Curiosity May Cost You a Finger, But Ignorance Can Make You Poor
Fixating on your footsteps as you behold the wonder of being able to walk up and down stairs, can cause you to trip. Second guessing what you instinctively know to be true can destroy even deeply held confidence.
On the other hand, falling into new rabbit holes or getting bogged down in the bigger picture can cause anxiety. Sometimes ignorance is best, because knowledge about uncomfortable things can cause anxiety.
Take politics, for instance; I was blissfully ignorant until my tax bill hit six figures. That’s when I decided to understand where my money was going, only to find the process pretty unsettling. Many of us when presented with deeper or even just alternative explanations around matters we’re not familiar with, choose ignorance over enlightenment. Peace-preservation is a logical desire and ignorance can often produce bliss. No one really wants to know what goes in the hotdog, unless they’re already set on quitting.
Growing up, a friend’s sister had an accident on what was our town’s only escalator. Placing her fingers where the stairs disappear to was a bad mistake. Her innocent curiosity led to an accident that she wasn’t equipped to handle – she didn’t understand the mechanics involved. Apply it to escalators, building wealth, raising a family, building a business, or some other aspect of life. If you don’t grasp the fundamentals of how things operate, even if they make you uncomfortable, you’ll find yourself at a loss when those things evolve.
I don’t like sports, so I get it. Some areas of the money-world can be tedious and like learning a new language. Terms like supply, demand, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), debt-to-income ratios (DTI’s), inflation, recession, central banks, and most importantly, money, are things we do need to have a basic understanding of to enjoy the game, however. You can enjoy the magic without understanding the tricks, but in a world going through a digital transformation, learning how the shell game works can be the difference between poverty and abundance.
Almost 98% of what the world produces (Global GDP) can now be captured in a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Over 162 countries are trialing or rolling out a new type of digital money that can be linked to your own digital fingerprint.
If we strive for wealth and we work hard, keep a lid on our expenses, and then invest the rest the best we can, we’re likely going to be learning about all the different types of investments we can make. If do this without actually considering the risks around what form money may take in the future, I believe this is a significant blind spot.
Check out this conversation with fellow financial adviser and CEO of Guardian Smith Mortgages, and co-host of the Keep The Change podcast – Mikey Smith. We’re talking about money, how property wealth is actually created, and how central banks of the world are on a mission further digitise the money we use.
