I have a question about the curses?

[loadedkaos]

How long does it usually take for a curse to set in? I've listened to the cum curse for a couple of days and have since changed my mind about it. I don't think it has affected me much it still taste nasty the first time I've tried haven't tasted it since. I do feel compelled to listen to it though but I think that will go away does any one have any input on if I should purchase the anti-curse or just wait it out?

[sandy82]

Hi loadedkaos,

If it were me, I would wait it out. If you haven't felt the effects of the curse, chances are that you won't.

I gave up smoking, using nicotine gum and then nicotine patches. Then, for six months afterwards, I chewed regular chewing gum because I was used to the gum. Nicotine is very addictive and it was hard going for a while.

I can tell you what a professional hypnotist told me on line, in a PM. He says that the more he charges for end-smoking hypnosis sessions, the more his clients believe in it. Sounds very cynical to me.

Anyway, my suggestion is to think about something else. Chew gum, rent a movie, go things you like to do. I bet that after several days you won't be thinking about the curse at all.

Hope you're having a good Sunday!

S.

[loadedkaos]

One thing I know about hypnosis is that it doesn't stick if you don't keep it up. That's just how the subconcious works, it is so use to you changeing your mind it just doesn't stick to one idea. So I think I will be alright as long as I don't play along.

[cardigan]

A little comment for Sandy82: The hypnotist, that told you, that the more he charged, the better the succes-rate of his treatments were is right, but he's not cynical. Merely being very realistic.

I am not a professional hypnotist in the sense that I don't charge people for my services. It's still a hobby to me, and I perform the things I do for free, because I mostly treat friends or relatives, and it allows me to have somebody to work with. This way many people who are not alltogether serious about wanting to quit smoking or loosing weight or whatever I am asked to help them with, will still think that they should give it a shot - if they get the offer. It won't cost them a cent, and it MIGHT just work. But this also gives me some subjects, that are not very motivated and don't really care if the continue smoking or being fat or whatever - or not. It's nearly like a parlorgame to them. On the other hand - if I were to charge a hell of a lot of money to make people quit smoking, then I'd have next to nobody to practise on, but whenever I would get hold of somebody, that was willing to pay my fee, they would be so motivated that this should not fail, that success would be almost automatic.

It's like if you buy a new computer, and you really pay a lot of money, you'll be very happy with the machine and very slow to think that it might not be better than the standard Chinese computer, that only costs half the price. When in reality the two machines could easily have identical data, or the Chinese one might actually be easier to handle in some respects!

On the other hand if you DO discover that a similar computer at half the price is better than the one you paid through your nose to get, you will be very dissatisfied and will never buy a computer from that firm again! (I never said Compaq) :lol:

Belief is everything, and the more you pay, the more you believe - or something like that.

:lol:

[sandy82]

Cardigan, welcome back.

An interesting view. I think the causation varies slightly.

For fuller response, see PM.

[Jack]

I wouldn't call it cynical either. I would call it motivation. If someone were to come to me that was completely motivated to do something other than the smoking/drinking/over-eating/whatever then I would charge them a regular fee. However, someone who's just bleh about learning to do something other than their current habit, the more money they spend the more they're usually motivated to accept the change(s).

I have no more cents to give. Inflation has made me poor.

[makidas]

Heh, americans, charge too much, it's too expensive but probably really good, too little and it's probably cheaply made. You could charge two prices for the same product and people would buy it at both prices. Need proof? Walk down any Supermarket cereal isle.

[ekluise]

Heh, americans, charge too much, it's too expensive but probably really good, too little and it's probably cheaply made. You could charge two prices for the same product and people would buy it at both prices. Need proof? Walk down any Supermarket cereal isle.

But I buy the cheaper cereal BECAUSE it IS the same, but cheaper. If it were actually of cheaper QUALITY, I would purchase the more expensive kind. Although I usually just wait until the brand is on sale anyway.

[sandy82]

Jack, you may well be right here. The first example of the self-motivated person makes good sense. I'm trying to nail down the causation/motivation in the second instance.

Among the number of people who come in with a bleh attitude (let's say 20 people), how many of those 20 are likely to leave if quoted a high price? How many are likely to become more serious about the treatment if quoted that same high price?

It seems to me that you hit (at least) three thresholds of "diminishing participation." Let's suppose that the normal fee is $75 per session. The first threshold is hit when you mention the $75 to these 20, separately of course. Some won't pay $75. Let's say eight out of 20. The next threshold is reached when the gradual increase in price causes the greatest number of the remaining 14 to become genuinely serious. For instance, five of the remaining 12 may go from bleh to absent when the price hits $100 per session, but the seven others may become serious enough to benefit from the procedure. For the sake of simplicity, I leave out the variable of shades of seriousness evoked within individuals as the price rises. I also exclude the possibility of bazaar-pricing...charging each what the traffic will bear.

Does one develop an instinct on where to pitch the price?

For the sake of the example, I omit the fact that there are two economic charts at work here: maximizing the number of serious participants as a function of price rise, and maximizing gross proceeds as a function of price.

I wouldn't call it cynical either. I would call it motivation. If someone were to come to me that was completely motivated to do something other than the smoking/drinking/over-eating/whatever then I would charge them a regular fee. However, someone who's just bleh about learning to do something other than their current habit, the more money they spend the more they're usually motivated to accept the change(s).

[Jack]

Does one develop an instinct on where to pitch the price?

Yes, one learns the art of negotiation. Price may or may not be a factor for everyone. There are people for whom the price doesn't matter so long as it is not outlandish. There are people who fight for every penny. The people for whom money matters are easier to work with because you have a known, easy way to get their motivation behind the work. For the people who don't care about the price one needs to find something else to motivate them. For some people it's health. For others it is how they appear to others. So on and so forth.