Set forth below is the text of a comment that I recently posted to another blog entry at this site:
These people are not your friends. In fact, you are like a boil on their ass.
That’s not so, Anonymous.
There is not one person alive who does not want to know how to invest effectively. Not one.
I am teaching them how to invest effectively. So I am obviously their friend.
And I like learning stuff from them too. So it works both ways.
Is there friction in evidence in my dealings with them?
There is indeed.
What’s that about?
It hurts to realize that you have been taken, Anonymous. I am telling them that they have been taken. I am saying things that cause them to feel pain.
So they strike out at me.
But they STILL want to learn how to invest effectively. The pain they feel doesn’t change that.
The pain is a temporary thing. The learning experience is a forever thing.
The bad stuff that we have to work through to get to the good stuff is small. The good stuff on the other side is huge.
I am their friend.
They don’t see it because of the pain, that’s all.
If there were a way to avoid the pain, I would of course elect that path.
There is no such way.
All learning experiences begin with a realization that you don’t know it all. So that has to come first.
If they could see what is on the other side, they would jump in two seconds. Our problem today is that they cannot yet see what is on the other side clearly enough to want to jump to it.
But there is no other way. So that is what they will do in time.
Once the pain is over, it is over for good. So the thing to do is to do everything possible to insure that the transition takes place as soon as possible.
We have an entire nation of people in pain over what they once believed about investing, Anonymous.
Please don’t let that reality get you down.
The pain is in one sense a very good sign. The pain comes from the realization that you could have done so much better with your money. The more pain you feel, the better you could have done.
We are seeing lots of pain. That means that there is lots of forward movement there to be achieved. The advance here is huge.
It is the job of all investment advisors today to help people through this pain. Lots are not doing it because it is hard work. That’s wrong. It is hard work but it is also important work. And very fulfilling work. Once people get past the pain part, they never, ever, ever want to go back to the discredited strategies.
There are no boils on any asses. We are all in this together. We are all friends.
We are humans, of course. So we are scared. We may COMPLAIN of boils on our asses. That’s just us griping about the pain. The thing to do is to bring an END to the pain. We know who are friends are by checking to see who is putting the most energy into that project. The people who are NOT our friends don’t have the combination of guts and love to do it. The people who ARE our friends want to do everything they can to help us out of a tight spot.
I’m your friend, Anonymous. I am not a boil on your ass.
Really!
Rob the Boil (Not!)
Mr. Rational says
Rob,
Some Americans are in pain, but not for the reason you mentioned. They are in pain, like you are for not saving enough. That is what has left you and many Americans in jeopardy. The FACTUAL data supports that.
Rob says
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, my old friend.
Rob