Just barely over 4 years ago, I was at Alan Weiss’s Mentor Summit in San Francisco at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking one of the most beautiful cities in the
world. Barb had come with me and right after the morning session on that Thursday, I shared with her some information Alan had given us. He was starting a “Master Mentor” program where he would personally train qualified individuals in his community to mentor and coach other consultants, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. Along with the training, the program included lifetime mentoring access to him. This by itself was worth it’s weight in gold because Alan is NOT slowing down. The investment was significant (5 figures), yet the return on that investment appeared to be great. It was an open gate for me. As I sat at the edge, I did what all smart husbands should do…I consulted Barb. (Captain Jack stops to consult no one. That’s why he often gets into trouble, which rarely stops him. He is not risk averse.)
Barb asked me one question, “You mean you haven’t given him your credit card yet?” Uh, no. Remember, smart husband. She pushed the gate open and told me to “get out.” She knew that in every interaction I’d ever had with Alan, the ROI was big. The bigger the investment, the exponentially greater the reward. In the 2 years that followed, I quadrupled that investment. I stopped counting since then, but suffice it to say it was a wise choice to bolt through that gate.
Too many business professionals question the perspicacity in truly investing in themselves. They consider the downside (financial investment) without taking into account the upside (growth, development, income, discretionary time, happiness, new horizons). While I agree that decisions like mine need to be thoughtful (and sometimes discussed with others), it doesn’t take smart people long to make decisions. If you truly believe you will be dramatically improved by bolting through the gate, then do it. There is never a perfect time, and waiting may adversely affect your results.
Food For Thought: You probably use a financial adviser to help you with your investments. Perhaps you have a 401K or some other vehicle meant to increase your portfolio. If you’re like most people, you automatically invest what will amount to thousands of dollars annually into a fund that you truly have no idea what’s in it. You might keep track of it when you get your statements, but your trust your adviser to advise you. Why is that many people are less willing to bet on themselves than on the dollars they invest almost blindly in for their future? The reality is, they are the better bet to make.
You get open gates thrown at you all the time. Sometimes you will even take them. I hear people who proclaim they are gun-shy becasue one of those gates didn’t work out as well as planned. That happens. That should never stop them from trying other gates or else they’ve allowed that one poor gate to stifle them forever. If you keep the concepts of betting on yourself with high upsides and low downsides in mind, then you will grow your professional portfolio at a staggering pace.
© 2014 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
Open Gate Opportunity – 30 Day Sprint to Success. It’s so brand new it still has that new car smell….
