The relativity of values causes us to use money irrationally. I go to the supermarket to buy a $15 pen, and the clerk smiles and says, “You can buy this pen for $7 if you walk 5 minutes from here.” Then, most people walk five minutes and buy a $15 pen for $7. But if you want to buy a $1,000 jacket and the clerk smiles and says, “You can get a $992 jacket in five minutes from here,” most people simply buy the $1,000 jacket. Reasonably, walking for 5 minutes equals the effort, and the profit of $8 is the same. However, people might go to a store that sells pens cheaper, but not for the jacket, because the discount rate is too low. In other words, the relativity of comparing values makes us act irrationally. The pen’s discount rate is 55%, and the jacket’s is only 0.8%. Yet, the total amount is the same for all $8, and the effort to gain that profit is identical. Attitudes and misconceptions about consumption influence how we build wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Weakness is merely another expression of strength and represents a phenomenon where the same attribute manifests in different forms. In other words, the concept of “ weak or strong ” resembles both ends of a seesaw ; when one side goes down, the other always rises. When an issue arises in one muscle of the body, the surrounding muscles take over that role, or several muscles work together to compensate for the weakness. Rather than focusing solely on the end of the seesaw that has dropped, one should also acknowledge the opposing side that has risen as a result. Weaknesses and strengths are states of being, not conclusions or outcomes. The same applies to successes and failures . - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”