I was at a business conference this weekend. It was about investing in real estate. I have a client who wanted me to collect “B roll” for his social media content.

First things first. The event was over two days in Las Vegas. It was fun. I met a lot of very interesting people.

The content was alright. The food was outstanding. The host, Michael Zuber, was fantastic. The tech setup was impressive. The event location was perfect.

Now, when I say the “content was alright,” make no mistake: The folks there got what they paid for, and then some. They were INTO it. I am not a real estate investor (yet?), so the content didn't resonate with me.

That is not a slap.

I'm confident if Zuber took a poll, 99.99 percent of the folks in attendance loved the content.

Okay, I'm done belaboring that point.

Now, onto a few observations. One, really. And it is this: The room was split into Consumers and Producers.

What do I mean by this? There were a lot of people who actually owned real estate. They lived up to the title of the event, One Rental at a Time. Many owned dozens of properties. Some owned hundreds. Truly amazing.

They are the Producers.

Others, not so much. Many in the crown, especially the ones most vocal in the Q&A, didn't own anything, yet–some of them–had been “researching” for years. I suspect some have been in analysis paralysis for a decade or more.

They are Consumers. They consume information. And may never flip the switch to being a Producer.

And let's face it: The world NEEDS more Consumers than Producers. Not a knock, per se.

Some Consumers are alright with being where they are. They work a job, buy stuff, go home, and Nexflix & Chill.

But these folks–and I've seen this at every conference I've ever been to, spread across many industries–are Consumers Who Are Stuck.

They want more. They are not satisfied with their lot in life. They know they need to act, to Do, to Produce.

But they can't.

I don't have an answer for them, other than–to coin Nike's phrase–Just DO It!

That's what I did with my career/business. I just did it. Make the leap. Make the mistakes. Do the thing. As Zuber says, “Do the work.”

When you're paralyzed, you literally cannot move. That's what's going on here. These conference attendees travel from conference to conference. They hear the same things all the time. The rah-rah Tony Robbins'-like speeches. The incantations. The affirmations. “Believe in yo'self!”

Yeah. All important. But I don't think those messages sink in. Obviously, they haven't for those long-term Consumers.

But maybe it's all okay. Maybe this is what makes them happy. My mom, RIP, was “happy” being unhappy. Maybe these folks are, too.

I dunno.

How do you get perennial non-doers to do something?

If you know, share your thoughts in the comments.