The Blue Roof

A couple of years ago I read the book The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump.  I wrote down a few quotes that I liked.  I am going to share some of those quotes with you.  Sometimes with, other times without, any comment.  I hope it ads some value.

“I like to keep every option open in life …” Page 293

Options cost money.  Sometimes the OPTION to buy something costs much more than the actual item.  Example:  in the 1980 a person bought an option to buy a specific piece of land at a specific price.  Let’s say he had the option to buy a specific piece of land for R200 000 and the option cost him R20 000 per year.  Then a big retailer wanted to build a new store and that was the only land in the area.  So he they bought the option for R2 000 000.  In 1986 that was a lot of money!

Keep your options open, is like a chorus.  That is why my children never had a choice at school about maths and science.  You don’t need maths and science for every course or work, but without maths and science, there is a definite limit to your choices.  Keep your options open – and the price you pay is taking maths and science, although it is not necessarily your favourite subjects.

When signing a contract, sign the best deal that leaves you with the best options.  Rather do a 5-year lease with the option to renew than a 10-year deal.

I hate it when I am forced to do anything.  I want options, I want to be able to evaluate and choose the best route or option.  To me life means to have choices.  When you die, there are no options left.  And I kind of feel when I have no options left I am dead.

This is important.  Whatever you do, consider the options.  Which options will leave more choices?  Which option will afford you better choices?  Be it in marriage, business or negotiating a property sale, never paint yourself into a corner.  Try to always have either the door or the window, and preferably both, available to enter or exit.  If you cannot have either, then try for a thin or soft place in the wall!

Some time ago I wrote about jumping off at Losklip in Hermanus.  While you stand at the top, you have options – you can go back, left or right.  Once you jump, there is only one option – down and into the water.  Be sure that is the right option, the one you really want, before you commit. 

But best of all, always the first prize, is to keep your options open, at least as long as possible.

A couple of years ago I read the book The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump.  I wrote down a few quotes that I liked.  I am going to share some of those quotes with you.  Sometimes with, other times without, any comment.  I hope it ads some value.

The first quote today, is just one of those quotes that few people who live and work as part of big organisations can ignore:

“To me, committees are what insecure people create in order to put off making hard decisions.” Page 281.  AMEN!

“When it comes to making a smart decision, the most distinguished planning committee working with the highest-priced consultants doesn’t hold a candle to a group of guys with a reasonable amount of common sense and their own money on the line.”  Page 283.

I cannot resist the temptation to share two things regarding consultants.  The first is the theory that big companies hire consultants, because if whatever change they want to make does not work, they blame the consultants and the top echelon does not lose their jobs.  Kind of make sense.

Then there is another guy who wrote a book on Pitching (can’t remember the detail), but he is not very flattering to consultants.  He says that consultants are guys who know “everything, without the guts to build a big business.”  In general, consultants have never done what their clients have done – started out and built a big company.  They watch from the sidelines and cheer from the sidelines, but they have never really been in a real scrum.  Makes you think, doesn’t it?

The real important lesson in this quote is this:  NOBODY is going to take better care of your money than YOU.  You know how hard you work for your money.  You know how hard it is to put by a couple of thousand Rand or to repay a couple of thousand Rand.  You can equate the value of money to the time spent to make it.

Not having knowledge is not an excuse.  Knowledge is available freely at many places.  To my mind claiming a lack of knowledge is like a leader abdicating his responsibility.  Please note:  I don’t say you should not seek counsel and advice.  We all need to do that.  But the farther you are from your money, the less money you will have and the less growth you will have.  Choosing advisers is a topic for another day.

For the moment just remember this: “… guys with a reasonable amount of common sense and their own money on the line” can easily outperform the “experts”.  And that means YOU can do it.