The idea that someone would pay another person to file hardened dead skin off their feet, paint their toe nails, and clip the little vestigial claw-thing off their pinky toe is ridiculous. Actually, the ridiculous isn’t that somebody would fork over the money for another person to do stuff to their feet that they themselves could do; the ridiculous part is that someone actually does such things for money. That’s a career? It’s just weird. And it’s stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Seriously. Pedicures are stupid.
Of course, you could say the same about so many things. I mean, who would pay a grown man tens of thousands of dollars to essentially babysit other grown people all day, checking up after them just to make sure that they are actually doing their job? Would you pay that much if the people being babysat were experienced at their jobs? Masters of their trade? Fast approaching the 10,000-hour mark? People at that level require less supervision, right? Less constant meddling?
The truth is that chances are good that there is someone willing to pay good money for the thing that you are willing and able to do. If you add passion and a healthy dose of dedication, chances are someone is willing to pay even more than that first group of people. Given the opportunity, most of us elect to pay a premium for the pleasure of receiving the goods and services of a true artisan. Given the opportunity, most of us can be that artisan…and there’s probably someone willing to pay a premium for us.
For the record, I clip my own vestigial claw-thing, but that’s just because a pedicure is not something for which I choose to pay a premium. My Wusthof kitchen knives, on the other hand, are a totally different story…
Illuminate Possibilities 