Do you think you know it all?

I certainly do not, in fact, I tell people, in a humble manner, that what I know would not fill a thimble (anyone remember what a thimble is, hint - check out your Monopoly Game Board pieces). So I dummy down my answer to try and relate to people on their level. I don't know an investor's level of expertise, and I never know everything there is to know about investing, so I always try and listen with my 2 ears, rather than speak with my 1 mouth.

I am sure everyone has heard that saying, that is why you were born with 2 ears and 1 mouth, so you could listen twice as much as you spend talking. We all have friends who are the self-proclaimed know-it-all. In fact, I think they can hold court with a trash can, but in social settings, that is fine. When I am working on my business, I want to find ways to relate to people, so I read.

I read books online, I read paperbacks, I read non-fiction (I read fiction every once in a while, maybe on a cruise, when I am scaling down the work), but I love to read about my business. I love new ideas from people on how they became successful. Most of the time, they take a good idea and add more good ideas to create 1 or 2 GREAT ideas and sell them as their own.

I am all for self-promotion, and I'll be the first to sing the great idea from the top of the mountain, or gingerly let the expert know that the "new idea" may not be the first we have heard of it. But the key is to always be learning, always keep reading, keep challenging your brain to do new things. Life is a puzzle, no clear cut answers or instructions. Keep challenging your brain, you will find YOUR answers. I have found many in reading and working with people.

Jack