Not everything you see is real, not everything you hear is right, not everything you believe is true

Be careful who you allow to influence you.

Our biases and prejudices will determine whether or not we will choose to believe a person or concept depending on where we align ourselves with that perticular source of information. We are all affected by our biases and prejudices, myself included.........

let me explain....

Let's say you have a motivational speaker that you like and follow. Let's assume that the person has the same prejudices and biases that you have - in other words, you think alike.

Upon hearing this person speak on a couple of occassions, you decided that you can "relate" to that persons views. The result is that because you have found someone that kind of thinks like you, you begin to assume that everything they say is true and correct.

For example, I am a fan of Robert Kyosaki and support his views on what an asset and a liability is. I also like the way he says that we should only invest in positively geared investments. His views on the use of "good debt" is also something I agree with.

I also agree with his definition of a liability and that anything that takes money out of your pocket (negative cashflow) and/or loses value continuously over time (such as cars, boats, TV's, and yes, even your home has negative cashflow) are a liability.

I love all of these teachings of Roberts. However, I do not agree with his COVID-19 conspiracy theories, I do not agree with his views on physical gold as an investment, nor do I agree with his views regarding the sharemarket.

I have allowed Robert to influence me to a degree, but, as I always do, I have stepped back and scrutinised all that he says and have concluded that only part of his views fit my persona.

Though I'm a big fan, and strongly believe in his property investing philosophies, I do NOT believe everything he says is correct or real in other matters.

Another influencer/motivator is Andrew Tate. Love him or hate him, he has influenced many people around the world. Now, if your beliefs are aligned with his, you will see him as a "guru". If you believe in looking for the positive in people, believe that people should all be equal, or you are trying to be "woke" (I hate that term by the way, as I think most "woke" people are actually asleep and completley out of touch with reality and how the world actually works - anyhow, a discussion for another day), then you will most likley dislike the guy.

Either way, whether you are a fan or not, you must understand that not everything he says is HIS idea or is actually true and correct. I recently saw a video post where he described a scientific experiment of the "Five monkeys, the bunch of bananas, and the icy water".

Apparently it is supposed to describe a real scientific experiment that was performed on a group of monkeys, and it is supposed to raise profound questions about our tendency to unquestioningly follow the herd. Though the attempted message/moral has some minor merit, the actual "experiment" is complete and utter nonsense, because no such experiment ever happened. Of course, Mr Tate would have heard the story of this mythical study and just repeated it via video to his fan/follower base, who, in turn, share the video with others, and since people fail to verify the information and with the help of social media, the false information spreads throghout the globe as it if it was absolute fact.

Just because someone believes something is true, does NOT mean that it is.

Now, does this mean Mr Tate is misinforming his audience and his advice is wrong - no, not at all, it just means that he has particular biases, and if he comes across a story that fits into his view of the world, then he accepts that story and relays it to his audience - whether it is true or not.

I have a good friend who has been in business for as long as I have - longer actually.

He believes that his business is worth $20 Million, yet has been unable to get investors to invest, nor anyone to buy him out. His business has survived on repeat government research grants, which, without them, the business would have folded many times over. They struggle to turn a profit, struggle to pay rent on the premises and he cannot retire because the business cannot run without him AND, he also needs a salary to survive.

Yet, he is seen as a "business man", because he has a degree in engineering and a masters degree in business administration and has, what appears to be, a viable business - a business nobody will buy or invest in because, I suspect, the numbers do not stack up.

So, would I discuss business strategy, investing or any business related topic with him? Out of courtesy, yes, but not to any depth where I believe there would be any value. However, he is a nice guy, well travelled, plays golf and relates to me quite well as we have the same biases and interests - so we can socialise, play golf and even chat for hours on any topic, but business topics are of no interest to me because he has little to offer from a value perspective, so I will be polite and listen to his views, but always knowing that financial performance is the ultimate goal and test of any good idea and his methods and views fail any financial performance test.

The person does not have to be a friend, motivational speaker or influencer, it can be a close relative. My father was a good man. He was a good dad and loved my mother. He was a provider and did what he had to do for his family. However, he had his flaws. As an adult, I can look back and see the flaws.

My father was a big influence on me. I learned about being a provider, working hard, being a protector, a husband and a father. He taught me to use my initiative, and that problems are there to be solved.

It is usually very easy to look at our parents as flawless and end up putting them on a pedestal. However, if I put my biases aside, and look at my father as "just a person", I can honestly say that when it came to investing, business prowess, he had no real skills or experience. He had a big ego, and as such, my siblings and I would never challenge him.

He valued a good education, and since I had no degree (unlike my brothers), I was the "black sheep" of the family that wasted my opportunities.

Don't get me wrong, I loved my dad, and miss him. However, I look at things realistically and appreciate all he did for us, and recognise all the things he was incapable of doing. I try to emulate all the good things I learned from my dad (family, fatherhood, being a provider, etc) and ignore all the shortfalls (business skills, investing etc). I look elsewhere for the latter skills.

I picked and chose what I believed and heard, even from my own dad, because his perspective was vastly different to mine, and he had not achieved what I was seeking to achieve.

• You MUST learn to step back and look at a situation with an open unbiased mind. It is very easy to look at people and situations through "rose coloured" glasses, where you can see no wrong and everything is perfect - but it never is. Look beyond your biases, it is the hardest thing to do.

• You will have your own beliefs, and just because someone else has different beliefs does not make them wrong, but it does NOT mean you have to adopt their beliefs either.

• Remember, people have a herd mentality and they follow the majority. You MUST question the majority view and be willing to walk alone.

• Do NOT let biases dictate who or what you believe. Question everything.

• Nobody is flawless, and almsot nobody is worthy of being put on a pedestal.

• When it comes to advisors, search for those that you KNOW have achieved what you want to achieve. My father taught me family values, my godmother taught me that wealth creation was possible - even without a tertiary education, my mother taught me love of family and friends - I did not have to go far to learn these concepts. However, nobody I knew had become a multimillionaire - so I had to seek out others to learn from.

• If your parents have brought you up well, and you come from a close loving family, then that is where you learn how to create the same thing, if that is what you want. If your parents were able to build a business, build wealth etc, then that is who you should be talking to, if that is what you want to achieve. People often overlook what is directly in front of them - strange that!

• If you have friends or acquaintences that have achieved what you want to achieve, then learn from them.

• Only seek outside sources when trusted sources fail you or are unable to provide what you need. I always first looked to family, friends, the families of friends for knowledge, motivation, and inspiration. These are the people that want to see you succeed the most.

REMEMBER....

• Question everything, do your own fact checks, and make up your own mind.

• If you need advice, then find an appropriate expert to give it to you.

• You don't know what you don't know..... so whenit comes to legal, tax, accounting advice, then seek out and pay good money for a qualified professional.