Several years ago, I counseled a friend about his business and was surprised to hear some of his comments. As we discussed his product offering, every other word out of his mouth seemed to dwell on what was important to “HIM”. I finally interrupted him and politely informed him that in business it is not what is important to “him”. What is important to the “CUSTOMER” who pays for his products and services. I told him that if he hopes to sell to the masses, he better start getting his arms around that concept and very soon.
For example, a restaurant owner might personally think, (like I do), that eating a mullet would be akin to eating a nasty ‘possum or perhaps a buzzard, but if the people in say the northern Florida panhandle community like to eat mullet, the business owner should be prepared to serve this nasty, mud-eating fish to their customers.
It is all about what the customer wants that is important in business.
There are exceptions to this rule. Personally, I don’t like to see men wearing pink hot pants or earrings. I have often told my children that if I ever saw an earring in one of their ears, (including today), I would rip it out flesh and all. But if my clientele liked them I would wear one myself and don pink hot pants while serving mullet with a big smile on my face. NOT! I cannot tell a lie, I would not wear a pink hot pants or an earring under any circumstance, I would rather go out of business and starve first or perhaps make my son do it. LOL
Just kidding. This concept is all common sense. The political correctness crowd will label me a redneck boor, but I would never have hired someone who is hideously ugly like Muammar al-Qaddafi was to greet people at a Spa and Salon that I owned. Who would want a facial after looking at his face? Yikes! On the other hand, a beautiful starlet might sell someone as ugly as he was on buying the full treatment.
Business is business.
As mentioned here are lines I refuse to cross to succeed in business. There are lots of ways to make money in this world and I refuse to be a part of some of them. I would not establish a drug cartel or pornography empire no matter how many people love those products or how well it paid. I have principals to which I adhere, and I don’t care how much money is involved I am not going to cross that line.
Unfortunately, my years long discussions with several Hollywood movie makers with aspirations to make my memoir, “Miracle on Luckie Street“, into a movie headed into the abyss several years ago. The reason was I’m not willing to strip out of the book the main parts because they are politically incorrect to some in our modern society.
I realize that to make the book into a movie it will necessarily require some changes, but I adamantly refused to strip out the main tenant of the book which is my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior as being the reason for my ultimate success in life. It wasn’t my intellect or strong work ethic that gave me success, it was Jesus Christ. It also was not just some abstract “higher power” or all-inclusive connotation of a God (which gives the Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and others a warm fuzzy feeling), that gave me peace, joy, and happiness. It was and is Jesus Christ.
Interestingly no one is considering taking out the violence in my book such as holding a gun to someone’s head, or beating a guy senseless with a tire iron, or any of the sexually explicit, salacious parts. They also love the part which addresses the millions of dollars I made but want to focus on fast cars and grand houses and not churches, founding the Jesus Alliance, and many other projects in which I was involved with financing.
No, they want to take out any reference to Jesus Christ; the very parts that are essential for people to understand to find hope; which is by the way my “entire” purpose for writing the book. I didn’t write it to make money; I already had money. I wrote it, (and in the process exposed all of the dark sins of my life and embarrassed my family and me), in order to demonstrate that no matter how many serious mistakes a person makes in life and how low one might sink, God will never give up on them and will gladly forgive them, provided that they are willing to turn from their former lifestyle and follow Him. This should provide HOPE to anyone reading it that is caught up in a world consumed by hopelessness.
As you enter the weekend I hope that you will take a stand for Jesus Christ, no matter how unpopular that notion might be in some circles or how unprofitable it might be for your business or social life. Jesus Christ is what this life is all about. Tell all those naysayers to get on board your Jesus Train and enjoy the same thing that is making you joyful and at peace in a world gone mad. BTW – Jesus commands that we do this . . .
Matthew 10:32
“Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!