How Hard Could it Be?
You are at work, doing what you do. In walks a 20-year-old intern or apprentice, hired for the holidays. He stands behind you and says, “I can’t believe they pay you to do this. Any two-year-old could do this job.”You might be offended. You might feel anger. But you remember when you were 20, and you remember the yawning gap between how smart you thought you were and how little you really knew back then. You want to be gentle with the kid, telling him how much post-graduate education you have or how many years of work and learning it took you to make it look easy. But the kid insists that he knows it all and that he could outperform you by the end of the day. If you could, you might step away, tell the kid, “Be my guest,” and let him have at it. Of course, inside of thirty seconds he would have a question, and his education will have begun.When it comes to recognizing investment scams, we are all that arrogant kid. When you hear stories about senior citizens losing their life savings, you marvel at what you perceive to be their gullibility. ”I would never fall for that,” you think. You point to the evidence uncovered by the SEC and tell yourself that you would have recognized it. And that is why investment fraud will always be a growth industry.It has always been this way. Our tendency has always been to think too much of ourselves and our abilities, and that tendency always results in pain. ”Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18.Do you know anyone you consider wise? Does that wisdom express itself like a 20-year-old know-it-all or as long experience coupled with a humble acknowledgment that there is so much more to learn?Before you entrust any part of your nest egg to a broker or an investment, seek out the experience that can save you from financial ruin. There is nothing more certain than that you will suffer if you do not.
