What You Can Learn from the US Postal Service’s Failure

Recently I saw one of the funniest and saddest things ever: a bumper sticker on a mail truck that said: “Pay Your Bills By Mail.” Does anyone think such a campaign will revive the US Postal Service’s prospects? I don't want to be mean, but the Postmaster General needs to wake up and smell the Internet. Paying bills online is faster, cheaper, and more reliable. Why would anyone trade these qualities for conventional mail?

The bumper sticker does provide a valuable public service by highlighting the folly of the “if you build it they will come” perspective popularized in the movies. As an entrepreneur, your first job is to make sure people want what you are selling and understand what rivals your product or service. If your competitors’ offerings are vastly superior, how are you going to enhance yours to keep pace with or exceeds theirs?

Pity is not a competitive strategy or the basis for a relationship

Moving beyond the business world, pity is not a substitute for the compassion necessary to sustain a relationship or marriage. While you want comforting from your spouse when hit with life’s inevitable setbacks, to retain your self-respect you need your spouse’s help to see and face the need to continually grow.

Like what you're reading? Sign up for my blog updates and never miss a post. I'll send you a FREE gift as a thank you. Click here to subscribe.

The quasi-Luddite in me mourns the passing of traditional mail service. But the USPS’s inability to develop in the face of technological advancement is no more commendable than a man with Peter Pan Syndrome. People and society cannot live in Neverland.

Ironically, not only is technology forcing antiquated businesses to grasp at fanciful notions, through my work as a #NavyRabbi I found it is facilitating infantilization as people live in online fantasy worlds but are unable to deal with the basics of life such as getting to work on time and personal hygiene.

Disneyland is fun to visit for a day or two, but more gratifying is the lifelong struggle to grapple with daily challenges and the necessity to mature and adapt to a changing world. When you live intentionally, you will never have to sport a t-shirt that says, “Marry Me Despite My Inability to Face Life.”

Do you agree with me? Please comment yes or no…
You can leave a comment on this question or ask another question below ↓