The cure for selective inbox blindness
I am frequently relied upon, as I'm sure you are too.
A while back, a friend of mine who's like a brother to me put the windows down in his car before leaving for work, only to find one wouldn't go back up again. The car would be a sitting duck in modern Britain, so he asked me if I would give him a lift so his car could remain safe in his driveway. Thirty minutes later, I'm getting chewed out by my old manager because I hadn't done something "important" and had instead helped my friend.
Later:
The same friend drops me a call at roughly 05:00, asking me to please help him - his tire had gone flat overnight, and he was meant to be at work ASAP. So up I got, and off we went. Another 30 minutes of my life later, I'm back home with not enough time to go back to bed (plus enough adrenaline and cortisol coursing through my veins to keep me awake longer than an SS march).
So tell me why tomorrow, when my car is in the garage, and my friend is off work, does this guy tell me that a 1-hour round trip to help me out would take too long and that he can't help me?
Uber it is then, folks.
Try this on for size:
The more competent you are, the less help you'll need. But the more competent you are, the less help you'll be offered, too. So many people around you will rely on you, but in your time of need, none will be found.
Them's the brakes.
When you solve their problems, they expect you to solve your own, too. Those closest to you may even begin to take your steadfastness for granted.
And it's the same in business. They say to stay consistent... But Ol' Steady slowly becomes invisible.
You price yourself according to what your competitors are doing. You offer what your competitors offer. And you write like them too. It's a recipe for getting ignored. An unfortunate reality, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
So... why ain't your copy squeaky?
If you ain't tryna become the next victim of selective inbox blindness...
Go here:
James Perkins
P.S. Getting greasy with me AIN'T CHEAP. It's a privilege.
