My Superstitions About Selling Online

I'm a lousy salesman. I've always known this. I've found some success in online platforms because in those cases, I can let the product sell itself and I don't have to try to persuade someone to buy something from me. That being said, I'm a bit superstitious because of past experiences. Here are my superstitions:

1. Never package an item for shipment before it's actually sold. When I do this, almost invariably, something goes wrong. These are things that have actually happened when I had already packaged up the item: Buyer never pays. Buyer orders multiple items and wants combined shipping. Buyer wants to pick up in person.

2. Never pay money for an item with the intent of reselling it. I've lost a lot of money doing this. IF the item ever sells, it's usually at a loss.

3. Never count on an item selling. I just set myself up for disappointment if I do. Ironically, things that you'd think would never sell or things I got for free are the things buyers are looking for.

4. If I don't know whether the item works or not, it probably doesn't and if I don't put a disclaimer or sell "AS-IS" the buyer will discover that it indeed doesn't work and they'll want a refund.

5. If I don't overcharge for shipping, I will lose money. Every time. Just because I think the item is great and someone will want it, my opinion of it doesn't mean jack and the item will be sold at minimum bid, which will never cover for underpriced shipping.

6. Murphy's Law. Anything that could possibly go wrong, will. This is why I am so thorough in covering all my bases. If I miss something, it will definitely come back to bite me later. Guaranteed. If there's that one thing that I'm worried might happen, it does.

7. Damaged in shipment. If there's any doubt as to whether I've packed the item properly or not, I can be guaranteed that those who are handling the item will intentionally put my suspicions to the test... and confirm my worst fears. This is why I have to pack things so well that even if it's on any trip with Tom Hanks, it will make it safely to its destination.

Raising Children - The Apprentice Schooling the Mentor

I think as parents, we often feel inadequate because we aren't able to teach our children everything they need to know or what they want to learn. I look at my kids and I'm amazed at their capabilities. We've tried to teach them a few things, but then they took those things they learned on a basic level and and went WAY beyond what we taught them (or what we could have ever taught them). And that's ok. I do have a few skills and talents that none of my kids have been able to meet or exceed (yet) but if they do, I'm not so competitive that I won't praise them profusely and continue to support their efforts though.

I think, more than anything, what's important is that we help to stimulate their interests and curiosity and then provide fertile ground for them to grow. Give them space to play and work, the tools and materials to work with and the freedom to explore... also the freedom to fail and learn from their failures. But that's not all, encouragement, coaching and honest, constructive criticism is also necessary for proper development and follow-through on goals and intentions.

So-called "free-range" style of learning is nothing new. I have to give credit to my parents who provided us with opportunities for learning. We had the space, the time and the tools to do a lot that many of my peers wouldn't have even imagined and I think a lot of parents nowadays would cringe to know about those "dangerous" activities that children are involved in. I got my first power tools before I was even out of elementary school - and I learned how to properly use them. I had hammers and saws when I was beginning elementary school. I love that my parents were ok with me learning how to work with my hands and to explore and satisfy my curiosity with taking things apart to see how they were put together. I feel sorry for those who never had the opportunity to learn how to do practical things with their hands or to explore the world around them... and then they become adults with limited skills and fears of the unknown.

I may not be rich - as far as having lots of money - but I feel rich to have the blessings of knowledge and skills and a constant yearning to learn more. I am rich because I have children who are passionate about learning, exploring and building their skills and I can relate to them on matters that go deeper than games they've played or what they've seen on TV or what's current in pop culture. I mean, those are fun and all, but now when my kids are inviting ME along with them on their adventures and THEY are the ones who've developed their skills to where they're outdoing me and teaching me some things (the case of apprentice schooling the mentor), this makes me proud and I feel like maybe I've done something right as a parent.

Addictive Poisons

When you're consuming poison, you are so accustomed to it, you don't realize it's poison and you don't recognize the adverse affects anymore. You may even find blame in something (or someone) else. Once you distance yourself from poison and give your body and/or mind to adjust to a new baseline, you will become more sensitive to what you had formerly been consuming and may even have the insight to discern how a toxic substance has been affecting you. At that point, it takes a strong will to avoid what you recognized as a poison.

Addiction, dependency, force of habit - these are all forces that work against anyone who is trying to detox. What makes it difficult to pull away from those habits is the pervasiveness and easy access to that which is poisoning you. Toxins come in many different forms. In tangible forms, they are foods, beverages, drugs and other ingestible substances (and you can define ingestion in a variety of ways). The intangible forms are media (what we view or listen to) and our own habits.

One of the most common poisons is refined sugar. It's almost impossible to avoid completely and in small portions, it is not a big deal. Many of us consume large quantities of sugar - more than what can be effectively processed by the human body, and there are numerous adverse effects on the body and mind. I've discovered that by drastically reducing intake of refined sugar, I have not only felt much better (on so many levels) but the cravings for it are reduced exponentially. I no longer have the desire to reach for a soda or have cravings for brownies, ice cream, candy and so forth. I'll occasionally enjoy a piece of dark chocolate, but I can stop at one. If I overindulge in sugar, I notice it immediately - and I have immediate regrets. That's how the detoxification process works.

I'd like to make a comparison to one intangible poison. It appears, by far, the most pervasive subject in the "news" and on social media is politics. It's poison. It poisons the mind and body and it has the effect of consuming a person's time and attention to the point where there is nothing more important... like an addictive drug. I can speak from experience. I've made great efforts to distance myself from politics. It's hard. It's always there, in our faces and in almost every situation, so it's difficult to avoid. There is a healthy level at which one can consume, but once again, many of us consume far too much of this poison, and it's destroying us. The polarizing extremes are unhealthy, and once you step back and distance yourself from the narrow-focused world of politics and refocus on life, you can see the bigger picture and realize how petty and how insignificant the things you once saw as important were. You may come to the realization how your opinions, your arguments and "standing up for your cause" is pointless because the thing that's most important to you this week will be overshadowed by what you are going to fight about this week - and so on, and so forth. It never ends, just like any other addiction that takes over your body, mind and soul.

I would like to give kudos to those who are consciously working on detoxifying their lives. You know who you are and it is evident who many of you are (and some do so without fanfare). It is not easy and I'm not there yet. One of the methods that I've found is to replace a harmful thing with something benign or at least not so harmful. Whatever method works for you, it's a step in the right direction. Let's all keep this up and let's support each other in our efforts. Now that... THAT is how we make the world a better place. Let's give it up for all the heroes who are making efforts to change their lives for the better and thereby making the world a better place collectively.