Hi Southern,
Memorial Day is being celebrated in the United States today,
and that means a lot of different things to different people.
Wikipedia starts out by explaining:
"Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed annually in the United
States on the last Monday of May.[1] Memorial Day is a day of
remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United
States Armed Forces.[2] Formerly known as Decoration Day, it
originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen
Union soldiers of the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day
had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars.
As a marker it typically marks the start of the summer vacation
season, while Labor Day marks its end."
As someone who spent 20 years in the U.S. military, during a time
when we were active in numerous wars, and smaller contingencies,
and came out largely unscathed, it creates a lot of mixed feelings
in me.
For many businesses, it is just an excuse for holding yet another
"sale" and sending out more advertising. Since, I am in business
myself, that causes me to reflect some too.
You see, my training as a soldier "indoctrinated" me to be
prepared to give my life for "a greater cause," if necessary. I
spent 20 years, fully-prepared to do just that.
Our survival instinct is naturally one of our strongest, so it
DOES take a lot for a person to be prepared to consciously
sacrifice their life if necessary. I guess in the back of our
minds, we always tell ourselves that statistically it's
unlikely to happen to us. Yet, this day honors the millions to
whom it did happen.
How does this relate to my current role as an "internet marketer?"
Well, soldiers are held to a higher standard than society in
general. The public has to be able to trust us with incredibly
powerful weapons and know that there is someone who honestly
will put others' interests first.
As I look at my online business, and realize that I'm now selling
to the same people that I once felt a fiduciary commitment to
protect from "bad things" in this world, I still feel an
obligation to continue that role.
There would be a huge psychological disconnect if I'm protecting
you one day, and fleecing you the next. The disconnect would
undoubtedly cause me to burn out fairly quickly... as I have
witnessed happen with many people over the year.
A fiduciary duty is an obligation to act in the best interest of
another party. In my current business, a lot of people actually
TRUST me to do that for them.
I sense this everyday in the emails, phone calls, and other
messages that I get from my subscribers. They email me pointing
out things that they disagree with that they see other marketers
doing... indicating that they TRUST that I won't/don't behave the
same way.
To me, that's how Memorial Day relates to internet marketing.
Millions of my fellow soldiers have died over the years, protecting
the public, and I would be dishonoring that sacrifice if I did
anything that I didn't feel still puts YOUR best interest first.
Business owners face a lot of internal conflicts, as they have to
ask themselves if a given decision is "good business." I take
comfort in dealing with soldiers who are also business owners,
because I understand that they have been indoctrinated to at-least
consider putting "the customer's" best interest first.
It takes a very special person to put others' best interest first,
and yet throughout history, soldiers have done this, and continue
to do this.
So to me Memorial Day is a reminder that there are some of us who
MUST feel an obligation to protect and defend those less able to
defend themselves... even as we transition to other roles.
I guess that sums it up nicely :-)
As Wikipedia pointed out earlier, Memorial Day also traditionally
marks the beginning of Summer Vacation Season. That's a time when
I reach out to my online friends and invite you to spend a day or
two hanging out with me on the beach in northwest Florida. You can
read more about that gathering which is June 16th this year here:
http://goo.gl/Chjpo
I hope to see you there.
Happy Memorial Day!
Willie Crawford
Namaste Businesses, LLC
P.O. Box 6508
Navarre, FL 32566
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