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Seeing the truth when it might be invisible

Guest post by: Seth Godin

Article Overview: I’ll believe it when I see it. This is a problem.

Seeing the truth when it might be invisible

I'll believe it when I see it. This is a problem.

It didn't used to be. It used to be a totally fine strategy to work your way through life only believing what you could see and touch, only caring about what impacted your life right now.

Two things changed:

First, over time, the base of knowledge we have about the world has increased exponentially, and that knowledge compounds. Electrons and ozone and game theory and databases might all be invisible, they might be beyond your understanding, but they're still important, still looming right at the edges of the life you live right now.

And second, of course, is the notion of a worldwide web of information, a system that brings every bit of news and data and discovery right to your door. While you may want to disbelieve what's happening around you, that won't make it go away, and what's "around you" is now a much larger sphere than it ever was before.

If you are too trusting of the invisible, then you buy that $89 ebook that comes with the promise of instant riches, or you sign up for ear candling, or invest time and money with a charlatan. If you haven't figured out how to discern the invisible stuff that's true from the invisible stuff that's a trick, you're helpless in a world where just about every decision we make has to do with things that are invisible.

Thus, two kinds of serious errors: believing in invisible things that aren't true, or insisting that the truth might not be. They're caused by fear, by deliberate misinformation and by being uninformed.

We have to accept that once we start down the slippery slope of always (or never) believing, we end up in Alice-in-Wonderland territory. Do you have firsthand knowledge that the Earth is round (a sphere)? Really? Have you ever seen the tuberculosis bacteria? Perhaps it doesn't exist, they might say it's just a fraud invented by the pharmaceutical industry to get us to buy expensive drugs... Or consider the flip side, the Bernie Madoff too-good-to-be-true flipside of invisible riches that never appear. After all, if someone can't prove it's a fraud yet, it might be true!

Eight things you've probably never seen with your own eyes: Buzz Aldrin, the US debt, multi-generational evolution of mammals, an atom of hydrogen, Google's search algorithm, the inside of a nuclear power plant, a whale and the way your body digests a cookie. That doesn't mean they don't exist, nor does it mean you can't find a way to make them useful.

Do governments and marketers lie to us? All the time. Does that mean that the powerful (reproducible, testable and yes, true) invisible forces of economics, history and science are a fraud? No way.

Once you go down that road, you're on your own, no longer a productive member of a society built on rational thought. Be skeptical. Test and measure and see if the truth is a useful hypothesis to help move the discussion forward. Please do. But at some point, in order to move forward, we have to accept that truth can't be a relative concept, something to use when it suits our agenda but be discarded when we're frightened or want to score a point.

Richard Feynman said, "I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by understanding, they learn by some other way - by rote or something. Their knowledge is so fragile!"

Merely because it's invisible doesn't mean it's true--or false.

Is it a skill to figure out what's true, even if it's invisible? I think it is, and a rare and valuable one.

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Article Tags: truth



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You have what it takes to succeed! - I just wanted to remind you that if you have a business idea or some kind of dream you would like to pursue, you already have what it takes to succeed at it. If a business idea has come to you, the way to accomplish it must also exist. How do you think other women have achieved such great levels of success? They had an idea AND THEN ACTED ON IT. The most important person who needs to believe in what you can do is YOU! When you accept that truth and make the decision to act on it, all sorts of practical ideas will begin coming to you on how to do it. The reason you are reading this is because deep down you know it is possible to be really successful. Yes, you are smart enough for YOUR IDEA. Yes, you have special abilities. Yes, you can actually do what you love to do and create a business around it. It's pretty hard to take the entrepreneurial leap of faith unless you choose to believe in yourself and your idea. Once you do, you just might discover an invisible bridge beneath you and wonder why you waited so long to jump. You know you are already a business woman at heart. I invite you to show her to yourself and then the world.
Re: Quote of the Day - ?"Everything happens for a reason and a p - Thanks for the quote and the link. I just watched the Tony Robbins video where he high-5s Al Gore. Good stuff! "Effective leaders have the ability to consistently move themselves and others to action because they understand the "invisible forces" that shape us." Also, "Biography is not destiny... decision is."
Re: 7 Compelling “About Us” Pages - Hi Evan, Thank you for bringing this to our attention, I feel very guilty at the moment as my ‘About Us’ section is so small it is almost invisible. I thought it just had to be a few short punchy sentences, how wrong I was. A high five to David and Alan for your efforts, you have made me realise what an effective and ‘human’ asset a proper ‘About Us’ page can be because you have both given that personal touch that makes the visitor feel welcome but more importantly you are not just selling to them, you are telling a story, being supportive, helpful and showing empathy which newbie’s really need at the outset. I now have to go away with my tail between my legs and work on mine armed with some great ideas thanks to you guys, regards, Mal.
Re: Quote of the Day - ?"The best way to build a business is aro - Hi Evan, "love your quote. It is the truth. Someone equally defines " money as the reward of the problem you solved for somebody"
Re: Importance of web accessibility - Ain't that the truth. Idol hopefuls who are SHOCKED! ;0) Its like walking around with food in your teeth and no one tells you. But I think the bigger trick is finding a 'test' group who are actually relevant to your business. Just asking strangers/associates for their feedback doesnt cut it. Try to ensure that your target market or real affiliates will do the audit for you Jude


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