Your Results Are Guaranteed

Everything has some sort of guarantee. On the radio, I heard an advertisement for a dietary supplement that would help you lose fat and create lean muscle. I always listen to those ads with some amount of skepticism. Each one has some sort of guarantee. I know there’s got to be a catch, but often can’t figure it out.

This time, the guarantee was “your results are guaranteed or your money back.” I thought for a minute, and suddenly the light turned on. “Your results are guaranteed.” Of course they are. No specific results are guaranteed, just “your results.” That means WYGIWYG — What You Get Is What You Get. Get it?

There’s no guarantee at all.

The more I think about it, that’s all we are ever guaranteed. Its popular to tell children that they can be whatever they want to be. Too often, they will then continue through school in a lackadaisical way, and then go out and expect to get a job making enough to move to Highland Park, or at least to the better side of the tracks. “Anyone can be President” we are told. Even if they try really hard, few will make it to Highland Park, and even fewer will be President, or even Mayor of a small town. It's all true, and it's all a lie. The problem is that no matter what we want, there’s no guarantee we can achieve it.

The only real truth is that YOUR results are guaranteed.