I got an email yesterday from someone seeking my blog consulting services. This person’s site was about hypnosis, a field which some people feel is legitimate and has real-world beneficial applications, while others see it as a way to cheat in their efforts to deal with people by gaining unfair control over them.
This person wanted my help in making more money for his site. The site’s content was clearly in the “get an unfair advantage over others” camp. That’s where all the snake oil money gets made in this field. Even though hypnosis may have beneficial applications for people, that’s not what this site was about.
There was no way I was going to work with this guy. When I replied to his query, I considered saying something like, “Thanks, but I’m already too busy as it is.” That’s a true statement, but it wasn’t the reason why I chose to not work with him. I figured, Eh, what the hell, and told him the truth why I wasn’t going to help him.
As expected, I received a defensive reply suggesting I didn’t know enough about hypnosis and that I was under misconceptions about it like much of the general public. He didn’t know that I already knew enough about hypnosis to make an informed decision. I could have replied back to him that his site wasn’t exactly helping to overturn public perception (just the opposite), but the last thing I needed was a useless argument with a stranger. I’m not saying he’s a bad person, I’m saying I’d be selling out my own principles if I took his money.
Is it about the money? Or something greater?
Working with clients you don’t personally like or who are doing things which go against your values NEVER works out. I love to work with people who are forging their own way of living in this new economy by helping others, and doing it in a way I find inspiring if not at least agreeable. Certainly not by peddling snake oil and taking money from suckers.
Online business success is about much more than just selling any old thing and taking people’s money. Actually, let me rephrase that, success in life and living life in a vibrant, meaningful way is about much more than that. Online business success is simply a side effect of that drive. Even it isn’t a goal unto itself (otherwise you could just start a scummy dieting blog and be done with it).
By any means necessary? Really?
What it really distills down to for me is the idea of ends vs. means. We’re all familiar with the idea that the ends justify the means. We almost never hear anyone support the opposite idea: it is the means which justify the ends. The first is the path of ruthlessness (even cheating). The second is the path of wisdom and insight.
If you sell out to achieve something, you didn’t truly achieve anything. I’d say you failed, bigtime. Think about who you help with your business, and why, and what you’re really making for yourself in this life. I mean, if you really believed the ends justified the means, then if you wanted money you’d simply rob a bank.
What’s your story?
Have you ever taken work “just for the money” only to regret it? Have you ever felt the proud thrill of working with clients whose values and perspective mesh with your own? Have you ever worked with someone “just for the money” and it came out just fine, thank-you-very-much? Share your stories in the comments!
