FRIENDS WHO ARE BAD FOR BUSINESS

BY: LANISHA PORTER

The one thing someone can say to me that will make me scramble away from them quick, fast, and in a hurry is: “it’s not that serious.” Whether it’s a matter of posting something inappropriate on my personal social media, tagging me in something distasteful, or simply inviting negativity into my space, if I raise a concern about it as a request for you to stop and am met with a nonchalant response of “it’s not that serious,” we seriously can’t be friends. And here’s why. Such a response gives a heightened indication that you yourself are careless about your presentation and have nothing to lose. Therefore, it would be fair to conclude that if care for your own self-presentation escapes you, care by far for me or anything I have going for myself would escape you as well.

Anybody that has ever secured anything worth losing, takes maintaining it serious. Those who have never put the sweat of their brows, and flesh of their fingers into something, can’t take it serious. They don’t understand the passionate spirit someone defends their brand, image, business, or advertisement with. And to be completely honest, when you become a threat to any of the above, you then become a threat to potential coins, which is a threat to ones livelihood. Meaning…you really “gots” to go. And it has absolutely nothing to do with thinking you’re better than someone, it’s really about getting rid of the people who don’t want better for you.

So in the spirit of brevity, I’ll keep it very short, sweet, and simple and say this: not everything goes on Facebook, and Instagram. Not everything of private matters needs to be recapped for the public to see. And lastly, not all friends (and even family) are good for business—especially those “it-aint-that-serious”-folk. Next time someone spews something like that at you, graciously respond, “I bet if you had something worthwhile you would know otherwise.” The best advice I could ever lend is to get you some friends who have something to lose. That way everybody becomes good for business.

Proverbs 13:20
“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”