When The Sounds of Snake Oil Salesmen Mean Nothing To You Anymore

By Chris Rossini

One day, you're walking through the electronics store and you pass by the new MacBook Pro made by Apple. You're drawn to it like a magnet. It's as if it was made specifically for you. After examining every inch of it, and testing out all of its features, you think to yourself: "Boy, would I love to have this thing."

Then you look at the price tag -- $2000.

Wow. 

Your stomach sinks a little bit. That's a lot of money that you don't have laying around at the moment. 

But for some unexplainable reason, that doesn't shake your resolve. You're not just going to walk away and move on. After your stomach returns to its normal state, you commit to yourself to do whatever it takes to afford this beautiful piece of machinery.

First, your natural desire for immediate gratification kicks in. "Maybe I can borrow the money? Who will give me a loan? Can I pay in installments?"

But then you catch yourself, and decide --- "No, while I want this MacBook Pro as soon as possible, I'm not willing to become a debt slave to anyone in order to get it."

You resolve to have patience. You're going to get this computer someday, and when you do, you're going to pay for it in full.

After fighting off the natural desire for immediate gratification, the next emotion to test your resolve kicks in immediately -- doubt. "Who am I kidding? I'm never going to have $2000 to get this thing. That's a lot of savings!"

But once again, you get your mind right. You may not know how you're going to bring about the conditions for getting the computer, but you resolve to have faith that it'll somehow come to pass.

An interesting thing happens. Once you resolve to be patient and have faith, a mental weight lifts off your shoulders. It's as if you've passed through some kind of mental hazing or initiation.

Nothing has physically changed. You clearly don't have the computer at the moment, but you know inside that someday you will, even though you have no idea how!

Your confidence seems logical and rational. After all, you're not seeking to break the laws of physics here. You're not looking to overturn the Universe and its numerous natural laws. You're definitely not interested in robbing anyone, or using force to get the MacBook. This isn't about anyone else at all. It's about you, the MacBook, and somehow building the bridge between the two.

As you walk out of the store, you notice a teenager groaning to his Mom, and complaining that he's not getting what he wants right now.

You're also not getting what you want right now, but you're walking out of the electronics store with a smile. You've got something to look forward to. You have something that is now pulling you from the future.

As you drive home, you stop into a coffee shop. While walking to the counter to place your order, you pass a bunch of people on their laptops.

You notice that a few of them are working on the same exact MacBook Pro that you just saw at the store. "Wow! That's weird, I was just looking at those a few minutes ago."

There are plenty of other laptops in the coffee shop, but your eyes somehow noticed and focused on the MacBooks.

Interesting....Would you have noticed MacBooks had you not gone to the electronics store a few minutes ago? Probably not. They would have blended in with the others. But since your mind is focused on something, you're noticing the very things that you're focused on.

You sit down with your coffee, and get to the hard work of thinking. "How am I going to do this?" 

The first thing that comes to mind is how you're currently spending your earnings. You immediately start cutting out the unnecessary. You pack a lunch to work. You stay home on Saturday nights. You watch less Netflix, and even cancel your subscription. No unnecessary expense is too small.

Yes, there's a sting to this, but you quickly notice that your MacBook savings are no longer $0.

After a few months, you have about $200 saved! Only $1,800 to go. It's a lot, but you feel good. You don't just have a pull from the future, you're actually moving in its direction!

Next, your birthday is coming up, and normally you and your close friends go out to a nice dinner and a bar afterwards. It's usually a big bill for the night. Hey, it's your birthday. You need to go all out, right?

But this year, you tell everyone that you're saving up for a MacBook Pro, and every penny counts. You can't stop telling them how great this computer is, and how much you want it. "Let's stay in and get some pizzas," you tell them. 

Then something very unexpected happens. Family and friends show up at your place for boring pizza, but they come bearing gifts. They see your resolve in getting that MacBook Pro and want to help you get there! Normally, they may throw a $20 bill into a card for you, but this year you're getting $50's and $100's!

Amazing!

You never would have factored that into your plans. When you were standing in that electronics store months ago, and the doubts were swirling between your ears, you couldn't predict that, on your birthday, cash would be thrown at you from all angles!

Now you're getting so close to getting that MacBook Pro that the Apple logo is appearing in your dreams!

You're then woken up to a phone call at 4am. It's your boss. Before answering, you curse him for waking you up at 4am. This better be good.

It is.

A key, and disgruntled, employee just quit unexpectedly, and your boss is in a bind. He needs you to replace your former colleague, ASAP. If you do it, you're getting a nice raise.

It's the best phone call that you've ever received at 4am.

That MacBook Pro is as good as yours now.

A few months later, with cash in hand, you walk back into that electronics store. You remember vividly standing there before, passing on becoming a debt slave and resolving to be patient and to have faith.

You think about all the little things that you did to get to this moment. There were so many little things. You think of all the unexpected events that contributed to it; all the stuff that you never could have put into a blueprint.

With the MacBook Pro box in hand, you feel like you're floating to the register to pay. You know your feet are moving, but for some reason you can't feel them.

As you're walking to the front of the store to pay, you pass by the the walls of TV screens. They're all displaying the same thing. You can't help but hear a bunch of annoying voices blaring from these screens:

"We're going to stick it to the billionaires."

"You have a 'right' to have FREE this, and FREE that, and FREE everything."

"Vote for me and lollipops and lemon drops will descend from the heavens."

You shake your head and walk even faster to the register. You're not going to let noise pollution spoil this special day for you.

You can care less about "billionaires," or how much money anyone else has. You know that it's impossible for anything to be FREE from a politician. They have to steal from someone else in order to give to you. No thanks!

You know that they're in debt to the tune of $23,000,000,000,000. What position can they be in to give anything away for FREE?

You know first hand what genuine charity is. You experienced it on your birthday. People voluntarily helped you to get what you want. And while that was wonderful, the box that you hold in your hand is so special because it wasn't FREE.

You earned it. You used your mind to build the bridge in order to get it. You waited, even though it was hard to wait. You had faith that you would get their somehow.

No....the sounds of snake oil salesmen mean nothing to you anymore.

You know exactly where your power is, and exactly how to use it.