Quick Disclaimer! Don’t read this week’s article if you won’t take the time to pull the valuable and realistic “success lesson” out of it. Don’t read it if you’re “appalled” at the title. Don’t read it if you’re going to take my words “out of context.” Finally, I speaketh from experience because I’ve been burned in the past too!

Now that I’ve got your attention…

As I’m writing this most Newspapers here in the Granite State are covering the alleged “Ponzi Scheme” surrounding the closed Financial Resources Mortgage, Inc of Meredith. 500 people lost somewhere close to $80,000,000.00!

I’ve been following the story a little and talking about it on my weekly radio show in Nashua. I feel really bad for the good people who got wrapped up and lost there life savings to New Hampshire’s Bernie Madoffs.

“A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned. The Ponzi scheme usually entices new investors by offering returns other investments cannot guarantee.  These returns are either abnormally high or unusually consistent.

The perpetuation of the returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises and pays requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors to keep the scheme going. The system is destined to collapse. “

I think the key words there are “entices” and “abnormally high.” Now, what did dad and mom tell us? “If it’s too good to be true….” What, would psychologists tell us? They’d insert their tobacco pipe and observe the “enticing” brought upon an irrational descision that exploited their key emotion of greed. Am I calling anyone greedy? NO! (Remember my disclaimer!). But greed is a powerful emotion that lives in all of us.

Positive and Negative Emotions

The fact is there are positive emotions and negative emotions. Negative emotions are useful.  But too much of any one particular negative emotion can be dangerous depending on the situation. A little fear keeps you alive, too much keeps you stuck. A little greed can make you financially free and enables you to help others. But too much….

The Illusion of Invulnerability

There is a mindset that thinks: “Bad things happen to others, bad things don’t happen to me.” Psychologist call this “The Illusion of Invulnerability.” It too, can be dangerous. The reality is bad things happen to everyone! But, not everyone responds the same way. Some people respond positively to bad situations. These people are the ones that “fall down nine, get up ten.” They’re the ones who come out stronger and wiser. And they’re the ones who Sinatra sings about; “Each time I find myself flat on my face, I just pick myself up and get back in the race!”

Bad things will happen to you and so will good things! So make the best of the good times and pull the valuable wisdom from the bad.

And as one of my favorite authors, Robert Ringer, says; “Look out for number one!”