The Cockroach Test

Let me ask you a question? Imagine I would offer you $10 for eating 10 living cockroaches. Would you do it? Now listen, I raise the ante and offer you $100. How does that feel? If you hear me saying "you get $1000 bucks" does that change something? Here is the ultimate offer 1 million dollars for eating 10 living cockroaches right now. What is your feeling now?

I am sure, if you pictured the disgusting image you have shaken. You would never do it for one buck. At least most of us won't. But, the higher the gratification the more you start thinking about it seriously. Right?

What does this tell us? Seems like there is something we connect to lots of money that let us consider doing things we usually won't do. What is it?

The answer is: It is the balance between pleasure and pain. We tend to connect having money, lots of money in particular, with lots of pleasure. We imagine what we could do with all that money, Buy a house, travel, buy cars, dine out in the most luxurious restaurants, pay our kids a great education, have freedom, have fun and joy.

The interesting thing is that we would take some pain even if we are not sure about the pleasure we can gain in the future. After all, before you would get the money you have to eat the cockroaches. A future pleasure can overturn a present pain.

Now, why have I published this article in the business section?

Because the principle is so basic that it is the guiding principle in business as well. Do you procrastinate? Sometimes maybe? The reason is that the pain of not doing what you should do is less than the pleasure you have by doing what you do right now. We all want to avoid pain and gain pleasure. The more pleasure we feel the more pain it needs to get us away from what we do.

This is an important experience for every business owner. So, let me repeat this: