Consumers

Consuming consumers.

Or I should say SUPER consumers.

Because that's exactly who we are. We are super consumers and we were not born that way we were just molded, made, and taught to be that way. We love certain brands over others, like Jif peanut butter. Peanut butter has been my favorite since I was a kid. At some point of time in my life I ate a different brand of peanut butter. It was in a silver can and it was in a great big jar. It was the peanut butter that you would get from the store with those paper food stamps. Yea I remember those days. But anyway, after my mom switched the peanut butter up to Jif, I never looked at another peanut butter jar the same.

Why am I writing a blog on consumers or consuming? Because we have been consumers since day ONE. We were molded to be consumers for life, which this started at a young age, like when you were too young to remember, yea that old.

Besides the point, I want you to know that Tonka trucks, Hot Wheels, Jordans, Nike, and more brands have all placed ads, commercials, and/or more in front of us just so we could buy them and love them, pretty much for the rest of our lives.

For example, when I was growing up during the holiday times we would get tons of ads on the television for toys, which those toys were the toys I wanted for Christmas. I would want those toys every year because I was sold on the Cabbage Patch Kids at some point of time. I wanted the updated versions of those dolls but that was because the toy companies had their products look appealing and I wanted them regardless if I played with them or not. To make it short, I was set on being a Cabbage Patch Kid supporter for life (I still like the Cabbage Patch Kids, reminds me of the times I had with my mom). All in all, I am a consumer for life. I will consume things until I leave this earth but there are just somethings I will not compromise on especially when it comes to the specific brand of peanut butter. LOL

All that being said, I know that the brands number one rule is to have you as a consumer for life. The video is more than 1.5 hr long. But it will explain what the industry has done to our children and how we were bred to be a certain way when it comes to material things.

Which brings me to the Apple brand vs. Android brand.

Hands down this division has probably ruined some marriages, friendships, and or careers just because of the brands having numerous supporters on either side bragging about how tech savvy they are and what there device can do for them the fastest or quickest way. Different people having their our opinions and insights of how people may perceive others based off a brand that they own is simple ludicrous.

This is a problem or a reward when you think about how easy it is for the company to set you up as an Apple for life. Their are options for this plan, therefore, this plan is for the customer to get the best, up to date device that is out when or if their plan permits them too. This gives the customer the advantage of having a new phone every time one is available for customers to buy it. So, the customer has options to upgrade their phone every other year when the NEW phones hit the shelves. This feature is great for the brand because they know that most phones will only last for a few years anyway and most super consumers want the beast and latest versions when it comes to having a great smart phone in your hand. This is great for the brand because they can keep the customer as a leasing customer rather than a paid in full customer. More money for the brand if the phone is leased rather than bought out.

In summary, the option of being a consumer of Apple or Android can be difficult but most consumers will reflect on other's review of a brand to become an unpaid ambassador of that brand.

We have been taught to consume what we see and what looks good based solely off ads, commercials, and other's opinions about a brand or product. At a young age most children were exposed to toys and objects that would take their imagination away from reality. A lot of those things that distracts the young consumers are food, media, and many other unhealthy things.

I must touch on some reasons why one would need to slowly consume something. We consume so many things that most of the time we don't recognize how much we consume until the bill is due. We consume some many perishable items that we are hurting other people or putting them in hazardous environments with no other option but to keep living in that environment. Too many lights on in the house resulting in a high power bill. Too many drinks at the bar produces a higher tab and/or alcohol poison. Too many shoes in one closet may result in a person not being able to pay rent for the month. In summary, too much of anything can result in a negative consequence when it comes to consuming.

Take for instance if I consumed alcohol for another 5 to 10 years on top of the 20 years of alcohol I drank almost everyday. What would I look like?

How would my body react to sunlight, pain medication, or just plain water? Another question is, where would I be?

Somewhere drunk on someone's porch right now or somewhere drinking ready for my kids to go to sleep so I could rest and do it all over again tomorrow. Last but not least, would my body and mind change? Yes they both would.

Given my examples, I must say that being a super consumer since I was young, I was pushed to buy Newports, in my younger years when I was a smoker, the cigarettes were considered the cool cigs. Most ads on display, in magazines, and when they had commercials the pictures were geared towards the minority and brown community. We were considered the ambassador for this product. So, the ad was relatable and someone in the ad looked like me. For years I was hooked and I preferred Newports longs or shorts in the box.

These are things one doesn't think about when consuming things. Remind yourself, that being a person, a human being, and not a super consumer you always have a choice to either limit your consumption or carbon footprint. I encourage you to be mindful of this. Teach your kids to be aware as well.

We need balance, discipline, and structure; period.

The brown and minority community has more than 7 trillion dollars of buying power, why not use one third of that to put it back into our households, communities, and companies. The main reason most ads are geared toward the brown community. We must understand that we have the power always have and always will.

Being a person, a human being is not a choice but being a super consumer is.

Going forward be mindful of what you spend your money on. But ready to make a conscious decision that can possibly help you be a brand that encourages, empowers, and embrace change. Especially how we think.

So be mindful and create love.

Thanks for reading my blog.

If you have any questions, comments, likes, or any dislikes email me.

HJ, The Motivational Seeker