Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Just thinking - about selling fear & hope


Life insurance works crazy. I got an offer from big bazaar today for purchasing goods above rs.2500, i.e. a life insurance policy – according to policy I or my family will get Rs. 4, 00,000 if I die accidentally or permanent total disablement happens to me. They took only rs.400 from me, and there are no any other extra fees or insurance premium amount to be paid.

Now the irony is how can I explain this policy to my mother, can I say to her like this – my dear mamma, in case if your beloved son is death or permanently disabled, please go to any Big bazaar and collect Rs. 4, 00, 000. And what will be the reaction of my mother? Whether I should thank to that staff – who congratulate me and telling me “sir you got an offer” and reminding me about my death, which is too horrific death, not normal and peaceful death. I don’t want to go to in depth of their lost and profit of fear selling business. Obviously they are very smart business people, and idea is fantastic. Nobody likes to remember the end of life, and nobody wants to face any kind of accident. Even though we don’t want to think about it, these people remind us that - telling it may happen to you sir, any time, any moment, future is unpredictable, what will happen to you family and this few money will definitely help you. And finally we are convinced that bad thinks may happen to us. Seriously I never wish to and thought of these negatives thought before they explain me about the benefits of their policy – what a fantastic offer!

On the other hand, recently I have encountered with a fine gentleman who does palmistry. He came to our office, and started predicting about me, most are true – my wishes, my thought and my future. He was not like old model Sadhu type, he wore nice black color blazer, and he carries nice file cover, very professional and talks very confidently. He did some magic and predicting my thoughts and family. He told me about my luck, about my ambition and few things that I want to avoid. I was amazed. Finally he started talking about God and asked me five thousand rupees. I didn’t give him five thousand, I gave him only 200. After he went I realized that I was fooled.

I thought of his predictions –
  • 1.       He said I want to make a career in education line and wish to continue further study. Question is how did he know my wishes? Answer is simple - I am working in an educational institute and I am young, obviously it is not that difficult to guess my wishes.
  • 2.       He said I think too much, confused and frustrated thinking about the career and future. But it is common for everyone, whose are in my age and generation. We the Y – generation people are very much career conscious and people with age 25-30 usually thinks and doubt too much because it is our transformation stage.

He said few more things, which I don’t remember now.

Now let me explain you his business tactical strategies. He always speaks best things about me and my future, as like he is wishing and praying for my well being. He speaks about wealth – I will be very wealthy person, speaks about my future life partner – I will get a very good partner, I will have two kids, and about my career and dreams - that is for sure going to fulfill. When I looked at these predictions, I found these are the common wishes everyone have. He used more add on tactics – he said, there is a girl who is loving you secretly and you are going to find her very soon and you two are made for each other. Now the question is, if you hear this will you not happy? Who will not happy, this is human nature (though I know this prediction is completely wrong in my case, seriously I tried to find that girl by unfolding all the memory files stored inside my brain, but no clue). He didn’t say anything special things, what he said were just natural phenomena and the happy things he predicted about are also wishes everybody has.  

I was thankful to my conscience and my colleague, much senior than me, because of that and him I gave him only 200. After he left, talking to my colleague, I came to know that these people have very good business, and their clients are mostly high profile and very rich people. He had past experience; he was also fooled once in his life. They make the people comfortable in putting their hands inside the pocket.

 Our world works in very funny way. We think something, happen something and understand something. We don’t know what is reality and truth; we live with incomplete information; with all artificially build perceptions, which are agreed by all of us as truth. (Now you are confused, I am damn sure about that). By selling fear and hope we can make money, associating those with few tangible experiences. The money which is nothing but piece of paper, which everybody accepts as something valuable that can transects goods.