DOWNFALLS IS OUR DAILY WISDOM WORD TODAY. WE ALL HAVE DOWNFALLS FROM TIME TO TIME. SOMETIMES IT IS INEVITABLE THAT SOMEONE AROUND US HAS ONE. IT MAKES IT HARD WHEN SOMEONE ELSES DOWNFALL AFFECTS US. I CALL THIS THE “RIPPLING” EFFECT. A DOWNFALL HAPPENS TO SOMEONE WHEN THEY MAKE A POOR CHOICE AND YOU ARE THE ONE WHOSE LIFE IS AFFECTED BY IT. WE ARE PLANNING A PODCAST AND GRAND OPENING AND I HAD ASKED SOMEONE I CONSIDERED A CLOSE FRIEND TO BE A HOST FOR THESE PODCASTS.
I ORIGINALLY HAD PAID EHR $100 TO BUILD A WEBSITE FOR OUR CUSTOM POETRY SECTION. WE DISAGREED ON HOW THE WEBSITE SHOULD BE LAID OUT. I WAS FRUSTRATED AS I HAVE HAD MANY ISSUES WITH THIS PERSON IN THE PAST. I THOUGHT I HAD SEEN GROWTH AND KINDNESS IN HER NOW. SHE WAS UNABLE TO SHOW TOWARDS ME PRIOR TO THIS KINDNESS OR APPRECIATION AS I HAD HELP HER OUT IN MANY WAYS. I WOULDN’T HAVE ASKED HER. IT WHEN SHE DISCUSSED SCREEN SHARING TO BUILD THE NEW WEBSITE. WE HAD A FEW MORE PRESSING ISSUES, SO WE PUT ASIDE THE WEBSITE FOR A FEW DAYS OR SO I THOUGHT.
THERE ARE ALWAYS SOUNDBITES NEEDED FOR A PODCAST AS WITH ANY SHOW. SHE SEEMED TO BE A NATURAL AT IT. THE PERFECT CHOICE UNTIL SHE INFORMED ME I NEEDED TO PAY HER $25 PER SOUNDBITE!! IN THE PAST, I CREATED A FULL SEGMENT CALLED “FROM TREES TO KEYS”. I ALSO ACTED AS. CO-HOST ON THIS CABLE SHOW WHICH AIRED ON TELEVISION FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS. I KNOW HOW TO DO THIS AND AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE INDUSTRY. BEFORE I HAD HIRED HER, I TOLD HER I WOULD PAY AS I WAS ABLE AND STILL THINKING SHE WAS DOING THE WEBSITE, I PAID HER TWO DIFFERENT TIMES OVER A PERIOD OF THREE DAYS. IN ADDITION, I ALSO GAVE HER $25, AND ANOTHER $30 SINCE PAYING FOR THE WEBSITE TOWARDS THE SHOW.
I WANTED TO HELP HER AS MUCH AS I WAS ABLE. A FEW DAYS LATER, I NEEDED FIVE SOUNDBITES FOR THE SHOW. SOUNDBITES ARE BETWEEN 15-60 SECONDS LONG AND PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE WORKED IN THE INDUSTRY ARE PAID PER SHOW. SOUNDBITES AND ADVERTISING THE SHOW ARE PART OF BEING PAID FOR THE SHOW ITSELF WHICH I AGREED TO PAY HER $25 FOR EACH SHOW CONSIDERING THE PODCAST IS 15 MINUTES LOG, AND SHE HAD NO EXPERIENCE. I SENT HER A TEXT ASKING HER TO RECORD FIVE SOUNDBITES FOR THE WEBSITE. I SAID I WOULD PAY HER FIVE DOLLARS PER SOUNDBITE AND SHE INFORMED ME SHE WOULD DO EACH ONE FOR $25 APIECE WHICH WOULD HAVE TOTALED $125. I WAS IN SHOCK. A. NO WEBSITE YET, AND ANOTHER $55 PAID TO HER SIMPLY FOR HELPING WITH THE SHOW OVERALL AND DOING ONE SOUNDBITE. SHE ALSO INFORMED ME THAT HER “FRIENDS” SHE TOLD ME, “THEY THOUGHT SHE WAS GETTING RIPPED OFF.”
I WAS ANGRY, SAD, MAD, DISAPPOINTED, AND SUFFERED A MASSIVE DOWNFALL QUESTIONING MY OWN JUDGEMENT. I EVEN GAVE HER A CHANCE TO MAKE IT RIGHT. SADLY, SHE REPEATED THE WORDS I SAID OUT OF FRUSTRATION, DURING OUR INITIAL DISCUSSION WHEN I ASKED HER TO RETURN THE $100 BECAUSE SHE DID NOT FOLLOW THROUGH AND BUILD THE MINI-WEBSITE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO. I HAD, AT ONE POINT, FRUSTRATED, SAID “JUST KEEP THE MONEY” WE AREN’T GETTING ANYWHERE WITH THIS.” I THOUGHT WE HAD MOVED PAST THAT AFTER COOLING OFF, AS WE CONTINUING TO DISCUSS HOW THE WEBSITE SHOULD BE BUILT INCLUDING SCREENSHARING TO GET IT RIGHT.
BECAUSE I COULD NOT MEET HER OUTRAGEOUS DEMANDS, I DECIDED I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO LET HER GO. I KNEW IF I MET THAT “DEMAND” THERE WOULD BE SO MUCH MORE IN THE FUTURE. IN MY LIFE, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TAUGHT TO BE AS KIND TO OTHERS AS THEY ARE WITH YOU. SHE USED THIS, WHAT SHE VIEWED AS A WEAKNESS SO SHE COULD EXPLOIT ME TO GET MORE MONEY INFORMING ME SHE WOULD BE KEEPING THE HUNDRED AND OTHER MONEY AS WELL BECAUSE I TOLD HER TO KEEP THE $100 DURING A MOMENT OF FRUSTRATION. SOMETIMES THERE ARE DOWNFALLS, BUT WE DON’T GET DO OVER’S.
IT HURTS BECAUSE I AM THE ONE EXPERIENCING THE DOWNFALL I BELIEVED SHE HAD CHANGED. I BY THE WAY, OF COURSE DIDN’T EXPECT THE ADDITIONAL $55 BACK GIVEN FOR WORK DONE. BECAUSE I REALLY CARED ABOUT HER AND THOUGHT WE WERE AT A GOOD PLACE I MADE A MISTAKE CAUSING A DOWNFALL WHICH HAD A RIPPLING EFFECT ON THE GUESTS I HAD ALREADY SET UP AND MY STAFF WHO ALL VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME.
I WOULD LOVE COMMENTS ON THE DAILY WISDOM WORD TODAY, DOWNFALLS. KEEP IN MIND, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS. I HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY HONEST LAYING OUT THESE ISSUES. BENEATH THIS POST MY, IS A PLACE TO COMMENT WHERE YOU SEE JOIN THE DISCUSSION. WAS I IN THE WRONG? SHOULD SHE HAVE KEPT THE $100? HOW MANY TIMES DO WE GIVE OTHER CHANCES EVEN IF WE CARE? I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK AND NEED YOUR WISDOM NOW!! THANK YOU FOR READING AND ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE THROUGH YOUR COMMENTS. THANKS SO MUCH, SAMANTHA
