Journal #28

Convincing people to do things they sometimes do not want to do can be a very useful tool if used correctly. It may be confused with manipulation which usually means bad news. Especially in the modern world, manipulation happens everywhere such as in all kinds of business. Personally, I think I convince people to do things all the time, and maybe I do not even notice it. Could it be because of my strikingly beautiful appearance? That is probably the main reason, or maybe I am just a persuasive person. More specifically, I can remember one time back in my basketball playing days. I was managing, coaching, and playing for the semi-pro basketball team called the Flint Tropics in Michigan. We were, and had been for a long time, in last place in our division, but at least we tried hard. One day, the commissioner held a meeting for all the owners in the league about a merger with the NBA. Of course, I was very excited to hear this until he said that only the top four teams will go to the NBA. I knew we did not have many fans, and we were a pretty terrible team. I had to trade away the washing machine for a new player, and I had to draw in a ton of fans for the games. This is where the persuasion comes into play. My promotions were crucial to convince the people of Flint, Michigan to come to the home games although they did not usually want to. In one case, I made the home game "Free Corn Dog Night" if we scored over 125 points, but I did not even have corn dogs. Then on another home game, after we started to win and move up in the standings, the commissioner came. I had to draw in as many fans as possible. I made a big cage and wrestled a bear. This got many fans to come, and for that I was happy, but after the bear got out, I was not. I did bring in many fans with that and when I made up a championship game for a made up trophy called the "Mega Bowl." That was my best persuasive marketing ploy of all because the most fans came for that game, and we won.