It’s Not Your Fault

20 June 2009 by Lisa 701 views 7 Comments

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress Plugin

Ever seen someone’s marketing copy read “it’s not your fault“?

The Make Money and Weightloss markets (among others) have built their foundations on this principle. Even if they don’t say it outright it’s implied.

People wouldn’t buy into a weightloss product in their thousands if the implication was they were completely to blame for being obese! They don’t want to hear that their obsession with fast food is what’s making them fat. They want to be told that the chemicals in modern food manufacturing is preventing their weightloss. Or, they have a slow metabolism caused by a particular medical problem.

Similarly, newspapers thrive on providing news that takes responsibility away from the reader. It’s not YOUR fault there is poverty or war – that’s the fault of this dictator or that government or someone else’s religion etc. It’s not YOUR fault the streets are dirty – that’s the local council’s responsibility. It’s not YOUR fault there is a high crime rate – that’s the decline of the police force.

The problem is that for anything to change you do have to accept some responsibility and make changes:

To lose weight you have to accept that you have been doing something wrong (eating the wrong foods, avoiding exercise) and make a change.

To make money you need to alter your thinking, perceptions and habits, take action and (most definitely) stop believing it is someone else’s fault you are poor or always seem to have a ceiling to your earnings.

To change the world you need to realise that blaming others leads to complacency, that the individual isn’t helpless and that complaining about other’s inadequacies solves nothing and is merely a way of evading your own responsibility.

If you truly want to succeed in business, if you really want to make money, stop buying into every Make Money program that tells you “it’s not your fault” and start accepting that you, and you alone, are responsible for your success (or lack thereof).

7 Comments »

Rosie Peters said:

Learned helplessness is a truly frightening thing.

Not just with weightloss (where I get constantly told it must have been easier for me cause I succeeded) and business, but in day to day life where everyone is willing to take their rights but ignore their responsibilities and expect stuff to be handed to them on a pretty plate.

I believe we must steer clear of the negativity. The people you call the “energy vampires” and I have labeled the “oxygen bandits”.

Reply

# 20 June 2009 at 2:27 pm

The Mysterious Marketer said:

From:
The Mysterious Marketer
Somewhere around the world
Sunday, 8:37 a.m.

Dear reader,

You may have heard people telling you that you lack a sense of responsibility, that you’re always yearning to hear someone tell you that it’s not your fault even when it clearly is. You enjoy hearing those comforting words that take away your blame, but more than that you start to realize that you need to start accepting a bit of responsibility. However, let me tell you something…

IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT!

It’s not your fault that you enjoy hearing other people tell you that ‘It’s not your fault’. It’s not your fault that you hate accepting responsibility. It’s all because of many cunning and dishonest marketers that have conditioned you to feel like that with Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques. It may have been your high school teacher’s fault for not teaching you the right way and encouraging you to accept responsibility too.

But most of all, it is the fault of those large corporations who don’t want you to learn responsibility so that you will buy carton after carton of weight loss pills! The secret of accepting responsibility is something that THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW! These are the closely guarded secrets that they’ve guarded jealously, but now it is revealed to you!

How much would you pay to learn how to stop listening to people who keep saying to you that ‘It’s not your fault’? What would it be worth for you to learn how to be able to take the blame like a man (or woman)? I’m sure it must be worth much more than $100, right?.

Right now, I want you to just imagine the amazement on your friends’ faces when they step up to you and tell you that you’re just a worthless, lazy, irresponsible bum, and you tell them in their face “Yes, it’s my fault!”. Just imagine the shock on their faces! Just imagine it! Something like that would probably be worth all the money in the world! But it must be your lucky day today, because you’re getting these secrets completely for FREE courtesy of the SWBN!

But this offer is for a limited time only. Take action right and start telling people that it’s your fault before this blog post gets taken down. I’m not sure how many more people will get the opportunity to get these secrets but based on the number of people visiting every second, it won’t be long before the server crashes and all this is gone.

This may be the only chance you have left to start accepting responsibility. Take that chance and go for the goal! Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

Reply

Allison Reply:
June 21st, 2009 at 5:26 pm

Nice one Mysterious Marketer…cutting stuff

Reply

# 20 June 2009 at 11:33 pm

Coronado Cookie said:

To me the word ‘fault’ has such a negative connotation. The definition of ‘fault’ that applies here is: responsibility for a bad situation or event. No one wants to take that on for themselves, to actually accept the blame for their own situation. That is why that form of marketing works, it lets people off the hook.

Responsibility is a strong, sometimes intimidating word. But as you say, one can not succeed in any endeavor unless they do take responsibility and make the changes and take the steps necessary.

Luckily, life is full of many, many avenues of support to help you figure it out, to give you guidance and strength. While it is ultimately up to you, you do not have to do it alone. But even in that, you have to take the responsibility to ask for that support.

BTW, the people I’ve met in the SWBN are a part of my own support system
Coronado Cookie´s last blog ..Coronado Bridge Zipper