How To Spot Snake Oil
How to Spot Snake Oil
The Real Thing
Some years ago, Coca Cola ran a very successful Advertising campaign pitching their soda pop as the “Real Thing”. Coke was positioned as the “thirst quencher of thirst quenchers”. Millions were convinced that other drinks promised to satisfy, but only Coca Cola delivered. So is Coke the “Real Thing”? Of course not. All the other sugar drinks do exactly what Coke does. The words “Real Thing” should only be used to describe something like a unique key that fits into a lock. Coca Cola wanted us to believe only their product was the key to unlocking our thirst, but in truth, every other soda pop fits just as well.
Bogus Real Things
Coca Cola wasn’t being unscrupulous pretending to be the “Real Thing”. They just launched a great marketing idea that made their brand of soft drink stand out. No harm was done, because Coke wasn’t gasoline pretending to be water in a land where people were dying of thirst. But the Real Thing is such a potent idea, lots of unscrupulous folks have used it. Snake oil salesmen market their elixirs as the Real Cure for cancers for instance. They know full well people desperate to get well will take a chance on their bogus medicines. They also know they can call anything the “Real Thing” and get away with it. When it’s a life or death matter however, calling something the Real Thing….when it isn’t….. is criminal.
Fake “Find Your Passion” Ploys
Snake-oil salesmen aren’t confined to the world of terminal illnesses. People pitch the “Real Thing” pretty much everywhere men and women are hungry for something. Take the self-help world for instance. In this Universe, folks hungry for happiness are offered dozens of “Real Secrets” promising lives filled with passion. As a matter of fact, hundreds of different “Real Things” can be found on the net night or day, each guaranteeing passion-filled lives. And? They don’t work….. because they’re just marketing ploys. They aren’t Real. But is a “Real Thing” even possible? A bona fide map to authentic happiness everyone could follow? Most folks don’t think so anymore.
What If It Showed Up?
Let’s say the Real Thing really was out there somewhere. A simple idea that truly could lead vast numbers to passionate lives. And let’s imagine some everyday soul stumbles into it by fate, accident, or Divine Intervention. An ordinary non-guru citizen perhaps, without a huge following or Oprah’s help to get the word out. How would he or she let the world know? The snake-oil salesmen have really muddied the waters after all. No point trying to explain what the “real Real Thing” is and what it does. Pretty much anything that could be said about it has already been said about every Fake. Maybe if a million people could be convinced to test it, they’d realize it was Real and help convince others.
But why would they? So many people have lied about Real Things for so long, who’d risk wasting their time on “yet another gallon of snake-oil”. It looks a lot like that old “Boy Who Cried Wolf” story. But in this case, it’s not a Boy getting eaten by a Wolf. It’s untold numbers of men and women losing out on passion in their lives. If the Real Thing arrived one day then, how could we tell it from snake-oil?
The Real Thing vs Snake Oil
The Real Thing will pass all three tests below. Snake-oil won’t. Here they are.
- Simplicity
The Real Thing would be the simplest of ideas. It can’t be complicated to understand or difficult to put into practice. Why? It’s meant for everyone. It’s there to let every man, woman, child and creature be themselves. The least capable amongst us must grasp it.
- Equality
The Real Thing would make the life of every single soul on earth equally important and exactly the same value. By another name the Real Thing would be Freedom. Freedom from judgment, intolerance, hatred and violence.
- Tallies With Our Knowledge
The Real Thing would tally with all our knowledge of the world. Scientists, philosophers, and leaders of all religions alike would accept the Real Thing as a basic Truth.
What is the Real Thing?
The Real Thing is called “wholeness”. Wholeness means everything in the world, including you and I, are different parts of one whole…..not separate things. Wholeness means nobody can be more important than anyone else…..because we’re all One. Wholeness means your life and mine have to be equal in value…..because we share the same life.
We Can Choose the Real Thing
To release your potentials, all you have to do is choose to see the world as one whole, instead of many different separate things. Just like you don’t see your own two arms as separate things. If you do, you won’t be afraid to be yourself. Why? You’ll know for sure nobody can judge your life worthless. When you believe in wholeness, you’ll be unafraid to come out of your shell to be YOU. You’ll discover that being yourself is what makes you happy too.
I wish people would know that the real thing is just there all along. But most of us choose to seek the complicated in the belief that the real thing is entangled in it.