I like to think I’m a conscientious kind of guy, especially when someone is paying money to me for a service. For instance, it always used to urk me if someone wasn’t getting value for money from me.
But I’ve come to realise you can’t help everybody. You can guide and offer support, but you can not force someone to make the most of what they’ve just paid for.
- I’ve created websites for people, advising them how to maximise the opportunity, (ie. this is what you have to do now) then chase them weeks later when they had done zero follow-through.
- I’ve done NLP sessions with people who told me they want to get rid of some behaviour, when really, they simply don’t want it enough.
I used to think these occurrences were down to me. Especially if these people started pointing fingers in my direction. But, as the saying goes…. you can lead a horse to water.
This post caught my eye as soon as it entered my inbox as we get contacted by so many people who we can’t help. For example, people who want to report childhood abuse and have decided to do that via a newspaper when really they need to go to the police. It’s really upsetting as they get quite annoyed with us when we tell them a newspaper can’t report their story. It’s the same when someone has a good story and for whatever reason, no part of the press is interested. You feel you’ve let them down.
Likewise, I have friends who want to set up their own businesses, and who ask for me advice. I get really excited about their business, help with figures and have even offered to write their websites for them. Next time I see them, they haven’t done anything about it or taken any steps towards setting up alone. It’s frustrating but I tell myself they have to make those moves on their own.