it’s not enough to hug you
I want to linger
just a little bit longer.

it’s not enough to be with you in the same room
I want to look in your eyes
just for a moment longer.

it’s not enough to shake hands with you when I meet you and take your leave
I want to twirl
holding your finger above my head.

it’s not enough to discuss business with you
I want to hear what you have to say
when you talk to no one else but you.

it’s not enough to share a drink with you
I want to get drunk on your voice
even when you don’t have much to say.

it’s not enough to tell you I have a crush on you
I want to do something about it
something = no idea what I’m talking about.

I do, however, have a crush on you.
And you’re not my husband.
Him, I love.
And I suffer the daily dreariness in his company.

How do I convince my client that the quality of work (product / service ) that I deliver is far superior than the others in the market? That I am far more professional that anyone else in the entire fucking country? That he is wasting his money by hiring that other service provider / buying that other product? How do I convince my Mom that I am not an alcoholic slut? How do I convince my child that throwing tantrums is not the best way for him / her to get what he / she wants?

The answer : you can’t.

People are stupid.
You cannot teach them the value of things YOU think are good. The reason you believe those things to be good are the very reasons why the others don’t value them. You can’t talk to an addict and rid him / her of the addiction. The only thing that could work is some kind of demonstrable action – which might work in your personal life but in your professional life, demonstrable = “giving it away for free”. Hence not-workable.

If you think that telling the truth to the client is professionalism, it is because you were raised that way. You are “conditioned”. This is what you believe. If the client thinks that people – who they think are telling the truth, have an agenda – they think so because they have been conditioned to think that way. Try what you might, that neural pathway in their brain is not going to change. You might think, “Let me do this one for cheap / free – just this once – because then the client’s viewpoint will magically change.” Don’t be a dumb fuck. Not only are you then conditioning the client to believe that fantastic work can be had for free, you are also conditioning yourself to working for free and generating low self-confidence.

You cannot devote your life to changing the neural pathways of one client and changing their conditioning. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it / try it – I’m saying you cannot. Find people who think like you and work with them. The emotional and satisfaction-level payout will far outweigh the monetary one even if you get paid what you asked for.

There is no way to avoid meeting / interacting with such people – there are more of them than us. But treat it like a jungle safari – you see something in the distance that looks like shit, but you’re not sure. You walk up closer, to sniffing distance, it stinks. It is shit. Walk around it and beyond.

Don’t try to teach shit that it’s patchouli.