Foolhardiness

Fools rush where angels fear to tread. Anon

Far too often, we come across numerous scams where scores of people have become victims of financial frauds perpetrated by fly by night operators. As a curious onlooker we might be taken aback by the foolishness of people who put in their hard earned money into what later turns out to be outrageously bold scams. When the true extent of the matter becomes public and the modus operandi in public domain, we cannot imagine how any sensible person can be lured so easily to part with his/ her money. In fact at a point instead of feeling sorry for the victims we end up almost idolizing the mastermind behind the snazzy schemes and con games.

If we were to reflect on the matter dispassionately, we would soon realize that every such con uses the age old human failing of greed. While greed itself is the original sin, the lust for quick riches is what pushes people into becoming foolhardy and taking risks that sane people would never take. Blinded by greed and lured by the promise of luscious quick returns, the foolhardy victim rushes in where even angels fear to tread. Some of us are victims of poor planning, inefficient execution and intellectual arrogance when we jump into schemes that at first sight looks like jackpot winners. Other times we do not want to share the spoils of the illusionary returns and so, hold all our cards close to our chest, not consulting any one nor taking anyone into confidence; then we move at lightening speed to have the first mover advantage and trip and fall flat on our face.

In the recent past the dot com bubble that went bust , the sudden collapse of the stock markets which are often artificially propped up by unscrupulous market operators and the yo yo movement of real estate prices provide ample testimony, to the tendency of people to let reason take a back seat while they are driving, what they think is the best bargain. Reason and rational are thrown out of the window when we are blinded by greed, chew more than we can digest and succumb to the lure of overnight riches.

Remember: If you act in haste you will repent at leisure.

Try these:

The next time you are offered an attractive financial product be it a mutual fund investment or an insurance policy listen to the sales person carefully. Then prepare a small report and a conclusion about your investment decision. Later take the advice of two exerts and tally their response with your own. Check out how revealing the expert comments are as compared to your own and that of the salesperson.
When pushed to the brink, unless it is life threatening, don’t react but calmly think and then respond. Let your actions be guided by deep thought and the good counsel of friends / family/ experts. Don’t let your ego cloud your judgment.

This post is courtesy www.actspot.com