Think about your job for a second… What do you do? Does it benefit mankind? Are you proud of what you do? Can you sleep well at night? In Buddhism we have something called the Noble Eightfold Path and within that is something called Right Livelihood. Right livelihood says we ought not to engage in trades or occupations which, either directly or indirectly, result in harm for other living beings. What are those?
- Business in weapons: trading in all kinds of weapons and instruments for killing.
- Business in human beings: slave trading, prostitution, or the buying and selling of children or adults.
- Business in meat: “meat” refers to the bodies of beings after they are killed. This includes breeding animals for slaughter.
- Business in intoxicants: manufacturing or selling intoxicating drinks or addictive drugs.
- Business in poison: producing or trading in any kind of poison or a toxic product designed to kill.
It also means being honest and ethical in business dealings, not to cheat, lie or steal. Ok so there are businesses where lying is part of the job e.g., acting, modeling, magicians. Yet many people actually cheat, lie or steal in their jobs when it is not required. What comes to mind immediately? Anyone else thinking used car salesman or auto mechanic? How about real estate sales? Let’s just go out on a limb and say almost, if not all, sales? Most organized religions?
This has been on my mind lately as I often pass by a kiosk selling these rubber bracelets that are ‘embedded with holograms’ or ‘imprinted at a frequency of 9Hz’ or ‘constructed with Negative Ions’ and can do any and all of the following:
- Increase balance
- Improve flexibility
- Stimulate better circulation
- Give clarity of thought
- Boost stamina and sports performance
- Improve overall well-being
Really? A rubber bracelet can boost my golf game? Oh yeah, and they are supposed to help arthritis and joint pain and migraines and a plethora of other ailments. I have heard a worker at one of the Advanced Technology kiosks say to a potential customer that if they were on medication they could lower their dosage. What? How dangerous is that? So this worker was telling the potential customer that she could lower her blood pressure mediation or whatever. Wow!
These workers claim the negative ion bracelets are endorsed by top doctors and surgeons world wide…including Dr. Oz. Well, that should tell you something right there.
Since the kiosk is in a mall inside a casino in Las Vegas, this same worker was even heard to say that with their negative ion bracelet “You can go out drinking tonight and you will not have a hangover in the morning.” Another salesman said it would bring luck on the casino gambling floor.
Wow. A wonder drug around my wrist. How come my doctor isn’t prescribing these negative ion bracelets to every single one of his patients?
Because negative ion bracelets are A SCAM!
My main man Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban knows it is a scam too. In a video posted to his YouTube account, Cuban spoke out about the junk science behind the bracelets, threw them into the trash, and asked the NBA what it could possibly have been thinking as the NBA has partnered with Power Balance who makes versions with all the NBA team logos. The NBA passed them out to the teams and asked all players to wear (promote) the bracelets…which the NBA sells for about $32.
Funny… Power Balance, even paid a $57 million out-of-court class-action settlement after consumers alleged rampant false advertising regarding the bracelets’ capabilities. That payment forced them into bankruptcy, but they’re still making them.
So how does it work? Why are the people duped? Watch Brian Brushwood from Scam School explain it in this video.
The workers at T Bands say the negative ions are mixed into the rubber in a big mixer and then formed into the bracelets. They say they negative ions then leak out of the bracelets and absorbed into your skin and into your blood stream and do their magic. They tell the customer their negative ion T Band Advanced Technology bracelets are so strong you do not even need to actually wear it but you can simply have it in your purse or pocket and the negative ions will still find their way into your blood stream.
What is funny is if you watch them performing the strength and balance tests, they are wearing the bracelets themselves while they touch the customer in such a way to demonstrate how weak or out of balance the customer is. But if you can have the bracelet in your pocket and it will work, why is it not working when the sales person is wearing one and actually touching the potential purchaser? On top of that, the sales person is always wearing the top of the line bracelet and since that one is the strongest version they have then it certainly should effect the strength or balance of the customer right?
They also say at T Band Advanced Technology that you can wear their negative ion bracelet for a while and it will “charge up” your body which is why you don’t see Tiger Woods wearing it while he plays golf.
How can the people working at these kiosks sleep at night? Maybe they believe the hype? Are they just blind and non-thinking sheep? Not all of them. I asked one of the workers and he admitted he knows “it is all in their heads”. Yet he lies to each and every one of his customers.
There is a company that sells these pieces of garbage that used to be called Life Strength. Sounds an awful lot like the Lance Armstrong Foundation Live Strong. Coincidence? I think not.
Here is a video of Emery at Ardent Atheist “Exposing the Power Bands Scam”
The bottom line is all of these negative ion bracelets are a scam. They are nothing more than a trendy placebo effect. Whether they are made by Endevr, Life Strength, T Bands Advanced Technology or whoever else, the only person receiving any real benifit is the guy who owns the company and ripping off the consumer.
Many times I try to leave you with a challenge. Here it is-
I ask you, are you doing the right thing at your work and in your lives? Are you being honest with your customers? With your family and friends? With yourself? If not why not? Is your boss down your throat to make more sales? Are you gunning for that bonus if you beat the guys in the San Diego offices?
I challenge each of you to look at the way you carry yourself at work. I challenge you to be honest with your customers. So what if you don’t get all those silly Top Salesman plaques. Maybe, just maybe, you will sleep a little better at night and have a little respect for your work, yourself and your fellow man.
Maybe that will truly bring strength and balance to your life.
Do you wear these negative ion bracelets? Have you seen the demonstrations? What is your opinion? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.