Crappy Process, Well Worth It…

My first colonoscopy mistake came on Monday when I munched half a bag of popcorn while watching the eclipse.

I’d forgotten: No popcorn allowed within seven days before the procedure. Popcorn munching was Monday. The procedure was three says later — on Thursday. (Oops!)Ā šŸ˜¬

I called the doctor to confess, and his nurse said, “No problem. You’ll just have to begin the prep a few hours early.”

When it comes to a colonoscopy, “prep” is one of those words that sounds WAY too gentle.

They ought to call it “Colon Blow,” but SNL already used that term to name a high-fiber cereal in one of it’s advertising spoofs:

Anyhow, my popcorn mishap meant I had to begin the “CB” prep on Tuesday night, instead of Wednesday.

I’ll skip past the Tuesday part and fast forward to Wednesday night — when the heavy-duty prep began.

It began with a serving of polyethylene glycol 3350, sodium ascorbate, sodium sulfate, ascorbic acid, sodium chloride, and potassium chloride.

Big Pharma calls this “Plenvu” (who names this stuff?)

It’s a white powder (looks like the sand on Marco Island’s beach) that comes in two packets, each containing about one cup of the stuff.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, I mixed the first packet with 16 oz of water and forced it down.

It tasted like seawater — with an extra truckload of saltĀ šŸš›, a dash of Industrial Chemical ExtractĀ šŸ­, and a dollop of Lemon PledgeĀ šŸ«§.

(Yum!Ā šŸ˜‹)

Then I waited for the stuff to… well… you know.

After lots of trips to the potty and little sleep, it was 2 a.m. Time for Plenvu, Round 2.

A few hours later, Melissa drove me and my empty bowels to the colonoscopy place at 7:30 a.m.

By 8 a.m., I was wearing one of those open-in-the-back hospital gowns, and the nurse was saying, “The hard part is over.”

She wasn’t kidding!

I laid on my back on the rolling bed.

The nurse positioned a pillow under my neck.

She covered me with a heated blanket.

An orderly rolled me into the operating room.

The doctor greeted me.

The nurse asked me to roll on my side.

The anesthesiologist told me she was about to shoot some propofol into my IV.

(They call propofol “the milk” because it’s a creamy, white liquid. Michael Jackson was reportedly addicted to the stuff. His rogue doctor regularly hooked Michael to a propofol IV to help The King of Pop nap.)

Anyhow, the nurse waved her syringe full of the milk in front of me.

The doctor said, “Enjoy your nap.”

And the fun began.

The last thing I remember: The nurse lifted the gown from my b-hind, and I thought, “I know why they call it Plenvu. They now have a “plen vu” of my bottom.

I passed out laughing.

I woke a few minutes later, groggy and calm. I’d missed the entire bit where they shove a… well… you know.

The nurse told me I’d “done great.”

No polyps. No cancer…

…and that’s the point.

My dad died of colon cancer when he was 51 in 1990 — long before routine colonoscopies were a thing.

That makes me “high-risk” for colon cancer. The disease hangs over me like the sword of Damocles.

So I’ve had seven colonoscopies since I turned 30.

Colon cancer is among the deadliest of all cancers. But it’s also the most preventable.

You can see it coming and do something about it (remove pre-cancerous polyps)…

…if you get routine colonoscopies.

The “prep” is never fun. And the idea of a doctor putting a scope up your colon isn’t on most people’s bucket lists.

But that cost is well worth it…

…for the PEACE OF MIND.

We humans crave peace of mind. We’ll pay plenty to get it.

And therein lies the marketing lesson.

You may think this email is only about colons and such…

…but really it’s a challenge to you…

…to find the peace of mind in what you sell.

Most of us — in some way, shape, or form — sell peace of mind.

Attorneys, financial planners, tax resolution specialists, marketing advisors, coaches, consultants…

…we all enable our clients to journey from the chaos of concern to the peace that come with calm and confidence.

Evoke that journey in your marketing and prospects will pay the price to buy what you sell.

Don't go away yet..

p.s. Coaches, authors, and consultants hire me to power-up their creative content and storytelling to captivate prospects, stand-out and book more business.

Whenever you're ready, here are several ways I can help you become a storytelling stand-out so you'll land more clients without pitching and prodding:

1) Get theĀ Story Power Profit PackĀ -- 52 Strategies, Tips, and Tactics Ā to Transform Your Content from Ignored to Adored.

2) Watch theĀ free, 7-minute Micro-Training: ā€œThe 3 Most Important Storytelling Keys to Captivate Prospects and Inspire Them to Act -- Without Pitching and Prodding.ā€

3) Become a Story Power VIP: Master how to discover, assemble, and deliver business-building stories. Twice-monthly live masterclasses. Members-only content. One-on-one feedback and consulting sessions. And moreā€¦ If you'd like to learn more about our VIP program, just reply to this email and put "Story Power VIP" in the subject line. Iā€™ll contact you with more details.

4) Work with me one-on-one: If youā€™re interested in working directly with me -- to discover, assemble, and deliver powerful, business-building stories -- simply reply to this email and change the subject line to "Private Client." Tell me a little about yourself, your business, and what you'd like to accomplish, and I'll reply to discuss options.

5) Invite me to speak at an event: I can tailor a presentation that meets the specific needs of your organization. Informative. Entertaining. Virtual or live. Potential for continuing education credits when applicable for your group. If interested, reply to this email and change the subject line to ā€œSpeaking Engagement.ā€ Iā€™ll circle back to discuss the possibilities.

Want to get great content like this...

...delivered straight to your inbox?

Join our email list...

Hidden
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Post Categories

Previous Post

Next Post

Tom Ruwitch

Tom Ruwitch is the founder and CEO of Story Power Marketing. For more than 30 years, he has helped businesses grow by delivering powerful stories using a variety of different media.