People ask me about this a lot.
Some people think I'm the one selling the 3 Minute Depression Cure.
I'm not.
I haven't ordered the product either. But that won't stop me from writing about it.
There's a really good website by another man living in Colorado - who's done decades of brain research. And on his site he explains the whole brain switch thing - for free. He goes into detail about it.
I highly recommend visiting his site. And when you e-mail him, he actually writes you back! (You can tell him Mark sent you.)
But lets look at why the idea of a '3 Minute Depression Cure' is so appealing to so many people.
First, let me say I have nothing against the Oregon guy who sells it. He's probably just trying to make a living.
And he certainly knows good marketing:
1. Find a desperate group of people.
2. Tell them you have a QUICK AND EASY answer to their problems.
3. Talk a lot about what the product is not - rather than what it is.
4. Reveal as little 'real' information as possible.
5. Make them very curious.
6. Convince them they won't have to be responsible - and they're not responsible for their situation.
7. Make lots of money!
It's a simple formula. If you look closely, you'll see it all over the internet.
And it always starts with a desperate market seeking a super-easy cure for a problem they don't want to take responsibility for having in the first place.
See, if I'm not responsible for my situation - then I deserve a super-easy cure. I'm entitled to it.
And I'll gladly pay 100 dollars to someone who validates my irresponsibility. (And whom I can blame when things don't work out...!)
Again, basic marketing. (Well, maybe it's advanced marketing. Either way...)
But here's the problem:
If I won't be responsible for what got me into my present situation - how in the world do I think I'm going to change things?
Answer:
Because I expect a fairy Godmother to rescue me. Or a knight in shining armor. Or maybe God Himself will take pity on me. Since I'm really not responsible...
Now, I don't really believe in knights or fairies. And I doubt God will do it. Instead I must look to someone selling a quick and easy cure on the internet.
Even though I know it's not quick and easy - I want to believe so desperately that I seek out anyone who will validate me.
Any good marketer knows this. The good marketer exploits this 'pressure gradient' - as a way to make good money.
Desperation + lack of responsibility = a pressure gradient.
"I'm desperate."
"I'm not responsible for my situation."
Therefore, "I deserve a quick and easy cure."
Someone who's not desperate can easily see through a product and its sales letter. But when you ARE desperate... well... it clouds your vision.
Pain has a way of doing that.
I'm not saying the 3 Minute Depression Cure is worthless. It might be great for all I know.
I'm just explaining marketing principles.
One other thing:
I've hinted that if you're depressed, then you're responsible for your depression.
You can take my statements and use them to blame yourself and beat yourself up for being depressed. Or beat me up.
Which is the exact opposite of responsibility!
Responsibility means: I have the willingness to change. Now, let me find the power to change.
If you're responsible for your depression - then you can probably end it for good.
That's responsibility.
It has nothing to do with blame or shame or anger or any other kind of non-self-accepting behavior.
You've probably read my over-simplified generic version of how to be depressed.
You'll see it's basically a slippery slope - where, in many ways, it could be considered a process you were indeed not responsible for. Because you did the best you could under the circumstances.
You were just trying to survive... or to assuage the pain... or to fit in with society...
So it's not about blaming yourself.
It's about recognizing:
Different events and situations had to come together for me to end up depressed.
I wasn't trying to be depressed. I was trying to survive. I did the best I could under the circumstances.
That's taking responsibility!
Some people think I'm the one selling the 3 Minute Depression Cure.
I'm not.
I haven't ordered the product either. But that won't stop me from writing about it.
There's a really good website by another man living in Colorado - who's done decades of brain research. And on his site he explains the whole brain switch thing - for free. He goes into detail about it.
I highly recommend visiting his site. And when you e-mail him, he actually writes you back! (You can tell him Mark sent you.)
But lets look at why the idea of a '3 Minute Depression Cure' is so appealing to so many people.
First, let me say I have nothing against the Oregon guy who sells it. He's probably just trying to make a living.
And he certainly knows good marketing:
1. Find a desperate group of people.
2. Tell them you have a QUICK AND EASY answer to their problems.
3. Talk a lot about what the product is not - rather than what it is.
4. Reveal as little 'real' information as possible.
5. Make them very curious.
6. Convince them they won't have to be responsible - and they're not responsible for their situation.
7. Make lots of money!
It's a simple formula. If you look closely, you'll see it all over the internet.
And it always starts with a desperate market seeking a super-easy cure for a problem they don't want to take responsibility for having in the first place.
See, if I'm not responsible for my situation - then I deserve a super-easy cure. I'm entitled to it.
And I'll gladly pay 100 dollars to someone who validates my irresponsibility. (And whom I can blame when things don't work out...!)
Again, basic marketing. (Well, maybe it's advanced marketing. Either way...)
But here's the problem:
If I won't be responsible for what got me into my present situation - how in the world do I think I'm going to change things?
Answer:
Because I expect a fairy Godmother to rescue me. Or a knight in shining armor. Or maybe God Himself will take pity on me. Since I'm really not responsible...
Now, I don't really believe in knights or fairies. And I doubt God will do it. Instead I must look to someone selling a quick and easy cure on the internet.
Even though I know it's not quick and easy - I want to believe so desperately that I seek out anyone who will validate me.
Any good marketer knows this. The good marketer exploits this 'pressure gradient' - as a way to make good money.
Desperation + lack of responsibility = a pressure gradient.
"I'm desperate."
"I'm not responsible for my situation."
Therefore, "I deserve a quick and easy cure."
Someone who's not desperate can easily see through a product and its sales letter. But when you ARE desperate... well... it clouds your vision.
Pain has a way of doing that.
I'm not saying the 3 Minute Depression Cure is worthless. It might be great for all I know.
I'm just explaining marketing principles.
One other thing:
I've hinted that if you're depressed, then you're responsible for your depression.
You can take my statements and use them to blame yourself and beat yourself up for being depressed. Or beat me up.
Which is the exact opposite of responsibility!
Responsibility means: I have the willingness to change. Now, let me find the power to change.
If you're responsible for your depression - then you can probably end it for good.
That's responsibility.
It has nothing to do with blame or shame or anger or any other kind of non-self-accepting behavior.
You've probably read my over-simplified generic version of how to be depressed.
You'll see it's basically a slippery slope - where, in many ways, it could be considered a process you were indeed not responsible for. Because you did the best you could under the circumstances.
You were just trying to survive... or to assuage the pain... or to fit in with society...
So it's not about blaming yourself.
It's about recognizing:
Different events and situations had to come together for me to end up depressed.
I wasn't trying to be depressed. I was trying to survive. I did the best I could under the circumstances.
That's taking responsibility!