All That Glitters is Not Gold, Be Careful

Too many people don’t understand that all that glitters is not gold. With all of the filters these days through social media, we place too much emphasis on what something looks like. Instead, a better way to judge value is to emphasize and focus on what something actually is.

I’ve been there before. I just visited the car dealership and they positioned the cars perfectly so that the sun would shine on them. Not only that, they cleaned it up so that there wouldn’t be any flaws that show up. It would be a lie to say that cars didn’t intrigue and enamor me.

It took a lot of my power to refrain from asking the salesperson about the car. I constantly reminded myself of my essential expenses budget and a car is not an essential expense. Especially because I already own a car. That’s how you should base purchasing decisions.

Don’t make decisions based on how something looks, shines, and glows. Make purchasing decisions based on the functionality and usefulness of the product. All that glitters is not gold. A new car would have gave me a certain look and appeal. However, it would have done the exact same thing that my beater car does.

Which is to move from point A to point B, nothing more and nothing less. The added twist is that glistening products usually cost more. Customers are willing to pay more for a product if the companies design the products beautifully. It’s not worth going into debt for, especially more so if you don’t need it.

There’s no need to buy that shiny new toy staring at you from the corner isle. You already have enough.

What Does All That Glitters is Not Gold Mean?

All that glitters is not gold is an aphorism that means that something that looks good isn’t necessarily actually good. There are many shiny things that are just smoke and mirrors designed to trick and deceive you. In nature, the most colorful, pretty, and beautiful frogs are the most poisonous.

In poker, the hand “Ace-King” is nicknamed the “Anna Kournikova” because the hand “looks really good but rarely wins”. The prettiest girls may have the ugliest personalities. Products that are visible and visual entice the customers to buy more. If you ever bought a physical Microsoft Office product, you know what I mean.

Microsoft packs a single CD and manuals into a big box of packaging. Why do they do this? It makes the customer feel like they are getting more than what they paid for. The packaging does not cause buyer’s remorse when the company packages the product that way. Don’t make decisions based on what something seems like.

Make decisions based on what something actually is. When I was little, I used to be obsessed with buying Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon cards. Whenever I was at Wal-Mart and I saw Pokemon cards that were packaged with a shiny card is when I bugged my mom to buy them.

While I’m glad that I now understand that all that glitters is not gold, the shiny new object still trapped me into its arms. If it shines, it makes us want things even more, no matter the substance. I eventually threw away the Yu-Gi-Oh cards because well, what am I supposed to do with them?

We have to refrain from being like moths and stop being attracted to light that turns out to be fire. Why? Fire burns us.

Why All That Glitters is Not Gold

Even though all that glitters is not gold, it’s a good idea to DESTROY that social share button and make the buttons turn shiny by sharing the articles for your friends! The shiny new object syndrome will never be cured because sight convinces us more than any other method known so far.

“I’ll believe it when I see it” are common phrases that people love to say. We can all break the shackles of our human biases together and make smarter and more intentional decisions.

So with that said, let’s go into the reasons why all that glitters isn’t gold.

1) The Poisonous Frog

Look at the beautiful frog above. It’s a picture of a poisonous dart frog. It’s so shiny, pretty, and beautiful that you might even see your reflection if you come close to it. At first glance, the frog attracts you. It makes you want to know more about it. If you hadn’t known that the frog was poisonous, you will already have picked it up.

Then you would have had to go to the hospital to remedy the situation. This is nature showing you that all that glitters is not gold. The most beautiful and shiny thing isn’t the best thing for you. Some species of the poison dart frog is that the shiner it is, the more toxic it is.

Be careful. People aren’t the only ones capable of tricking your eyes and decision making process. Animals and nature are more than capable of tricking you as well. In some situations, it’s literal life or death. Therefore, take careful note of what’s actually happening around you.

2) Substance Matters More than Form

I’ve been confident to the point of arrogance before. I used very complicated words and be amused while I saw other people get impressed by my use of those words. Then one day, a couple of interviewers weren’t shy about letting me have it and told me what they thought of how I communicated. Which was arrogantly.

That’s when I started to realize that I cared too much about how other people viewed me. That I was almost trying to force them to hire me instead of giving a balanced viewpoint of how I would be as an employee. That’s when I started to focus more on what I can provide instead of how I communicate my work.

No matter how well I communicate and package my work, if it’s objectively bad, it’s useless. All that glitters is not gold. No matter how much people try to convince you of the aesthetic beauty, it is meaningless if there’s no substance behind it. Form only gets so far. Substance is everlasting.

3) Looks Can Be Deceiving

There’s a reason why illusions fool so many of us. Our brain doesn’t have the capacity to process information if the information deliberately is tricky. By design. If you ever live in a scorching hot city, you’ll see many illusions and mirages of water while driving on the road.

It’s disappointing when when you don’t actually see the water when you pass by the road. Our brains have the capacity to misinterpret the information around us. Imagine what would happen if we act and make decisions based on that misinformation.

Appearances can be deceiving and all that glitters is not gold. How many times did you see a person confident about their future and finances only to find out they are declaring bankruptcy soon? How many famous and rich celebrities commit suicide?

Appearances are deceiving and the shiniest thing can be the worst thing when you take a look inside.

Examples of All that Glitters is Not Gold

Now let’s get into the concrete and real life examples of how companies use this illusion against us. It’s more common than it is uncommon.

1) Cars

Man aren’t cars shiny and attractive? You got the sunlight reflecting onto its sleek and flawless surface. You can even see your own reflection if you really wanted to. It makes you want it even more than ever, even if it may not want you. Companies do not market and sell a car without taking good care of its appearance.

It’s all an illusion. Cars are to safely and comfortably get you from point A to point B. There’s absolutely no other reason to get a car. However, the majority of people do not think this way. They want to buy that $20,000 car because of the brand value or another aesthetically pleasing purpose.

As an astute reader of Filled With Money, you know better. You know that all that glitters is not gold. All you care about is whether the car provides reliable and safe transportation to your destination. I have my car a little over five years now with 75,000 miles clocked in.

I plan to drive it at least to 100,000 miles, most likely more. It hasn’t given me any trouble so far and I love it. That’s what you should be looking for in a car. Great and reliable transportation.

2) Food

Did you know that people literally eat gold as food? People quite literally put gold on their ice cream, pizza, and steak. It’s the fanciest thing ever. While I’m interested in having a taste once in my lifetime, I will never put gold as a part of my food on a regular basis.

Or another example of gold food is the chocolate maker, Ferrero Rocher. The chocolates’ packaging is gold colored. They want you to associate their brand with quality and high-class food. They are training your subconscious to think a certain way. That way, you immediately associate their products with quality.

It’s not just some desperate attempt either. It’s actually working. What happens when you associate a product with quality? You shell out more money for it! All that glitters is not gold. Their chocolate is just as good as any other chocolate. Chocolate is a total and complete commodity.

3) Technology

When you actually see an iPhone commercial, the messaging is beautifully crafted. You have the shining iPhone in the center of attention against a black background so all your attention is on it. Then you find out that Apple made the product using the Golden Ratio so it subconsciously makes you want it even more.

While I personally enjoy Apple products, I buy it for the functionality not for the aesthetics. It’s a factually correct statement to say that Apple takes careful note of the design of the products. Whether it’s the Mac, iPad, or iPhone, Apple knows what they are doing in terms of a marketing standpoint.

However, make sure to make your purchasing decisions based on the functionality of the product. Not how it looks or what other people will say about it. I used my Mac for the past 8 years, even though it’s the most expensive laptop I bought, it’s worth every penny that I shelled out for. The functionality of it is unparalleled.

4) Any Shiny New Toy

Focus on how the company communicates its products or toys to you. If the commercial focuses on how it looks without saying how beautiful it is, whether through lighting or clever placement or such, then that’s a problem. While it shouldn’t look like the ugliest thing in the world, the commercial should focus on what the product can do.

Not what it looks like.

Remember that if it’s a commercial, the company more than likely photoshopped it with the perfect lighting at the perfect angle. Instead of trying to make your apartment or house look shinier than it actually is, practice simple living. Everything you need in life to live doesn’t require anything shiny.

All that glitters is not gold, anyway. It’s better to focus on the things that matter instead of the things that don’t. Next time you are about to make a purchasing decision, ask yourself the true purpose of why you’re buying. Glittering things don’t glitter so much when you put it in another lighting at another angle.

Food for thought.

5) Brands and Logos

Companies make their logos to be as visually appealing as possible. Why does McDonald’s logo feature yellow and red colors? It’s because the color mixture is supposed to make you feel hungry. Before you even walk into the door, companies are trying their hardest to shape and mold your mind.

All that glitters is not gold and that is especially true with subliminal messaging. This one is much harder to detect because who has the time to research what effects different colors have on your body? Companies who have billions of dollars at stake does. However, a consumer who just wants to eat food doesn’t.

Don’t let form convince you. It does nothing for you. It only helps others who are enticing you to do something they want you to do. Visuals should not convince you and suck you in. Some things are harder to spot because they prey on our subconscious.

The more we know the more that we can resist.

All That Glitters is Not Gold is Especially True These Days

With the invention of technology running rampant, it’s more relevant more so than ever that all that glitters is not gold. There’s photo filters on Instagram, photoshop in commercials, and much more. People will spend exorbitant amounts of money to keep up appearances and how they look above all else.

People have a bias towards sight. Even if our intuition tells us one thing, if our sight tells us another, we make decisions around what we see. Shiny, pretty, and beautiful things attract humans like a moth to a flame. The fire burns us only when it’s too late.

One clever trick that commercials use is to replace milk with glue to sell and market breakfast cereal. Glue is more aesthetically pleasing than milk, especially when you “pour” it into the bowl. There’s a reason why every burger in McDonald’s commercials are perfect but when you buy it, it’s not.

It’s mind boggling just how much fake things are out there in the world. What’s even more mind boggling is that there could be more fake things in the world as time passes. I own a faux marble kitchen table that I’m writing my blog post out of right now. No one knows the difference when I have them over for dinner.

My bed frame is faux leather. No one can tell the difference, either. All that glitters is not gold. Instead of buying real leather and real marble furniture, why not buy fake ones? As long as other people think that they are real leather and real marble, it might as well already be real.

Be smarter about the things that you want to buy.