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Inspired by Kyeli’s 2011 Book-Buying Ban, her thoughts on an Unnecessary Stuff-Buying Ban, and her post about being a conscious consumer, I got a crazy idea in my head: a 2011 Info Product Buying Ban.

I have a lot of friends who buy information products that languish, unused and unread, in a lonely folder.

What if we all took some time off buying new info products until we’ve taken the time to work through the ones we already have?

What if we took a good look at each of our unloved info products we’ve bought, and for each one, either

1. consciously choose to toss it into the recycle bin
2. read through it and absorb it, or
3. set aside the time and energy it will take to do it.

Just like refraining from buying books until we’ve read (or chosen not to read) the ones we’ve already bought, it’ll train us to be more conscious consumers.

Jon Morrow said, “When you commit to a goal, also commit to paying the cost it will take you to reach that goal.”

I think that applies to all sorts of choices in life. When you buy a book, also commit to setting aside the time it will take you to read that book. When you buy an information product, also commit to setting aside the time it will take you to consume and implement the ideas in that information product.

Think before you push the buy button. Be a conscious consumer.

Here’s a conscious consumer badge you can proudly display if you so choose. Copy and paste the HTML code below.

<a href="https://pacesmith.com/2011-info-product-buying-ban/"><img src="https://pacesmith.com/images/conscious-consumer.png" alt="Conscious Consumer"></a>

You may think it’s a little weird for two people who make their living selling information products to be encouraging people to stop buying information products. Kyeli and I had a long and interesting conversation about that, and you can listen to it here.

NOTE: This is the unedited, uncut version of our conversation. We recorded it on the road, so there’s some background noise — our apologies!