What are some things that money can't buy?

Most beautiful and awesome things in the world that matters the most for long-term cannot be bought by money.

1. Money can't buy Love - True companionship is not about the bauble. It involves emotional availability, real interest in someone else, some personal introspection, a sense of humor, kindness, empathy for others and an ability to listen, reveal and share. They cost nothing financially, but do require real emotional energy. It might not come easily to you if you have a naturally glib nature, but those are the things that will really draw someone to you.

2. Money can't buy Happiness - Respect really matters. According to a new study, feeling one is respected and admired ranks over having money when it comes to what makes people feel a greater sense of happiness and well-being. One of the reasons why money doesn't buy happiness is that people quickly adapt to the new level of income or wealth. Lottery winners, for example, are initially happy but then return to their original level of happiness quickly. Being respected, having influence, and being socially integrated just never gets old. 

3. Money can't buy Health - We can’t buy good health, no matter how much money we have. We can buy profound medical treatments but actual good health is not for sale. Good health is vitality, vigor, high energy, emotional equilibrium, mental clarity and physical endurance. If you have your health you have more wealth than all the riches in the world. A healthy mind, heart, reserves of stamina and an abundance of vreative energy to draw on, will have the world literally lying at your feet – with good health you have it all. 

4. Money can't buy Peace - Think of the amount of money that governments have spent over the years in the name of “peace.” Has it worked? Nope. Peace isn’t something you buy. Peace only comes from acting fairly, humanely, and treating others (people and countries) as we would want to be treated. And even then, it might not be possible. But for sure money won’t buy it. 

5. Money can't buy stable Marriage - You can buy cars and houses, boats and vacations, jewelry and jets. But you can't buy a really good marriage. And the more that material things matter to you, the poorer your marriage is likely to be, according to new research from BYU and William Paterson University. Couples who care less passionately about money and possessions tend to be happier.

6. Money can't buy Respect - Money, whether in the form of cash or products and services, does not promote the growth of respect in one person towards another. Instead it promotes the growth of greed, denial, and subterfuge. Respect can only be earned. Both through hard work and honest deeds. People who try to do the right thing and strive to bring the best out in others is slowly building up respect, for the people who receive benefits from a person's actions directly, or others who observe such noble behavior.

7. Money can't buy Conscience - Lot of people would want to purchase the ability to clean their conscience, but as we all know, this can only be done through the character-building exercises of apologizing, making things right, and setting the record straight. But money cannot.

8. Money can't buy Empathy - When we imagine ourselves in someone else's shoes, for just a moment, we gain a better sense of what life looks like to them and what challenges, issues, and joys they have in their day-to-day. Again, money cannot buy you Empathy.

9. Money can't buy Dreams - Dreams are, of course, free, and no one can buy better dreams. 

10. Money can't buy Good Ideas - Ditto. If you're looking for good ideas, you'll have to come up with them yourself. The flip side of this is that if you yourself have a good idea, patent it, and bring it to the marketplace, you may be able to receive money for your good idea.

11. Money can't buy Talent - Self-explanatory. Someone can take lessons or tutoring to improve natural talent, but you either have this or you don't.

12. Money can't buy Time - Money cannot buy time. Each second it passes and no amount of money will buy a second back.

Money can't buy Priceless moments -

A First Kiss from Someone Special  
The Feeling of Self-Accomplishment  
Surprise Encounters with Long-Lost Friends 
An Unexpected Compliment  
The sweet voice of our children calling out to us ‘Mom!' or 'Dad'!
Seeing our children smiling!
Watching our children receive Award! at school.
Time with family
Baby smiles and bonding.
The way a daughter makes her 99-year-old great-grandfather smile when nothing else can.
Son looking across the table one morning and saying, ‘You know Mom, you are really beautiful.’
An infant’s firm grasp of your finger
When our children look at you like you’re the only person in the world.
The look on our childrens face when they’ve accomplished something meaningful and felt proud of themselves.
The Sound of Raindrops Outside  
Randomly Hearing Your Favorite Song 
Amazing Talents You Are Born With 
Exercising Your 5 Senses – Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. 
Sharing a Good Laugh with Friends and Family  
Watching the Sunrise and Sunset with Your Beloved 
The ‘Pump’ After a Great Workout  
When an Unlikely Someone Remembers Your Birthday  
When Your Pet Snuggles Up Next to You 
A Long Hug from a Loved One 
Cuddling a Newborn Baby 
Sitting Around a Bonfire with Your Friends 


Money can buy -

Medicine, but not health
It brings you food, but not appetite
Acquaintances, but not friends
Servants, but not loyalty
A house, but not a home
Days of joy, but no peace nor happiness.

A Zero Sum Game with Lead generation

Online lead generation is thriving. There are now publicly traded lead gen companies, like Quinstreet (valued at almost $500M) and BankRate (valued at $2.4B); a bi-coastal conference – LeadsCon – that now attracts almost 3000 people per conference and was recently acquired in a ‘huge buyout’; and even a silly LinkedIn group that was founded five years ago now has 39,000 members interested in online lead gen!

In sum, lead gen is no longer the ugly step-sister that no one wants to talk about – it’s an established, multi-billion dollar industry that is an integral part of marketing for many, many businesses. Ironically, however, the success of the industry may not be a good thing for most lead sellers. The maturity of the industry is making it harder and harder for “the little guy” to compete in lead gen.

So is lead gen a ZERO SUM GAME ? (refer to my earlier blog "Few definitions relevant to ZERO-SUM-GAME")

As we see it, lead gen has become a “zero sum” game – as the big players get bigger, they take away opportunities for the small players, until eventually, only the biggest players in each vertical remain. Here are five reasons it’s hard for all but the largest lead sellers to survive today:

1: Lead Quality: Simply selling leads is no longer the end game – the end game is selling “quality” leads, generally described as leads that convert into paying customers. I’ve noted this in the past, but lead gen is really a misnomer to describe this sort of transaction, it’s really just a revenue share. For lead sellers, this means that you have to work a lot harder to get paid, and you are constantly evaluated on your ability to consistently bring in quantity and quality.

2: Economies of Scale: Big lead sellers can negotiate better deals with partners and thus get their leads cheaper. They can also “blend” high quality and low quality leads more seamlessly, which enables them to buy and sell low quality leads that a small player could not.

3: Diminished Arbitrage Opportunities: Five years ago, you could buy “San Mateo bad credit refinance mortgage rates” on Google AdWords and potentially be the only bidder on this keyword. Today, a combination of Ad Words changes that largely eliminate “long tail” keywords and much savvier competition makes it unlikely that you can buy a click for $.05 and make $50. Most online marketing arbitrage opportunities have gone by the wayside.

4: Buyer Knowledge: Most large lead buyers now have sophisticated in-house teams and technology to evaluate their lead sources. In some cases, lead buyers are acquiring their leads directly, through in-house marketing teams. The bottom line is this: five years ago, you could still “fool” some buyers with bad leads, today you can’t.

5: Regulation: Federal and state regulations have made it more expensive to operate a lead selling business. CAN-SPAM is the most widely stated example of regulation that has impacted lead sellers, but there’s also been increased attention by the FTC and proposed regulation in Europe that is taking its toll.

Taking all of these factors together, you need to have a pretty large operation to be a successful lead generator. From lead quality technology, business development teams, smart ad buyers, and talented lawyers. Lead gen just isn’t the domain of ‘mom and pop’ shops out of a garage like it once was.