The Awesomeness Consultant: The only real shortcut

#badshortcut

Every day my inbox is full of spam. Sometimes there is a sexy single in my area looking to chat. Other times, there is a distant African cousin offering to give me a cut of the $10M that I help him to launder. And while these may be tempting, they don’t ever entice me to open the message. But there is a nefarious type of email that I get that I am always weak for. The “shortcut” email.

I was just linked to a landing page of a website where some guy was trying to convince me that he had the “shortcut” to getting six-pack abs in 12 weeks. This is not the only site of its kind that I have come across. People are always hawking a shortcut – especially for those things that require a significant amount of effort and commitment; things such as fitness and wealth. And while I know, with a high degree of certainty, that these shortcuts are usually “scammy,” I investigate then nonetheless. Why? Because I possess that very human trait of “wanting something for nothing.” - or at least wanting something for a fraction of its actual cost. And it makes perfect sense: If I have limited resources, I should want to spend those resources as efficiently as possible.

I understand that with hard work, dedication, and motivation I could actually accomplish whatever is being sold via shortcut. Of course you can have six pack abs (maybe not always in 12 weeks) with the proper nutrition and exercise. Of course you can build a successful blog with resonant content and regular interaction. Of course you can be debt-free if you spend less than you earn.

Many years ago, when I was creeping and crawling beneath the bowels of the earth, I was informed that shortcuts would no longer be an option for me. It was around this time that I learned that taking a shortcut only ensured one thing; that eventually I’d have to do it over again the right way. So the only real shortcut is to not take any shortcuts.

In the immortal words of the SOS Band, “Baby you can do it, take your time, do it right.” Let the robust sounds of their composition encourage you.