….is the conspiracy to suffocate you in paralyzing mental garbage and global negativity.
I don’t generally buy into conspiracy theories… but I do believe in cosmic episodes of stupidity and planned mass mediocrity.
The #1 conspiracy of the modern world is to choke your brain with sewage and kill your spirit with overwhelming feeling that you are small and insignificant and helpless.
I almost *never* watch the news. I figure if there’s something I absolutely have to know about, somebody will call me and tell me about it. That theory has worked pretty well so far.
But on Monday I was in a restaurant and CNN was on. Couldn’t help but gawk at the endless parade of catastrophes.
I know that CNN is “normal” to most “normal” people. But don’t forget, most normal people accomplish fairly little in their 70+ trips around the sun. Those of us who are going somewhere in life have better things to do than listen to relentless droning about 147 tragedies that we have no ability to solve.
Right now, especially with the Gulf oil spill, the world is AWASH in negativity.
You as an entrepreneur MUST fight this. Proactively. Because if you don’t it’ll kill your business, kill your sales, kill your dreams and everything you really care about.
Watching CNN while you eat breakfast is like visiting a cholera epidemic at a refugee camp and letting sick people drool on you. Then changing their bedpans and rubbing your eyes and licking your hands.
Listen up: The mass news media is NOT your friend.
They exist for the purpose of selling you fear, paranoia, and prescription drugs.
Not only must you protect yourself from the constant, incessant paralysis of depression, you need to combat it with your customers.
You need to tell them what’s GOOD. You need to greet them with a smile and with encouragement.
You need to talk about what’s HAPPENING.
You need to celebrate little tiny victories EVERY SINGLE DAY. (More on that at www.perrymarshall.com/positivefocus).
And… when you have a major victory in your life, you need to telegraph it to encouraging people who will celebrate it with you. Because GOOD NEWS is NEWS INDEED.
EndRant.
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
88 Comments on “One conspiracy I do believe in….”
Awesome stuff! One of my personal favorite posts Perry.
-Sam
I bookmarked this post and refer to it whenever I need a solid reminder of what matters and what doesn’t.
Thank you for this.
Well Perry, I find myself in agreement with you here.
The pill flogging and scary bulldust spreading press is a waste of time and resources.
I like to keep it real, and real is fantastic! Life is good, because that is how I choose to live it.
When I can help I do. What I can’t change I ignore.
Perry
I always get jitters when intelligent people talk about turning off the news. Absolutely, there is a balance to be struck, but BALANCE is the point. I fear that those folk switching off are not able to counter-balance the steady onslaught of negative news.
My main concern is that ignoring events in the world is a denial of our collective responsibility and capacity for action which CAN CHANGE policy and practice – we are ABSOLUTELY in a position to leverage our power more often than passive passers-by are prepared to acknowledge.
That being said, I acknowledge that we MUST ALWAYS maintain a positive attitude in order to make a success of our own lives.
Personally, I get a kick knowing that every time I send a letter of protest and subsequently hear of a change of direction by that recipient, I may have contributed.
Switching off the TV is fine – but switch the radio on whilst having your lunch, to keep yourself connected and keep a perspective on why what you are doing is even more important.
ME, I want to make huge profits to share with those activists out there who are risking their lives for social change…Power to them for making it to the news!
Perry,
You are what you think.
Like your stuff..
Thank you
Great article. I don’t watch TV at all. I check the news once a week which is more than enough for me.
Hi Perry. Way back in 1989 I sold my TV and have been happier ever since. Snippets from the internet keep me informed about things that matter to me, but avoiding the fear and relentless negative garbage that spews forth on an hourly basis has become my decree. My head is definitely not “buried in the sand”, but I sure am not a slave to the negitive media machine!
Thanks for all the great articles. Keep up the good work!
It has been proven by actual trial that a person who is troubled or depressed merely stops watching TV and stops reading the newspaper for 2 weeks will get better.
We like to refer to these “News reporters” as “Merchants of Chaos”
My father-in-law had eye surgery which rendered him a couch prisoner for 6 weeks and he got infected with CNN, it actually took him 2 years to partially recover, he developed back problems from sitting on the couch and after 3 surgeries for that malady and 6 weeks of intravenous antibiotic treatment for MRSA he can now take short reprieves from the tube. He lives on the 16th floor overlooking the most beautiful harbor and city on the west coast of Florida, with big picture windows all around, but chooses to view his world through the 50 inch screen that CNN oozes from and constantly rants about how the oil slick is going to destroy the value of his condo… I tell him he is looking out the wrong window, if he just turned his head and observed the real world he would notice that there is no oil in the bay and that the world is beautiful and really not that dangerous after all.
I think CNN should change their byline to “CNN makes the news”
Obviously one of my favorite rants as well!
Jan
Hi Perry
How realistic is it to ignore ‘news’? It depends I surmise, on the news and how you react to it. It would be unrealistic to only believe ‘good news’if it is untrue and a distortion of reality – that would only lead to disillusionment and pain. On the other hand listening to ‘bad news’ can be a negative thing but only if it demoralises and weakens you, it can be a positive thing if it sets/resets you to appreciate your situation or react in a positive way. The best news of all is where people experience or can experience hope, love, purpose and a sustaining quality of life, individually and together. The issue for us is, can humans determine their future or news or are there other factors that bear on this? I believe based on evidence that both apply but God has the final say not us and that basing your beliefs and actions on what He says will determine the best news or worst news – that would be reality and not wishful thinking and acting and not being deceived.
More than just focusing on the “positive” I hear you saying to focus only on the problems you can solve. Or more importantly the problems you are SUPPOSED to solve.
Too many of us let the problems that we can’t or aren’t supposed to have anything to do with cloud our vision and focus and keep us from the issues we should be facing.
And that is why I started the website, spiritnewsdaily.com that only aggregates positive and spiritually uplifting news.
Dear PerrY Marshall!
Today I had happiness reading was your the last message
and quite concordant to your that TV,Internet,newspapers
was bring a negative information and that better reading lie on bed a novel “Robinson Crusoe”. Still You have been general megaphone Google and course of the World events whole were depend from Your is a command. I had a long time sent for Your and Google itself better are the ariticles – as resistance to negative of events. And now I ready to show my fresh an article. I wanted notice that Your Bosses from Google a special desire to suport my an existence sone fees didn’t burned. Althoug very nice sell/buy my the goods.
Perry,
When I practiced psychotherapy my
guess is that I ‘cured’ 60% of those
who consulted me for depression with
the simple prescription of not
listening to the news before 11.00 a.m.
The remaining 40%, I suspect, were
addicted to gloom and use a world
news channel as their wake-up call
on a bedside radio.
Lots have people have criticised
‘The Law of Attraction’ principles
as pure hype, or mumbo-jumbo.
To my mind though it makes sense
to recognise that what you focus
on will come to you.
Today far too many are concentrated
on either self-idealisation, a
cult created by a hungry fashion
industry, or doom-and-gloom a
cult created by the media to
engender a sense of helplessness.
Both keep people from awakening
to the beauty and miraculous nature
of their lives.
Stephen
this is one of the most amazing articles i have ever read. thank you for this eye opening insights!
admiration,
danny
p.s. there is some stuff of mr. ron hubbard about these things which he calla “the “merchants of chaos” – are you familiar with this?
Hi Perry, Great post! I totally agree – I very rarely have the TV on now, especially in a morning before work – I can’t think of a worse way to start the day. Just wish they didn’t have the TV screens at the gym – I go there to unwind after work, not get stressed about every disaster, serial killer and the next pandemic that’s going to wipe out the world’s population!
Great comments, Perry. If you would like to read GOOD news from around the world each day, visit http://www.globalgoodnews.com.
Perry,
I’m a history teacher by day and that’s exactly what I tell my students. Don’t watch the news. There is a difference between being informed and allowing negativity, garbage and some editor in a newsroom doing my thinking for me. I reckon if the world was going to end I’d know it.
There are other ways and means to help us form an educated opinion. We do need more positivity and not only for business but other aspects to life as well.
Here in Australia, the ads for the news anchors reading seriously and then pans to all of them smiling and I thought up a caption for them…”bringing bad news with a smile”. Anyway rant on…
Perry
This is a refreshing post, one that will hopefully help us to maintain a positive outlook and serve others with love and hope.
Thank you, thank you
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The cynics scoff and dismiss people who will not buy into the CNNs of bad news as either having their heads in the sand or being self deluded and not facing the “facts” or “reality”.
I am glad you have taken the time to “rant” and say the opposite.
On a microcosmic scale I tend not to spend too much time around people who complain and moan about how bad things are in their lives. These people can literally suck the oxygen out of a room.
I’d rather spend the 5 minutes reading something uplifting that sets the tome for the rest of my day.
In this present time, we need more positive and practical posts! Thanks again.
Look at the corporations that own the news media and it is easy to understand why we are inundated with mind numbing, soulless communications 24/7.
They need us numb,dumb, and easily manipulated. Problem – Reaction – Solution (theirs of course)
We need to raise our awareness of this willful manipulation and mis-direction of attention going on and form a movement to live fearlessly, consciously, and with porpose.
The best part of the news is if you ever need a reminder to be grateful. That there are worse problems to have no matter how bad yours may seem at any given moment.
This post seems to have gone viral… Saw it re-posted on the other side of the net!
(Shelly, your post comment moved me. If anything good came out of that horrendous act, those that serve to educate and protect like policemen, firemen and teachers(at lousy pay)do get a little more respect than once upon a time.)
Thanks for the positive post (as usual),
Mark
Thanks Perry – it is great to see someone in leadership presenting these values in their business. I feel (as do the 30+ that commented before me)more connected and aligned with you and your service.
One hiccup – when you ask people to “Fight this. Your attention to fighting someonthing in a ‘push away from motivation’ only attracts more of the same by your attention to it. Instead I just use the clarity of what I don’t want (negative news) let all that pass me by (release it) and choose to focus on the positive things as you suggest later on.
Thanks again for sharing, you have inspired and reminded me to do the same in my business.
Great post Perry! I like how you pulled no punches in laying out what the media industry really is. It’s refreshing to see your bold defiance of this relentless fear monger.
Hey Perry
What a breath of fresh air. As you know, in the media, Good News is NO News. It won’t sell newspapers or magazines. And it also gives birth to dream killers and people who can’t accept the fact that something good is happening. Well done on this one. Cheers from Perth, Western Australia
There is an ancient Turkish saying: You can torture me as much as you want or even kill me if you will, just do not put fear in my heart. The doom merchants and fearmongers are worse than murderers.
Perry, Perry, Perry….there is a difference between keeping yourself a well informed citizen and drowning in bad news. The MORE you pay attention, the more you understand how the events effect your life…As far as the Gulf Spill; it will effect our lives for decades. Don’t we have an obligation, living in one of the few countries that affords us the opportunity to become entrepreneurs on a shoe string budget, to be well informed citizens? What you are suggesting is that when your employee tells you bad news, you should ignore it and close the door to your office. As a business owner, how do you come up with a ‘Plan B’?
We all make our livings in sales/marketing. This can not be done in a vacuum. How can do this successfully unless you understand the buying decisions your customers/prospects make in relation to their dreams, biases and concerns?
In 1986 we had a annual contract with JCP for ‘little white gloves’, the kind your mom wore on Easter. I was faxing the Philippines for weeks to get an update on manufacturing and delivery dates with no response………weeks later, I received a fax saying they would respond in a week. I couldn’t figure out what the delay was………There was a commerce/communication blackout but within the last week Ferdinand Marcos was exiled from the country, under the clock of darkness, to Hawaii…You never know what you hear on the news will be important in your life..
We stopped our paper a couple years ago. After one week missing the Sunday comics, we’re all SO enjoying the break from bad news we can’t do anything about. The ‘nightly news’ is never on.
I send a lot of your stuff to son #1, who’s in the top journalism program in the country at Univ Missouri. These students are facing a very changing world in how ‘news’ is chosen, reported, and syndicated.
Here’s some good news. He was on a team of 5 (journalism & comp sci) majors who just won a major international competition sponsored by Hearst & Adobe to come up with real-world solutions for online advertisers. Their idea won them a trip to the World Expo in Shanghai this month & attention from the VP of Innovation at Hearst.
I’ve always wondered why someone can’t make a go of publishing a Good News publication. Everyone submits their good news to spread hope & inspiration to the readers. Positive-minded advertisers pay the bills and attract good customers. I’d subscribe.
Becki
There is a quote I love. I never knew where it originated. Goes like this.
“There are two kind of rich people in the world. Optimists and Pessimists. . . . The Pessimists inherited their money.”
Speaks volumes to me. Thanks for the great post. I get damn tired of all the gloom and doom. Yes we need to be awake and aware, but the future lies with those who will build it, not those who fear it.
I read once regarding the Law of Attraction that the reason we have our current incompetent / corrupt leadership is because even people who were opposed were thinking about it all the time.
We need to turn off the news, not think about the negatives, and keep our minds focused on a better outcome.
We have a TV, but I rarely look at it. And now that I’ve given it thought, I’m trying to keep my thoughts focused on better leaders coming forth and being elected this year, and in 2012.
As for all the other bad news – I agree, if there’s not a thing I can do about it, I don’t choose to think about it.