A few years ago I had a conversation with a family member (who shalt go unnamed) about why I think the idea of throwing “deadbeat dads” (i.e. dads who don’t pay child support) into jail is completely idiotic, makes no sense, and does nothing but harm the kid(s).
Why would I say that?
Three reasons:
1. If he’s in jail, he can’t pay anything anyway
2. When he gets out of jail, his job prospects are going to suck even worse, so assuming he starts paying again it won’t be as much as it could be
3. The child now has the stigma of having a father who is in jail
(yay!)
Who exactly does it help?
That is, other than scum bags who profit from jails?
(I am very much against the idea of any kind of prison — there is no crime that either public flogging, restitution, or the death penalty doesn’t take care of depending on the severity and nature of the particular crime.)
Anyway, she couldn’t refute my position.
But, I was still called an asshole, anyway.
And, well, just shows nobody ever “wins” an argument.
What does this have to do with your marketing or copywriting or emails or business or making more sales or anything even remotely related to such?
Probably nothing.
Unless, of course, you are able to read between the lines.
While you’re doing that, I want to tell you another jail-related story.
This one about a conversation I had with a convicted felon who has been in 9 different prisons, had a crap upbringing, has made lots of mistakes… and is now one of the world’s top sales trainers, and lives in a penthouse in the middle of Dallas with neighbors that include movie stars, rock stars, celebrity athletes, etc. Believe it or not, he survived those 9 prisons in the South as a 130 lbs 19-year old, often the only white guy in the place in most cases (yes, the racial stuff you hear about prisons is true), and he did it with nothing but hardcore persuasion skills.
And guess what?
You can hear his story on tomorrow’s Ben Settle Show podcast.
(Lots more lessons “between the lines” in this one.)
Watch for my email tomorrow.
In the meantime, download prior episodes here:
Ben Settle
