The Stupid Tax

Again, I can't take credit for writing this blog, and I don't know who did...


The Stupid Tax


When he spoke the room grew quiet. What he said next gave the entire assemblage one of the biggest ah-ha's of the entire conference. First, he related how he had tried to go it alone and how much he had spent. It was nearly fifty thousand a month promoting his business. His tone foreshadowed his next words.

"I had been paying the stupid tax month in and month out because I thought I could go it alone. Yet when I finally did get the advice and consulting I needed, my promotion spend dropped to twenty-five thousand a month with better results."

John's admission created more than a little buzz in the room as each member of the crowd reflected on his own life and the stupid tax he had paid on more than one occasion.

For the throng, it was one of those unexpected learning moments - a treasure that made the entire day worthwhile all by itself.

How many forms of the stupid tax have you seen others pay? Have you paid yourself?

First, the definition of stupid tax: the money, time, energy or effort you paid or lost needlessly.

The stupid tax is an error that costs you that didn't have to.

Patients pay this toll repeatedly - waiting until the problems are so bad that the time, energy and expense to repair them mount to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

The tax is paid when one keeps doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

The tax is levied against one when one fails to act when one knows one should.

The tax is extracted from one's bank account when one tries to go it alone when one is not an expert in a field when one needs an expert.

This "unnecessary fee" is paid when one fails to implement what works.

The tax comes due when one tries to go cheap when one shouldn't.

The tax gets paid when patience is required and impatience reigns.

The tax is paid when one doesn't nurture one's leads and doesn't continue to communicate with both leads and existing patients.

The stupid tax is life's way of teaching us lessons - hopefully only once instead of several times over.

Do you know someone who is paying one now? Can you help them?