On January 26, 2008, a 30-year-old part-time entrepreneur Mike Merill sold his life and his rights on the internet. Mike Merill was a regular guy a common citizen of Arizona USA. His dream was to build a successful business but sometimes you can’t imagine what it takes to be successful. Mike Merill failed to chase his dream so when nothing worked out he had a crazy idea that may be a nightmare for us. He sold his life and right through the internet. Mike Merill turned himself into a business.
Mike divided his life into shares, he divided himself into 100,000 shares and set an initial public offering price of $1 a share. Each share would earn a potential return in profits he made outside of his day job as a customer service representative at a small Portland, Oregon, Software company. He invited people online to buy them for only $1 a share which is a good income for him and good business for them. According to Mike;
Initially the project was just going to be about different things that I did online and what happened was it became very clear or very earlier on that the shareholders want to control my personal life and so probably within the first I don’t know…3 months of launching the project I started giving them that control over my personal decisions.”
Mike Merill
Anyone can control his personal decisions like what to wear, what to eat, and who he should marry to whether or not he should be able to have kids, but luckily his shareholders allowed him to have kids. There was a time I was thinking about whether or not I should have kids and so I just let the shareholders decide I think of them more like my friends, so I ask their advice on everything because I trust them to make the right decisions about my life.
As Mark said that he can’t control his body only shareholders can. Even shareholders also vote on topics like if he should go to the gym if he should get in a relationship. Even if he should break up from a relationship. Shareholder agreed with these topics except if he should get a new job. Additionally, Mark said,
I’ve been a long-time democrat but my shareholders wanted me to become a Republican because it’s more business-friendly, so I couldn’t say no spent a few years as a Republican and then eventually had to give that up.”
Mike Merill
But as a human, we are also tired if someone handles our life completely if we can’t able to do anything without his permission as long as Mike is involved in it but he is also tired. He doesn’t wanna do that anymore but he can’t do that. According to Mike;
One of the hardest things is when I don’t agree with what the shareholders decide and what I usually try to do is give it my best faith effort sometimes that fails it results in me not doing what I said that I would try to do based on their vote but I try to always give it my best.”
Mike Merill
Although he has more than a thousand shareholders from all around the world. But sometimes he can’t handle what “THEY” want him to do. Will you ever want someone to control your life? Will you make anyone to choose your decision? Or what to do? I know the answer will be no because it’s most crazy stuff to do?
