In the early days of database marketing, I had a client that specialized in compiling personal information for banks and other corporate entities. One of the salesmen described his job as selling blue sky. The practice has been common in tech because usually the blue sky eventually morphs into a working product.
I have to wonder whether Elizabeth Holmes would be in prison if her timing had been different. Was the problem, they were too early in the research to make the claims she made? In other words, if her funding had been adequate to sustain the research without making up results, would Theranos have eventually been able to do what they claimed? Stanford scientists now say they can measure thousands of molecules with a single drop of blood.
Why am I talking about blue sky anyway?
It’s the start of a new year. We all want to put our best foot forward. At the same time, we know that statistically we’re likely to fail at accomplishing the things we resolve to accomplish. This makes us especially susceptible to falling for claims that are nothing but blue sky.
We’ll reach for supplements instead of choosing a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, protein, and grains over a long period of time. We’ll try semiglutide to be swimsuit ready instead of hitting the gym. We’ll purchase an ab stimulator instead of developing a core strengthening routine to build that 6-pack from scratch.
We aren’t really trying to cheat. We just lack confidence in our ability to make a plan and stick with it. So when someone dangles a shiny, pretty thing that sounds easy and gives us a scapegoat if it doesn’t work, we bite.
By the time we recognize, or are forced to admit, we have latched onto blue sky rather than a solid solution, we may be so far into the year that starting over seems pointless. We have sabotaged ourselves with costly wishful thinking.
If it sounds like I want you to do things the hard way, you have a point. But it’s not that I want you to suffer or be masochistic. In fact, I want you to succeed…in the long-term. And few roads to long-term health improvement require little effort.
Binge-watching my way to strong biceps is possible, but only if I’m lifting weights while I watch. Visualization alone will not bring me the results I desire.
So before you get swept up in 2025’s latest, greatest butter coffee, mushroom elixir boom, explore whether peer reviewed research has concluded that the latest trend is more effective in the long-term (with equal or less side effects) than a healthy diet and exercise. Like it or not, trends rarely beat the tried and true.
Hopefully, you won’t see this post as raining on your parade! There are many reasons to feel optimistic. We believe you can make positive, healthy changes without trying to grab onto blue sky.
Wishing you lots of blue sky in 2025 – the kind that comes with beautiful sunny days!