Choose Your Words Carefully

What is the value of free?  For the majority of people, free is the hook for; open your checkbook or break out the credit card and pay for free for the next year or more.  I often wonder when something of value is offered for free, why most people turn their nose up and say there has to be a catch.  A great example of the value of free came from a friend who bought a new refrigerator and placed his old working refrigerator out by the street with a sign tapped to it “FREE”.  It actually worked and would be ok in the average rental property. It stood in front of his house for a week with no takers.  So he changed his strategy, he placed a sign on it; works, $50… somebody stole it. Nothing had changed other than a value had been placed upon it.

So what is the value of cheap?  If someone wants to give another person a good deal and the price is too low in the mind of person about to receive a deal; that equates to cheap. What do you get for cheap in your mind?  Poor quality, short cuts or unfinished business and the imaginary lack of value.  As a contractor, I have had customers tell me they wanted the project as cheap as I could make it.  After many unhappy customers, giving them exactly what they asked for, my response became; you won’t like the look of cheap. I even went further and gave my customers additional choices; cheap, fast and good, pick two out of three.  I have often run into people who chose to go with another contractor because the other contractor offered them cheap.  Quite often, later on, I have been met with a handshake and the comment; “I wish I had gone with you” or “You were right”.  There is never any satisfaction with being right after listening how someone else paid the price of cheap.
Expensive is generally thought of as high quality or getting your monies worth and more often, has a professional sales person reminding you of what a great deal you just bought into.   Keeping free, cheap and expensive in mind; what is the value of free information that saves you a lot of money?  What if you learned how to buy for a cheap price through the power of negotiation and never had to make an expensive mistake again?  What would be the value of that?
There are professional people and groups out there where you can learn how to answer the questions for free.  They are not well advertised and you will have to do your homework to find them. It will take you time to find these groups and professionals who find their success with your success.  So what if groups and professional people charge a fee?  If as a result of their information, you receive great value and success; would you classify their information as cheap? More than likely you would classify the information as expensive if you gained nothing from their information.
So if you want to become successful and looking for value in building a solid plan, I will give you three words to build your plan upon; cheap, fast and good, pick two of the three.  If you pick “cheap” and “fast”, the results may not be good. Pick “fast” and “good” and the results will not be “cheap” and if you choose “good” and “cheap”, the results will not be “fast”.
Three words, confusing analogies, the results of word placement which cause different results, how confusing! Success is not easy and you will be judged by others on your success.

 My advice to you; choose your words carefully.