You can lead a horse to water...

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him invest in it. Okay, so that’s not how the saying goes, but if an investor had come up with it, it might have been something similar to that. The concept
is SO true though. I re-discovered this lesson last night while having a discussion with a very talented and very knowledgeable friend of mine. I was at his house with some car trouble with which he’d offered to help. This friend isn’t a mechanic by trade, but he’s one of the most honest and talented car “tinkerers” I know. Lots of friends and family come to him for car advice and repairs. He and I started
out talking about my car’s issues which lead to estimated costs of repair. That then lead to financial challenges we’re both experiencing. After listening to him tell me about his efforts to match his employer’s contributions to his 401K, I thought I’d found a pretty good segue into a topic that I love. Investing. I gave him my “elevator pitch” on tax lien certificates (the investing vehicle I’m currently studying) and, although I could tell the idea seemed very intriguing to him, his reply was just, “Hmmm…interesting.” The conversation gradually just meandered back to cars quite anti-climactically after that. I was taken back.

Okay, so I guess that just wasn’t his thing, or whatever. Hmm. So, I decided to try something else on him.
Investing in… himself. I started out by telling him – very honestly – how I valued his expert advice and talent with cars. I told him that he really ought to be working less, and earning more with this “hobbyjob.” I told him that I thought he’d do really well as an “infopreneur,” specializing in automotive information & consulting. I said that with his skills, he really shouldn’t be trading precious hours of manual labor for mere dollars, but instead, documenting his knowledge and selling it as valuable information on the web or
in print. I told him this would allow him to make money while he slept! His reply was, “Well, I’m really not an expert.” I tried strengthening my point by pointing out his long track record of working with friends and family’s vehicles who TRUST him and, through an observation he’d made earlier about how shady the local mechanics and shops are. But, he blunted the tip of every entrepreneurial spear I threw at him with self-doubt and excuses.

Wait a minute… hadn’t this guy JUST told me that he was having financial difficulties? And wasn’t he JUST telling me that he thinks investing is really important?? What am I missing here? Answer: simply put, it’s all about mindset & timing.

First of all, mindset…

In his own words, he’s a “worker bee.” That okay, the world is full of worker bees… the world is actually made up of them. It’s the out-of-the-box thinkers that are really the odd ones out. Trouble is anyone can be a worker bee. They’re like replaceable cogs in a clock. True, they are valuable. The world needs a LOT of ‘em. But from the perspective of the watchmaker or the clock itself - given the right dimensions - one will do as well as any another. Totally expendable. My friend is okay with that. I think most people are because to be otherwise requires tenacity, creativity and discipline. It’s not like he’d need to quit his job or anything. Just use reallocate some spare time from watching TV to writing some articles or eBooks… creating a website or an app. Do the work now so you don’t have to (unless you WANT to) later.

As for timing…

He’ll come around. Hopefully, by then it won’t be too late. I remember when I was a kid, I walked by my dad as he was fixing the dryer in the basement. As I passed, he noticed
me walking and called me back. “Ty, would you like to see what I’m workin’ on?” I replied, “What is it?” “Well,” he said, “I’m trying to fix the dryer… see, the exhaust pipe has been pinched closed and…” I interrupted him. “No thanks, dad, I’m on my way over to my friend’s house.” “You sure you don’t
want to see how I do this? You might find it interesting. And even if it’s not all that interesting to you, you might find the information useful someday when you have your own broken down dryer.”

Looking back, I wish I’d stayed for that free lesson now that I own a dryer that could break down at any time. I understand, though, that as valuable as my dad’s lesson was, the timing just wasn’t right.
I needed to WANT that lesson. It’s the same reason so many kids don’t do well in school. They’re not interested in being there. The timing isn’t right. They’ll eventually want the knowledge being offered (for free), but not yet. By the time they want the information, they’ll have to go to college and pay for
it. My friend (and many others like him) are exactly the same. They’ll be interested when they’re interested.

My take home lesson: Offer knowledge often - on the off-chance someone’s ready for it - but don’t be disappointed when the timing isn’t right. Conversely, when a lesson is offered, try to have the foresight to recognize the potential value of it, and to have the pliability to learn something new… you just might need it someday.