does money really make the world go 'round?

Does money really make the world go 'round?

No. Being kind and decent does.

I recently had the unpleasant experience of being 'targeted' by some scammers, namely the Stanford Who's Who - an organisation that attempts to make you feel like you've achieved something quite extraordinary by being included in their {rather insignificant} directory listing, before eventually revealing you need to pay them thousands of dollars for the privilege.

It wasn't until they'd lauded me to the heavens and extricated every nuance of info they could about me that they finally happened mention the 'cost' of appearing in the directory. As you can imagine, once all was revealed, things quickly turned sour. And when the 'sales girl' realised she wasn't getting a sale, she hung up on me. That's right. She. Hung. Up. On. Me.

I wrote a letter of complaint. Do you think anyone responded? No - really, do you?

This occurrence, along with a few others I've experienced in the past six months - where people contact you and are all but best-friendy until they realise they can't get something for free or can't extricate a cent from you - has really exemplified the want-something-for-nothing desperation pervading this planet.

What has happened to good old fashioned hard work and dedication and honing one's craft? I've worked for over 25 years at my career and I'm not prepared to pass on even one cent or one minute of my earnings or expertise to anyone without carefully examining the intricacies of the 'deal'. Who does it benefit? Sadly, most of the time, the only people it benefits are the other party and I'm just over it.

People in creative industries like me are particularly prone to this attempt to suck dry our {often scant} funds yet effulgent knowledge.

It seems that no matter how many times I tell people I don't have the funds or time or energy to give them what they want, it falls on deaf ears or even WORSE - the other party becomes sulky, defensive, rude, or simply drops you like a hot potato, not even responding to your very kind, thoughtful message or email. I've lost count of the amount of return emails I've NOT received after kindly turning someone down. God forbid, I should even get a 'thanks anyway'.

This kind of stupidity, especially for people in legitimate business, stupefies me.

All I can say is this - if you dismiss someone because you can't get what you want, whether it be favour or finance, DO NOT underestimate the fact that your 'victim' will remember. Also DO NOT discount the power of karma because it's almost certain you'll find yourself in a position of sincere need from that same person, or sincere regret for your actions.

- Ends -