Come-on

Come-on: (n) a gesture or remark that is intended to attract someone sexually.

Is it just sexually?

When I consider the Internet, I realize there are “come-ons” at every turn.

Of course, some of them can be sexual exploitation, but there is also a great deal of flattery that is thrown around in an attempt to gain a dollar bill.

The problem with every come-on is flattery.

If you’re speaking sexually, it’s highly unlikely you’ll garner the attention, and therefore the pleasure of a partner, by highlighting flaws. No, you have to make it
clear that you are Anthony and she is Cleopatra, or if that reference is too old, you have to pretend that she is Kim Kardashian to your Kanye. (Perhaps by the time this is released to the public, that reference may also be erroneous.)

But also, in business there is the notion that money exists separate from talent, and can be extracted by making people with no ability think for a brief moment that they can be something they never will be.

So rather than becoming a nation which makes products, we have become a nation intent on making ourselves, personally, a product.

Each individual wants to be a brand. So we are susceptible to all sorts of build-up and promotion which causes us to think that if we simply punch this button, in no time at all we will have “thousands of hits and millions of followers.”

It’s a come-on.

For instance, who doesn’t want to “make America great again?” But truthfully, who wants to do anything personally to achieve it?

We think it’s all about plans, maneuvers and business dealings and we’ll pick up a fatter check. It’s a come-on. And it seems to work.

There is an old saying: “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end of it is destruction.”

There is also a well-traveled axiom in the business world: If people are interested in what you do, they show up with the money. They don’t ask you for it.

You can take a lot of sadness out of your life by refusing to be tempted by come-ons.

Find your heart, discover your motivation, practice your talent, put it out to the nearest market. See what happens.

 

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Brunette

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Brunette: (n) a person, typically a woman, with dark brown hair.

She was always dissatisfied.

I traveled with her for eight years on the road, and frequently sat in a room waiting for her to complete her make-up in preparation for our gig, as she lamented aloud her displeasure over her hair.Dictionary B

Mainly it was the color.

She was stuck somewhere between a light brown and a brunette–where I believe probably millions of men and women find themselves. After all, when you dump all the colors together and blend them, you end up with some sort of brown.

And we are a stirred-up mess.

We are the obvious benefactors of ancestors who contributed a little bit here and there to make us the inspired receptacles that we’ve become.

One day when my friend was particularly angry at her locks, I suggested she go to a hairdresser and find out her options. I was trying to be helpful.

This launched her into a grueling journey of colorations, dyes, highlighting and even just messing with the tips to create essence.

Every time she looked absolutely fabulous (as she did with her natural hair). And every time she was pleased for a brief season, until she looked in the mirror and began to see the ugly brunette again.

Of course, our society does not help with its emphasis on the “theory of blonde.”

She even tried wigs for a while. But no matter what she put on her head or what color she donned, when she looked in the mirror, she only saw the ugly brown-haired girl.

It’s too bad that we live in a world which preaches the power of individualism as we line up faithfully under a sign that reads: One color fits all.

 

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