Did you know people shoplift boxes of condoms more frequently than any other item found a pharmacy’s shelves? Think about it for a second. The reason becomes fairly obvious: people are too embarrassed to be seen with condoms in their possession, let along buying them. And perhaps you’re one of them—the “embarrassed,” not the “shoplifter,” that is… Afraid a friend might enter the pharmacy at the point of purchase. A family member. A neighbor. Your boss! Even confronting the cashier who rings up your, um, purchase, or the person standing behind you in line is a potential source of discomfort. Suddenly anyone you encounter equates what you’re holding with your blushing face, immediately realizing what you’ll be (or at least hope you’ll be) doing that evening. Of course, you could be among the brave who march straight to the counter, box in hand held like it were a trophy, greeting everyone as you go. If you are, you’re luckier than many who become overwhelmed to the point of simply replacing the box and leaving, or, because they cannot do without, shoving the condoms into their pocket and, well, hoping they remembered to lace their sneakers tight that morning.
Of course harrowing experiences for the easily embarrassed do not limit themselves to the pharmacy. In fact, have you ever considered what books people shoplift most frequently from your local bookstore (to likewise avoid embarrassment)? If you guessed self-help books, you’re right. (Interestingly, as a genre, they still manage to outsell any other category on the shelves despite the hordes of shoppers with particularly sticky fingers and deep coat pockets). And not just self-help books related to sexual techniques, marital problems, infidelity or other relationship issues, but also those related to our physical well being, i.e. how to(s) on Health & Fitness.
For example, you may have an issue with acne, bad breath or your weight; browsing the self-help section for a cure of fitness regime only indicates to others that you’re self-conscious about what may be equally obvious to them. Or, you may have an issue with something previously unrecognized by the public including premature ejaculation, intense social anxiety, or warts that suddenly, even without witnessing your issue firsthand, become apparent to others as you flip through titles on the latest remedies. Thus self-help books, while partly the bookstores “bread and butter” are also their “condoms,” so to speak. Shoppers, likewise, are not only too embarrassed to be caught browsing the self-help shelves, but are doubly embarrassed to then parade throughout the store carrying whichever book applies to their specific issue or perceived inadequacy, only to hand it over to a cashier, immediately letting him or her in on the shopper’s previously kept secret. Harrowing indeed!
But, instead of either not buying a book because you are too embarrassed (thus allowing whatever issue ails you to fester and grow), or worse yet shoplifting what is supposed to be self-help, not self-hurt, and potentially subjecting yourself to criminal charges or jail time, you can now find similar information, and often the exact same books, online in an eBook format. Any reader, formerly too embarrassed or otherwise noncommittal about owning up to and confronting their respective issues, perceived inadequacies or habitual vices, can now pursue the diets, cures and other life-enriching methods from the comfort and privacy of their own homes. No more scouring the bookstore shelves or entering the diet center beneath the scrutiny of the public eye. Thanks to Health & Fitness eBooks, anyone can conduct the requisite in-depth and educated research needed to tackle their problems and improve their life, head on, without further worries about answering the prying questions of peers or enduring the judgment of family members.
Download a Health or Fitness related eBook when you want, on your terms; leave a printed version lying about, or keep the digital file tucked safely away on your computer. The choice is yours. Let everyone know (friends, family, neighbors, even your boss!), or limit those who know to those you trust or even to no one at all. Either way, you can begin improving your life immediately at a level of comfort you deserve.
Begin by conducting your research thoroughly, and with the knowledge that eBooks related to Health & Fitness just like their counterparts on the bookstore’s shelves, tackle virtually every issue under the sun, under your roof, or simply within yourself, from how to conquer panic attacks to asthma, jet lag to unsightly moles; turn fat into the muscle mass, a belly into bulging biceps or voluptuous breasts; or even learn to maximize your mind’s potential.
Finally, eBooks, now that most experts write them in addition to their tangible world publications, offer methods to improve your life that simultaneously accommodate any and all lifestyle choices and belief systems. Examples included hypnosis practiced while sipping a cup of coffee before work, natural alternatives that appease both body and spirit, with or without supplements, some secular, others associated with religious practices, and so on. Whatever your lifestyle or beliefs, you’re likely to find a cure for what ails you or a program for your future, without necessarily breaking the bank, and perhaps most important, without the embarrassment of confronting your issues with the whole world watching… Now, if only the same could be done for that box of condoms…
Copyright 2006, Robert K. Blanc. All Rights Reserved.