the NEW ones with "improved safety harness" are that safe either!

Regardless, the old bumbo seat was recalled.  Not everyone got the memo.  Bumbo seats can still be sold on Craigslist.

Then ABC really laid on the sob story by allowing a family to come on and tell of how their daughter was tragically injured while in a bumbo.  The dad put her up on top of a kitchen island, turned around or left her unattended(this part of the story wasn't highlighted), and the little child managed to fall off the counter and hit her head on an open dishwasher door.  I feel terrible for this family by the way, and am no means trying to attack them...but at what point do you say this was an accident.  No one is at fault, and if anyone is at fault then ask why do you leave your infant unattended on top of a counter?

Regardless, ABC tried to pin the blame on Craig for not setting up stiffer regulations on his site.  The whole story was garbage!  It smells like a turd ABC.  Craig is not responsible for what people sell on his site.  The PEOPLE are responsible for what they sell and buy on Craigslist.

Never heard about buyer beware?  I understand some reasonable regulation, but come on people.  Take some personable responsibility.  There will always be dishonest people and there will always be someone who finds a loophole to commit a morally questionable act or crime.

ABC even caught some of these people in the act trying to sell some of the bumbo seats....

"We are from ABC news.  Did you know that there was a recall on these seats and that they were potentially dangerous to kids?"

In the persons mind, Awww S(*&^ they got us, gotta get out of this somehow...

"No.  I had NO idea.  A terrible thing could have happened.  I'm glad you informed me of this danger, and I will be sure to throw this item away."

ABC then rolled some footage of them stopping Craig as he was walking, and asked him some very pointed questions.  Questions which really didn't have a good answer.  Craig simply didn't answer them and walked away.  I also find it funny that he asked to talk to the news anchor's boss...lol.

This story makes Craig out to be a villain.  Most of the American public probably thought by the end of the story that Craig is some rich, greedy, big bad businessman who doesn't pay his taxes, makes too much money, and keeps the little man down by profiting from allowing questionable moral activity on his site.

That all may be true.  It is of my personal opinion that is false.  I think Craig is a hard working guy.  He got to where he is today because he provided a service which improved the way we buy and sell online.  How many people who were outraged by the story are still going to use Craigslist, and still complain about how much money he makes?  That doesn't make any freaking sense!

I digress.

The main point of this article is to highlight the obsession American's have with what other people do and how much they make?  When we let Envy creep into our lives it destroys who we are, and any shot of having success leaves us faster than a wicker chair crumpling under a large person.

Take some personal responsibility.
Get up early, leave your job late.
Save more.
Don't wonder why, ask how.
And for the love, stop reading this stupidly long post and go accomplish something!

Schools out.     



    

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Net Worth Update: January

Old School's (negative) NET WORTH!!! First Edition

Net Worth Update: October 2017