Why do victims of a scam never seem to listen to reason, before, during, and even AFTER the scam?The problem is, at least partly, due to lack of skeptical mindset.
Unfortunately, the demand for "MLM confidence" has produced a TON of so-called "internet marketers" that refused to understand they don't know ANYTHING about what they claimed to be doing. As a result, they believe blindly the bad info they have learned (or been taught), and attempt to deny reality with it. That, is dangerous behavior.
Here's one example... A gentleman by the name of "David Cant", who claimed to be internet marketer out of Australia.
First a little background info. Mr. Cant created that website of his because he had a scheme that sells virtual units to alleged estores and you get paid if other people also buy into these virtual estores. It was reviewed as a pyramid / ponzi scheme. Mr. Cant was not pleased with the review and created the "counter" website (from which the above screenshot was taken).
This was what he wrote on his counter website about what was his definition of pyramid and ponzi scheme. Yes, I emphasize, this was *his* definition. Any red markups are mine.
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Which has absolutely NO correlation to the actual laws of Australia on "pyramid selling schemes". Cant's definition basically picked and chose bits and pieces of Wikipedia along with a lot of wishful thinking ("there isn't any get rick quick schemes", yeah right) and some outright denial ("I don't agree with the definition"). As a result, the claims on his website bears NO resemblance to reality, such as actual laws and legal definitions.
In other words, Mr. Can't thinks he knows what pyramid schemes and ponzi schemes are, but he actually has absolutely NO IDEA. It's basically an incoherent rant by someone denying reality. Which is quite amusing since he claimed he used to work sysadmin at the Aussie Supreme Court Library in his LinkedIn Profile. Yes, I checked. It's the SAME GUY. He's right next to tome of legal information that had he bothered to look up he'd have FOUND the actual definitions. Instead, he created this website to deny reality.
As the saying goes... "your position is not only not right, it's not even wrong."
Mr. Cant is hardly the only person denying reality out there. There are plenty of these "Internet Marketers", pushing various suspect or proven Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes, trying to convince others (and maybe themselves) that they are earning money through "hard work" instead of fraud.
Meet Rodney Blackburn, serial ponzi pimp. In a video that's no longer online, he was documented pushing three separate HYIPs, while claiming SEC can't shut companies down... while picking and choosing bits of SEC website and claimed it means what HE said it means. Within a month, one of the suspect Ponzi schemes mentioned was shut down by the SEC.
But is Mr. Blackburn learning from his reality denial? Nope. He's off pushing something else, something that "mitigates HIV", yep, reality denial again. In fact, he seem to be pushing some new scheme every few weeks.
And apparently he'll never learn because he believes he knows what he's doing (or exercising "willful blindness", which means he knows he's defrauding people)
Remember, folks, you have TWO ears, vs. ONE mouth. Maybe you should listen twice as often as you speak? (Which is actually ANOTHER Epictetus saying!)
I will leave you with a Steve Jobs quote instead:
THOSE are words to live by.
"It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows."If a victim already believes he knows all that he needed to know about a company or the product (usually by listening to some PR copy, and/or attended some cheerleading meetings), he will not do any further investigations, and will discount or ignore what other people tell him about the company or the product, esp if he already put money in or worked on promoting it ( also see IKEA effect)
-- Epictetus, Greek Philosopher (55-135 AD)
Unfortunately, the demand for "MLM confidence" has produced a TON of so-called "internet marketers" that refused to understand they don't know ANYTHING about what they claimed to be doing. As a result, they believe blindly the bad info they have learned (or been taught), and attempt to deny reality with it. That, is dangerous behavior.
Here's one example... A gentleman by the name of "David Cant", who claimed to be internet marketer out of Australia.
First a little background info. Mr. Cant created that website of his because he had a scheme that sells virtual units to alleged estores and you get paid if other people also buy into these virtual estores. It was reviewed as a pyramid / ponzi scheme. Mr. Cant was not pleased with the review and created the "counter" website (from which the above screenshot was taken).
Which has absolutely NO correlation to the actual laws of Australia on "pyramid selling schemes". Cant's definition basically picked and chose bits and pieces of Wikipedia along with a lot of wishful thinking ("there isn't any get rick quick schemes", yeah right) and some outright denial ("I don't agree with the definition"). As a result, the claims on his website bears NO resemblance to reality, such as actual laws and legal definitions.
In other words, Mr. Can't thinks he knows what pyramid schemes and ponzi schemes are, but he actually has absolutely NO IDEA. It's basically an incoherent rant by someone denying reality. Which is quite amusing since he claimed he used to work sysadmin at the Aussie Supreme Court Library in his LinkedIn Profile. Yes, I checked. It's the SAME GUY. He's right next to tome of legal information that had he bothered to look up he'd have FOUND the actual definitions. Instead, he created this website to deny reality.
As the saying goes... "your position is not only not right, it's not even wrong."
Mr. Cant is hardly the only person denying reality out there. There are plenty of these "Internet Marketers", pushing various suspect or proven Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes, trying to convince others (and maybe themselves) that they are earning money through "hard work" instead of fraud.
Meet Rodney Blackburn, serial ponzi pimp. In a video that's no longer online, he was documented pushing three separate HYIPs, while claiming SEC can't shut companies down... while picking and choosing bits of SEC website and claimed it means what HE said it means. Within a month, one of the suspect Ponzi schemes mentioned was shut down by the SEC.
But is Mr. Blackburn learning from his reality denial? Nope. He's off pushing something else, something that "mitigates HIV", yep, reality denial again. In fact, he seem to be pushing some new scheme every few weeks.
And apparently he'll never learn because he believes he knows what he's doing (or exercising "willful blindness", which means he knows he's defrauding people)
Remember, folks, you have TWO ears, vs. ONE mouth. Maybe you should listen twice as often as you speak? (Which is actually ANOTHER Epictetus saying!)
I will leave you with a Steve Jobs quote instead:
"Stay hungry, stay foolish."Stay hungry to knowledge, stay foolish so you don't ever stop trying to be smarter.
-- Steve Jobs, at Stanford Commencement speech, June 12th, 2005
THOSE are words to live by.
