As consumers, we don’t know what we actually want. But we do have an expectation for speed. We want it now (whatever it may be). Faster.

When I line up at the passport office or some government building, I expect speed. I really shouldn’t but my default is speed. 

The enticement of drugs seems rooted in the fast hits. Whether it’s sugar, caffeine, alcohol, or nicotine, it’s about achieving the altered state faster. That’s why many take ‘em. 

People didn’t know they wanted cars but they wanted faster horses. I didn’t know I wanted a same-day delivery service, just that I wanted something faster than a month. 

What I expect from a new phone is for programs to load faster. What I expect from a new internet provider is for my browser to load faster. 

People want stocks to go up faster once they open a brokerage account. They want to get muscles faster and lose fat faster once they start working out. They want a therapist to fix their pain immediately after a few visits. Everyone wants things almost instantaneously. 

If a job application process takes too long, people may pause. If the purchasing process has too many steps, they won’t complete it. If the courting process takes longer than a few eggplant emojis, it loses its zest. Everyone wants to be in the Matrix where one can download a file to be a master marksman or helicopter pilot in an instant. This is probably why some time-based games like Clash of Clans can monetize on people literally buying time with money while the plebs (like me) wait hours to level up. 

The examples are endless because of our continuous desire to make things faster and the bloody field of savvy capitalists fighting to grant us this desire. 

Unfortunately, most things that are worth having don’t come easy. Maybe this is fortunate because it makes them something truly worth having. Making the journey even sweeter. 

Everyone wants to look good naked. But they forget the amount of work it takes to maintain one’s fitness in the eyes of an inevitable decline in one’s biology.

Everyone wants to be wealthy but doesn’t realize the prudence to maintain it.

Everyone wants to be wise but forget yesterday’s genius could become tomorrow’s fool. 

The world has continued to become more convenient. The costs of these conveniences continue to go down as well. Capitalists realize the greatest wealth is in bringing convenience to the masses (Well done Mr. Bezos. Well done).

If companies that focus on greater convenience prove to be the winners of tomorrow, individuals that utilize it to have long-term patience may prove to be the winners to their future selves. 

The human desire for expedience can be easily exploited. It’s being exploited every day. The challenge is in fighting in areas that truly matter.