Let's look at the word imitate which means to follow as a model. Other meanings are to copy the actions of others, appearance, and mannerisms, a style of speech, or mimic. It can mean to reproduce as in copy exactly. Anything that appears to be like another would resemble the one being imitated. You can see that in patterns of speech as in people from Tennessee would not be speaking like someone from Texas. If you visit either state before long you are speaking like a native to the waitress as you give your dinner order. All you have to do is watch a singer on T.V. and the next day you observe a teenager with a similar hair cut and color. If you watch a sports program sponsored by coke, you will probably get up from the couch and get a soft drink from the fridge.

We as humans are programmed to imitate. A suicide in one community may trigger multiple suicides in other communities. Acts of violence are imitated as revealed by violent teenagers who confess to spending 8 hours a day blowing up creatures, human figurers, etc. on games.

Recent work in neuroscience has begun to reveal the mechanisms of imitation in the human brain. It seems there is a system of mirror neurons which are active both when you see another person act and when you do the same thing yourself, and these may allow humans to learn by imitation.

This brings us to how we imitate others in our business practices. When you see a business practice which is unwise, dishonest, and iligitament, how do you respond?

 "Everyone is doing it, so I can too" is to copy others style, appearance, and mimic. "If they can get away with it I can too" is a form of copy exactly and the results will be the same.....I can get away with it.

"They are good at what they do, so if I do the same I will be great, wonderful, awesome, strong, rich, influential etc." If I imitate their actions, I will get the same results: power, wealth, beauty, influence etc.

WARNING for business people who are serious.

You might be led down the wrong path and fall/fail with the person you are imitating. Are you careful about choosing wise people to imitate or are you following the person who makes the most noise and continually gets your attention? If I can bombard your personal mail with ads three times a week, would you then imitate this behavior?

What if I spammed all your forums and the ones you visit, leaving ads on discussion pages, answering off subject just to be noticed? Would you think I know something you don't know and you could do that to become successful?

Here are some hints

< Stop imitating bad behavior here in Adlandpro. The sad thing is that we are seeing so much we imitate without thinking about it. I have seen it personally happen by those blindly following and imitating their leader.

< Refuse to participate---when an up line tells you to do what you know is against user rules DON'T DO IT

< Visit: http://community.adlandpro.com/forums/thread/660782.aspx by Ken Sword Learn about spamming.

< know the rules of the site or community you represent

< Consider the price you might pay for imitating certain behaviors

Do you have any other suggestions to help our Adlandpro members?