The man who thought small

He thought about pennies & ended up with pennies
I once knew a man who thought small. He is quite intelligent, more than most with a technical degree and excellent mathematical skills. He was very strong in certain types of thinking, but had a serious imbalance as he couldn’t function with other types of thinking which were less “logical.” He thought about calculating everything in a world where nothing is certain. He thought about pennies when he should have been thinking about dollars.

He lost his fortune
Despite a successful lifelong career in hi-tech, this person retired with pennies. After he sold his house, he had a fair amount of money. But, the money was spent on living expenses and post-career educational expenses which in my mind is not a good investment. Education can be the most worthwhile pursuit as it is a key to a good career if you do well in school. However, the expense of school doesn’t make sense if you are at the end of your career.

What you think about you get
This person watched pennies his entire life, and then blew a lot of his fortune at the end of his life. The moral of the story is that he thought about pennies and ended up with pennies. Most gurus in India will tell you that what you think about you become. I thing about business all day long and have since childhood. I became a business person with a lively business. Others think about girls all day long and end up with multiple girlfriends.

Your brain is limited
In this world, our minds can only accommodate a finite amount of thoughts which we can successfully act upon. Some people can get more done in a 24 hour period than others. If you are penny foolish, you might lose a lot of money which you can’t afford. So, if you are broke, then spend a certain amount of time thinking about pennies so you stay afloat, but don’t spent all of your time thinking small. Devote a percentage of your brain cells to thinking bigger, otherwise you are guaranteed to end up with only pennies.

Even successful people can get dragged down into thinking small.
I have done well with my business and have good savings. But, when I get a chargeback I get upset. In the long run the charge back is not going to hurt me. It is a small amount of money. But, I feel cheated which is what ticks me off. Additionally, I hate paying for parking. I will spend $50 on dinner without flinching. But, paying $8 parking seems like a rip off. In this respect I think very small. I would rather walk ten blocks and get my shoes dirty than pay a valet.

Summary
Don’t be penny or pound foolish. I just got an email from someone who wanted to tell me I owed $81.47 instead of $84. He sent me ten emails on the topic. I told him that I appreciate his contributions, but I don’t have time for this nonsense. I have other things to take care of. Sure, I care about $2, but the ten minutes I lost looking at all of his nitpicky emails cost me $10 in lost production not to mention a headache which I can’t stand. If you never see the big picture, you will never become part of the big picture. Count your pennies, but mind your dollars first!

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