You see an ad in a magazine. It’s get-rich-in real estate. Confident-looking alpha male. Chiseled features and confident gaze. Rolex watch and Gucci shoes. His right leg is perched on the bumper of a Rolls Royce, parked on the curved brick driveway of a McMansion.
The headline says,
“You Can Achieve Wealth and Financial Security With The Same Proven Plan I Discovered Just 18 Months Ago.”
That ad is CODE.
You know what it’s code for?
“Hey there, you broke financial leper. Didja like grinding $2.58 of change out of your back seat so you could buy that smashed Happy Meal cheeseburger for lunch yesterday? You’ve got 3 bill collectors in your voice mail. Your wife thinks you’re a wuss. Go steal some money from your kid’s piggy bank so I can knock you up with false hope & shaft you with another useless biz-op course.”
Broke financial leper taps out his last credit card to buy it.
Linda Tirado write a crazy-viral blog post called “This Is Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense.” She explains why poor women sleep with anything in pants:
“It’s why you see people with four different babydaddies instead of one. You grab a bit of connection wherever you can to survive. You have no idea how strong the pull to feel worthwhile is. It’s more basic than food. You go to these people who make you feel lovely for an hour that one time, and that’s all you get. You’re probably not compatible with them for anything long-term, but right this minute they can make you feel powerful and valuable.”
Middle-class entrepreneurs do that too. Even the wealthy are not immune. It’s called “Business Opportunity” or “Biz Op” for short.
When I was a Biz-Opper, I was living for the next motivational tape or seminar. I would do pretty much anything to numb the pain. I was in a vicious CYCLE.
How do you get out?
Everybody needs a “Business Dad.” Someone who steers you towards the good, jolts you out of the bad, encourages you to stay in the game and nourishes your wise moves.
There is SUCH a lack of good fathers in the world… so many of us have gotten the short end of the stick in that department… the real ones need to stand up and be counted.
5 Signs of a Real Business Dad:
1) Real dads tell the truth without remorse. They don’t just dangle carrots and serve happy juice. They tell you things you do NOT want to hear. Ari Galper says, “Get to the truth not the sale.” A real dad would rather take the hit himself than steer his precious kids wrong.
2) Real dads are in it for the long haul. They don’t jump from mistress to mistress. I’m NOT talking about serial entrepreneurs! Watch out for authors / speakers / experts who, like politicians, switch positions on a moment’s notice, catering to whatever is hot and trendy.
Sure sign of a fake dad:
“There’s this hot new thing and you MUST MUST MUST act on it RIGHT NOW because it’s going away soon and you will lose your one last chance forever!!!!”
That guy’s not a real dad. He’s a PIMP.
3) Real dads delight in the accomplishments of their kids. Dads BRAG on their boys and girls. If it’s just about HIM and his glories instead of being about his students and their blue ribbons – that’s a warning sign.
4) Real dads drill you on the basics. Dads warn you against moving the ancient boundary. They remind you that nobody defies gravity forever. Real marketing dads are about the substance of what you offer, your skill in communicating it, and your longevity. Not the 10-cent trick that stops working next week.
5) Real dads know even the smartest kids do dumb things. They don’t hold your mistakes against you. We ALL have stupidity spasms. A real dad doesn’t take it personally – even when his stern advice makes you bolt for the door.
Just like they don’t take credit for your successes, real dads know your failures are not about them either. Dads share a story of something dumb they did. Everybody gets a chuckle and gets wiser.
One last thing before I go:
If your real actual physical dad was dodgy or absent, you’ll have a suicidal tendency to jump from dad to dad. Especially when the truth-telling gets sticky. Or when persistence gets boring and tedious.
That impulse is lethal.
No mere mortal can sort out the advice of 20 different gurus and somehow manage to Lego-block it all together. Especially not beginners. The guy or gal with 5 dads really has NONE.
Get yourself a real business dad who will stick with you for the long haul, and hang on for dear life.
Perry Marshall
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
12 Comments on “Why Smart People Make Dumb Financial Decisions”
Thanks Dad!
I’m new to your planet but I feel very much at home here, real DAD’s build you up and tell you the truth even if it hurts. I think a good mentor should do the same, you make great analogys. Do you always think like this? You’re sucking me in to want more, good job Perry….
Thank You, Tim
Dear Perry,
How can one get one respectful real business Dad?
I need one!
Thanks.
Myrza Y.
First step is knowing what one looks like. Turn on your radar. “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.”
Never been inclined to comment before, Perry but really did like that Daddy !
Really good article. Te advice is right on and I’m making a metal list of whom I can share it with.
over the years i’ve seen many so called Dads and really all they do is suck you dry and when you’ve got nothing left they leave you just like some real dads.
i’ve been lucky with my life my real dad showed me the ropes of life before he died, so i notice things but again i do make mistakes everyone does, mine is filling one of these forms in and agreeing to pay someone stateside problem is i do not know who? they take upto $50 per month but for what i do not know or infact remember, so inaffect i’ve been sucked in too.
the email today is simply great and most importantly true.
That’s not only a good analogy, but it also points to the fact that someone who has your best interest at heart will tell you the truth no matter what.
And that’s a big factor in anything in life.
Only people who truly care will criticise you constructively.
Finished 80/20 Sales and Marketing, just bought the digital seminar, and after a brief detour into fractals and the Mandlebrot set, I realized I’m not yet “over the hump” because despite my funnel making $$$ from free youtube traffic, I haven’t got it to work with Direct Response Marketing…
Now I read this email and want to find a business coach/dad :)
Oh man.. that sounds like me.. I had so many dads is not even funny.
Right now.. I am trying to recover from MLM.
Any good Dads out-there?
I certainly agree with Anthony. It really is a great collection of truths…I especially loved the part from Proverbs on not ‘moving the ancient boundary.’
I am so glad there is no such thing as ‘political correctness’ with you, Perry! With three adult children–spread out over the US and NOT living at home–my wife and I made the decision early in their little lives that they needed parents–not buddies.
That decision has made a lot of difference now that they are all in their 30s with families of their own. We are SO thankful to the Lord that they stand strong in in life’s storms. Please keep on keeping on with these kinds of messages, Perry. Is not life more than food…or money. You are an inspiration.
Wow! Talk about a In Your Face analogy! That was quite a presentation with so much truth to it! Thanks for keeping things real! The PIMP statement really woke me up! I had to ask myself, “Well wouldn’t that make me….a prostitute?” OUCH! You definitely have me stepping back and reevaluating where my “online dad” is!