Why you should get your advice from someone better

I was at the grocery store looking for a particular brand of highly rated coffee by Consumer Reports magazine and I was having no luck finding it.

One of the guys stocking the coffee shelf was eager to help me out. He looked at the page I had torn from the magazine and informed me, "We don't have that one, but this one here is pretty good." he said as he pointed to a different brand.

Against my better judgement, I took his suggestion.  Sure enough, upon trying it for the first time, I was less than happy with the decision, but I knew I would be. Why?   Because I violated my cardinal rule for listening to people - only listen to those who have more experience, knowledge, wealth, or whatever, than you do.

This kid looked like he was just out (if even) of high school, and I doubt he was much of a coffee drinker. If I may stereotype for just a second here, he was probably more likely to drink those 'energy' drinks from the cans, and if he drank coffee at all, it probably doesn't even taste like coffee after all the other ingredients are added.

I've been told more than once by a bank teller that she's 'noticed I have some money in my account I'm not using' (like she would know). Then she goes on to try to sell me into why I should put it in some of their CDs.

I always respond the same - by asking, "How much do you make per year?" Of course they don't know how to answer this and they rarely do. But I go on to explain that I only take financial advice from someone who makes at least ten times as much as I do, and if she can't show me that she does, there is no point in talking about it. That quickly ends those conversations.

I had a friend who was getting his real estate advice from someone who had never invested in any. Ten years ago my friend picked up four properties based on what this guy told him. Today he has no properties because he couldn't afford them the way he bought them.

It really goes for anything else too. If you are looking for a personal trainer, would you rather have someone with 20 years of real-world experience, or a kid in college with a piece of paper saying he is 'certified' (whatever that means) and just trying to make a living during his school year?

If you want relationship advice do you want to get it from someone who is happily married, or someone who never has been?

Next time you get advice, remember to ask yourself who the source is, and if you should even waste your time.

Best of Success!