“It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer— then goes off and boasts about the purchase.”
-Proverbs 20:14 (NIV)

I remember a business book published some years ago whose title was “Free, Perfect, and Now.”  The author’s thesis was that customers’ demands had never been higher, and that those who wished to attract and keep those customers needed to be prepared for this new level of expectation.

There’s no such thing as free time.

I suppose it’s a sign of our comparative prosperity that we can expect — and receive on demand — products of such quality and at such a low price.  At the same time, though, I think that the allure of free is hurting us as a people.

Investment equals engagement
In the various opportunities I’ve had to lead, I have noticed that men tend to pay more attention and to generate better results when they have skin in the game.  I’m not a participant in any fantasy sports leagues, but my friends who are report that the degree of engagement and enjoyment of participants tracks with the entry fees required.  This isn’t surprising, since we confer value – genuine value – in those things we’re willing to pay for.

I saw a bit of this dynamic playing out way back in high school.  Some guys I knew worked weekends, nights and summers  and saved to buy their first cars.  These guys took great pride in — and great care of — those cars.  Then there were the guys who received cars as gifts from their parents or grandparents.  It wasn’t true in every case, but far more of those cars ended up wrapped around trees than the ones that were earned the hard way.  Could it be that the drivers who worked for their cars were more careful drivers?

Time and money
What is money, after all?  A convenient common denominator for labor.  So when we spend money it is a representation of all those hours and all that toil.  When we get for free what others have worked for, it erodes the foundation of value and satisfaction.  It also weakens our ability to delay gratification and to persevere.

Ben Stein once wrote that lawyers and exterminators do very similar work, but under drastically different conditions and for significantly different wages.  This is, as Stein points out, a function of supply and demand.  The costs of a legal education are higher than the costs of an exterminator’s training and certification.  As a result, there are fewer lawyers than exterminators, so lawyers make more money.

You get what you pay for
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that my purpose in writing it is to encourage and motivate you toward Thriving, Authentic Masculinity.  That takes in a lot of territory, and it will take time to get there. You can put what we talk about here into practice by making it a point to invest in this process.    Obviously, work is a necessary first step.  Earn your own money and then begin to upgrade — your skills, your manners, your mind, your health, your wardrobe, your character.  You already know excellence is rare, so become excellent and you become more valuable.  It can be done!

We value things more highly when we’ve expended the labor for them.  When your reputation is based on fluff, or on family connections instead of genuine accomplishment, it’s easy to feel like an impostor.  By contrast, when you’ve put in the time and done the hard work, you’re less vulnerable to that kind of self-doubt.

In Part II, we’ll talk about specific ways the allure of free is threatening our well-being.

So how about you?  Where are you willing to invest — your time, your money, yourself — to make a lasting impact?  Add your comments below.