Why I’m such a merciless prick

An out-of-the-blue comment from a while back: “not too long ago i understood everything you did but... I didn't agree with that ‘hard way’ you deal with some people. Now (after being screwed) I see how right you are.” I don’t know if I’d call it “hard” or not. It’s just knowing what I am dealing with: Human beings. We are a curious folk, we humans. I like how Vox Day once put it: (paraphrased) “Humans aren’t rational, they rationalize ” Knowing that — which sometimes takes years of putting up with disrespect, people wasting your time, others trying to take advantage of you (when you are starting out and naive especially), and even outright screwing you over — makes it very easy to be the (perceived) merciless prick I’ve been accused of over the years. But it’s not so much about being a prick. I have many more thrilled subscribers than people whining about me being mean or whatever. It’s about getting results. And in my experience: The best way to get those results is to have standards & rules, stick with them, and be dogmatic about enforcing them while only making rare — very rare — exceptions and adjustments if the situation allows it or demands it. If that costs you short term sales, so be it. If it makes you less “liked”, good. If it makes people angry, jealous, or irrational, too bad for them. This is something that is bigger than you or me. And by violating the standards you set down you are almost guaranteed to get pinched — whether sooner or later. It’s why, for example, I spend a lot of time blocking ex-subscribers from coming back to “Email Players”. Not because I don’t “like” them. Frankly, 99 out of 100 times I don’t even know them. But I know types. I know how the human mind rationalizes. And I know how these days most adults are functionally children about how they make decisions, and are more likely to be a complete pain in the arse to deal with that is not worth the money. I also know that when I reward good behavior I get more of that good behavior, but if I reward bad behavior I get more of that, too, and would just be enabling whatever their rationalizing is. Thus, the policy. This comes off as rude and prickish to some people. But those are the people complaining about it who should not be subscribing anyway. That bit of irony always writes itself… Okay, ‘nuff said. To subscribe to Email Players go here: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( Ben Settle This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2022 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this email may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Settle, LLC. Click here to [unsubscribe]( Settle, LLC PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA