Don't Count On It

 Anyone that has read my posts knows that I have a very cynical view as it relates to others helping you.  I've often said that no one will help you, so you have to help yourself.  This view has been refined from someone that USED to believe in others.  However, life has taught me differently.

I've had my daughter go into the hospital without visits or supports from the church where I was a greeter.  I've had a situation where my wife (at the time) was being sued and threatened with jail, and I posted a go fund me and got NOT A DIME of support and had to work extra hard to make it happen, myself.  I've been through two divorces over the decades, and other than my mother I received no financial assistance in my rebuilding years.  This is not asking for money, now, as I have ALREADY taken myself from that rocky situation and put myself in a more stable footing from which to grow back into success, as I have done at other times.  I've had family and friends upon which I thought I could always count to leave my life.  In the end, almost everyone leaves, and those that remain do so at an arms length.

I won't say that they are wrong for not supporting me over those years.  Maybe they had reasons. It is possible that they were struggling themselves and couldn't help you.  Regardless, their support was not there, and I had to solve my own dilemmas, and that is my point.  

As you go forward in your business or your life, you may have a rosy view that someone or something will always be there for you.  You may also have a positive view of your monthly sales... you may really BELIEVE that the money will come in the month to cover your bills.  My experience has taught me that in all such situations the best advice is not to count on it.  If it happens, great... it can be an extra.  However, more times than not in my life the things I was sure would happen didn't. Unless you want to live in anxiety about good things happening and feel resentment if they do not, it is best to always have backup plans and not to assume you are clear until the money is literally in your account.

I know it is a bit pessimistic, but while hope is a good energy to have for life is it not an effective business strategy.  As the IRS taught me years ago, trust but verify.  That philosophy has saved me from landmines more than once in my long life.