Looking for Potential Life is all about looking for potential. When you were dating you were looking for a potential mate or spouse either for life or a predetermined time. When you made investments or bought stocks you were looking for a potential to make you more money. When you meet someone you are sizing them up for potential to eventually become friends or to move on to others. It can be for a limited period of time determined by you or them and who knows how long that will be. Back in the 90's I bought $1000 worth of stock in a nameless company (that was huge at the time for me). My friends were all telling me how good the company was, I knew the track record of the company and it was outstanding, I had heard about the owner and how well he took care of his employees and steered the company in very good directions. What I did not understand about this potential investment that my investor told me about was that the investment could also go down as well as increase in value. I ignored this and invested in this potential and looked forward to the rewards. In about one year the stocks decreased in value. My friends were selling at 75 cents on the dollar, later more sold at 50 cents on the dollar. I maintained my investment telling myself that if I sold then I lost money but if I held onto the investment there was a potential that it could turn around and increase and make me money. I rode that darn investment all the way into the ground and eventually after several years and lawsuits by collective investors got the 3 or 5 cents on the dollar. So what did I do with that information? a. Did I never make another investment in stock? No. b. Did I never make another investment in that company? Yes c. Did I tell others about this bad company? No d. Did the company go out of business? No, the company went on a thrived because it was investing in bad things and divested themselves of those bad things. Did it cost them money? Yes Did it cost them potential investors? Yes But they learned from there mistakes and so did I. I still invest in stocks on a limited basis and invest for long term. I found out there are preferred stocks and this other kind which I'd invested in and the other was not a very good kind. So chose your potentials wisely. When something that had potential goes bad, then learn from it. Use that potential to increase your potential worth in knowledge which is still a good investment. Be careful of the stories you tell yourself about the potential of something. As a friend of mine says, "look at things exactly as they are, do not make them better or worse", look at the potential and know both the positives and the negatives and no matter how things turn out there is always potential good to be learned and know how to make a positive outcome out of a negative one. Learn your lessons from all situations. Find positive in negative things. Divorce has both positive and negative and your focus on your outcomes far outweigh all the negative in any situation. When writing apply the potentials and learn from your mistakes and take credit for the positives and just writing for a day is positive even if what you wrote is crap. It is all a learning experience. Focus on the positive. If you find value in the interviews and blogs found here then you have the potential to invest in that value. If not then just move on to another site. Your choice, your potential, your positive outcome is yours to focus on no matter what the experience. |