My Niece’s Lesson to You
Never again will I doubt the advice of my nine year old niece.
A month ago, Debbie advised me to sell high and buy low. I listened
and was happy I did.
Two months ago she advised me to not to wear white socks with a
dress shirt. I haven’t had a wardrobe malfunction since.
Six months ago she advised me to stop playing with her Barbies and
get back to work. I begrudgingly agreed and was rewarded
immediately when my wife came home five minutes later. If it wasn’t
for my niece’s suggestion, I would have had a very awkward
situation to explain my way out of 
Every piece of advice my niece has given me I’ve followed, almost
blindly. On her suggestion, I’ve stopped wearing shorts in the
Winter and I’ve started eating more broccoli (her favorite
vegetable).
Every single nugget of guidance she’s given me I’ve adhered to.
…Until last week…
Last Thursday we had Debbie to stay for a few days while my wife’s
sister went away for a few days. Unfortunately, during this time, I
finally rejected her counsel and I’ve been paying for it ever since.
At a little after 4, I picked her from school (as I was instructed
to do) and obediently listened as I was reprimanded for not wearing
my seatbelt.
I drove as Debbie directed me to the bakery we go to for a snack
when she stays. When we got there, she ordered for us.
Debbie was enjoying dunking her cookies in her milk as I was
waiting for my coffee to arrive.
As soon as the coffee was delivered to me, Debbie took it away. She
looked me dead in the eye and told me that her teacher had told her
that coffee was addictive and bad for your health.
I looked at her and couldn’t help but crack a smile. Debbie was so
serious. The worried look on her face made her nine year old
forehead wrinkle and her lips pout. She looked adorable.
I tried not to laugh as I explained to her that while she is
correct and that coffee is addictive and not very healthy, it is
alright for me to drink it.
I explained to her that coffee is an adult drink and that what she
heard just applies to little girls.
I love my niece and I normally am thrilled to be constantly
corrected and adjusted by her, but this was my coffee. I can’t give
up my coffee.
I gave Debbie a soft kiss on her cheek and thanked her for her
help. I told her that I really do appreciate her guidance, but that
I’m not addicted to coffee.
She asked me how often I drink coffee and I told her that I usually
drink two to three cups a day.
She asked me if I could stop and I told her that I could if I
wanted to.
She then asked me the puncher. She asked if I needed it to wake up
in the morning. I thought about it for a second and the thought
started to penetrate that maybe she was right. I didn’t know how to
answer her.
If I told her that I did in fact need my coffee to get my butt
moving in the morning, she’d continue to worry about me until I
gave it up.
If I told her that I didn’t need coffee then I’d be lying.
I did the only thing that I could possibly do in this situation. I
avoided the direct question.
I told her that while I know she likes to look out for me and while
I like the fact that she looks out for me, that I am still the
adult and I know what’s best for me.
I took my coffee back and we continued our mid-afternoon snack
happily.
During the drive home I got the sense that something was wrong,
that things weren’t quite right, but I didn’t know what.
When we got home, Debbie ran to her room to start on her homework
and I went to my office to continue working.
Throughout dinner, things seemed to be normal and I had already
forgotten the coffee incident.
The night continued uneventfully and we all eventually went to
sleep like nothing had changed.
But something had.
I first noticed it when I drove her to school the next morning. I
wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and she didn’t say anything about it.
The same thing happened when I picked her up later in the day and I
decided to ask her what was wrong.
She responded that nothing was wrong.
I asked her why she didn’t tell me to put my seatbelt on and she
responded by saying that I was an adult, that I should know how to
do things for myself by now.
I looked at her long and hard, probably longer and harder than I’d
ever looked at her. I knew right then and there that I had messed
up. I knew that I’ve broken her innocence and exposed her to just
one of the harsh realities of the world. I knew that our
relationship would never be the same again. I knew that as time
progressed, we’d grow farther and farther apart until we resembled
every other uncle and niece team in the western world.
I guess this is all part of growing up.
I didn’t say anything in response. I just smiled at her with a
particularly new mix of pride and disappointment.
Debbie taught me a very important lesson that I wanted to share
with you.
Whether you take another person’s advice or not is up to you. No
one is going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do.
And although I knew the way to the bakery and that I should be
wearing my seatbelt, it made me feel good to know that my opinion
was reinforced by someone else’s.
This psychological trait can go a long way in the sales world. If
you can reinforce a consumers existing belief, he will buy what you
want him to.
The key to reinforcement is trust. It’s why we use articles to
promote affiliate products. We know that if we can convince our
traffic that we are trustworthy, they will buy from us.
What I’ve found to be even more powerful than articles are reviews
and testimonials. Especially those that are credible and
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As I mentioned yesterday, I have seen my own visitor value triple
since I started using reviews as opposed to articles.
If you’d like to see the same results, I recommend signing up for a
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Best Wishes,
Ben Shaffer
PS. This site is created by Anik Singal of Affiliate Classroom
fame. Trust me that this is something you’re going to want to sit
up and pay attention to.
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