Take A Chance

This is my second posting in the mentor series, today no. 2

Anyone who knows me knows from almost the day I started working my goal was to retire early. Frankly I was very vocal about this desire and constantly looked for ways to make and then save money. As I ended my first decade of work in 1984 I considered my current saving situation and came to the realization that no matter how much money I could not spend and save there was no way I could save enough money to ever retire period on the savings, certainly not retire early. Even at what was then 5% plus CD rates capital could not be squirreled away in quantities to make retirement possible.

I thought other people do it so why can't I? I did notice the few that did retire early do it with a pension they can only be viewed as a modest pension. They also had to depend on someone else's benevolence, usually the government, to continue being retired. I was too much of an independent soul to rely on the pension and gold watch scenario. But again other people do retire early and do it with plenty of accumulated capital. The question was how? How turned out to be they "took a chance". I came upon this realization when I attended a class at the local community college where a personal financial class was being taught. The class info was interesting, but the ultimate advantage I got from the class was a quarter century friendship with the stock broker who taught the class. The broker and I became fast friends as both of us had mutual interests and most importantly the broker, being about a decade older, had taken chances in his life to pursue dreams. We had lunch in early 1985 and when I asked him how he had started his success scenario he told me in plain English "take a chance". What he meant was for me to get my money out of bank CD's and take a calculated well reasoned chance with my capital. That was how other people make real money and how they, if they wanted to, retire early and comfortable.

He opined that everyone everyday takes a chance. If you cross the street you take a chance that you might not see the bus that runs you over. You take a chance when you go drive on the road, knowing your chances are rather high you will be one of 50000 or so who are killed annually. If you do take a chance and fail you you are only as well off as you were all along. Fear of failure is what keeps most people from achievement. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So over the next few decades that is what I did, take reasoned chances. As time went on I became better at the decision making either by experience at success or more importantly avoiding second mistakes. As the old saying goes idiocy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Therefore making a mistake once is the way to success. But first taking a chance is the only way to start that pattern.

My friend, who taught me this, was Andy Augustine. Unfortunately today Andy has passed on. But I carry on taking chances. He would be proud.