Selling the Thrill

The Yellowstone 1923 tv series is entertaining and holds so many nuggets of wisdom. I stumbled upon this segment that was insightful: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/a1c12eyCSw8

The villain of the story, Donald Whitfield, a ruthless mining tycoon, is watching some people ski. After the skier explains the sport to him, his henchman says: “Seems a silly way to waste the day to me.”

Whitfield asks him: “How many gunfights have you been in?” 

Henchman: “My fair share.”

Whitfield: “How many bar fights?” 

Henchman: “More than I can count.”

Whitfield: “And after, how did you feel?”

Henchman: “Alive, which was the goal.” 

Whitfield: “But you liked it? Tell the truth.You liked the danger of it.”

Henchman: “It gets your blood up, aye.”

Whitfield: “Aye. It’s a rich man’s world now. And everyone gets a taste. The paper man, the tradesman, the car salesman, the doctor, the lawyer. The one thing you can’t buy in a store, is the euphoria of peril, the exhilaration of danger. I can sell that. For a fortune.”

This is sales. Packaging something that is hard to get. Scarce even. When consumers have everything they want, they want something no one else has. Our human need for status & bragging rights. Tapping into our human need to be special. This is capitalism. A fascinating anecdote epitomizing this.