Yes, Maduro's regime is sickening and oppressive, collaborating with Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and China. No tears should be shed if he disappears. However, one must absolutely understand that in the 21st century, it is a serious problem when a massive superpower simply abducts the leader of a sovereign nation and orchestrates a regime change to serve its own economic interests.
It is abundantly clear that Venezuelan opposition leader María Machado is already warming up on the sidelines, backed by the Trump administration. She will be landed in Caracas to replace Maduro as president. She will likely sign massive contracts with American energy giants very quickly to develop oil fields—deals that will generate vast wealth for Trump and his inner circle, while granting the U.S. access to critical resources and rare minerals. She will do this after canceling similar contracts with Russia and China.
This is a form of modern colonialism, and it remains unclear how the average Venezuelan citizen will benefit from it. It truly looks and feels like a rerun of Operation "Just Cause," carried out by the U.S. in Panama in 1989, which toppled Manuel Noriega's regime.
bouncer at a strip club taught me more about sales than any course
$300K/year
works 4 nights a week
no degree
barely speaks English
watched him turn away a bachelor party of 12 guys
"sorry full tonight"
(club was half empty)
they begged
offered $500 to get in
he said $1,000
they paid
i asked him after:
"bro it was empty why'd you do that"
he looked at me like i was stupid
"if i let them in easy, they spend $200
if i make them pay to enter, they spend $2,000
they already decided the night is expensive
so they act expensive"
tested this on consulting:
before: "$5K for the project"
response: "let me think about it"
after: "i'm at capacity but let me see if i can move things around"
[wait 3 days]
"ok i can fit you in but it's $8K because of the rush"
close rate went from 34% to 71%
the lesson:
people don't value what comes easy
make them work for access
then charge more for the privilege
scarcity isn't a tactic
it's a filter
use it
self-sabotage is also:
- not asking for help
- rejecting praise
- isolating yourself when hurt
- saying “yes” to everything
- putting your needs on hold
- procrastinating on important tasks
- watching too much news
- trying to be perfect