I've Made Mistakes Too

I make a living by giving financial advice and selling books. Over my career, there have been times when I have done pretty well. There are other times when I have made some really stupid decisions, usually when I’ve sold any of my companies.

I have made some really poor personal decisions as well. I did make one great choice, though. That was marrying my wife. This lucky choice makes up for all the bad ones, proving that we don’t have to be right all the time, just more often than we’re wrong. Still, without Deb, I would probably be a lost soul.

When I make comments and recommendations, do not make the mistake of thinking that I am not flawed. I am flawed. We all are flawed. That is not to say that we can’t improve. I try to improve, every day. Sometimes I win. Other days are not so good.

Throughout my life I have tried to do what is right, particularly when it comes to others. I have not always succeeded. None of us do, not all the time. But I have tried to walk a good moral line. I have actually walked away from small fortunes, because doing so was the right thing to do.

When you read my words, I hope that they will make you think. Maybe, if I am lucky, you might join some cause that is important to me. The cause of freedom. The cause of family. The cause of morality. The cause of goodness over evil. The cause of fairness over trampling greed.

Life is not black and white. Everything we do has shades of gray. Choices have consequences, some good, some less good. Self-service often stands in the way of service to others. Service to others can stand in the way of self gain. Somewhere in the middle we find our own playing field.

In our own game of life, we’re like the one kid with the ball. We can share it with our friends, or we can play alone. Sometimes, the more we share, the more we enrich others and the more we have. But sometimes, the more we share, the less we have. Good guys do not always win. Sometimes life just sucks.

What I try to do is help others see the difference, and find ways to improve their lives without trampling on the opportunity and freedom of others. There are times when I read my words and wonder what gives me the right to stand on my little soap box and shout what I think, or what makes me some moral arbiter with wisdom others should hear. I’m not some great shining example of morality or achievement. I am just a man with things to say, perhaps something worthwhile, someone whose words might be heard above the din and sink in, somehow spreading light on the dark secrets of this crazy world that spins around us.

I felt that it was important for me to fess up to my own imperfections and frailties. It is so easy to sit behind this keyboard and sound like I (we) know it all. That we’ve got some magic answer that no one else can see.

The simple fact is, I don’t. None of us do. All we can do is our best. I do try to do my best, every day. I hope that you do too. Because if we all do our best, despite our flaws and mistakes, this world will be a far better place.