First business adventure: Turtles

 I know this is from an older story but just to reminisce I want to share my first business adventure and then I am going to add in some stories about my business history .

Well, when i was about 7 years old and we had the Grainola District Fair going on I had experienced for a few years turtle races.  The way it worked is I would find a terrapin and then use fingernail polish (red) to mark it with my name (don't worry, it was on the shell and would wear off easily and not harm the terrapin).  Then one of the men would draw a large circle on the blacktop by the Grainola School (see pic of old school building) and then take a cardboard box and everyone would pay 10 cents to enter and then place your terrapin (turtle) in the box in the middle of the circle.  The person in charge would raise the box (there was no bottom in the box) and the turtles would be off to the races.  The first turtle reaching the outside of the circle would win (there usually was a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place).

This was a pretty fund gig, but I soon realized there was a better way to make money.  I started with my dad's help gather turtles/terrapins a few weeks early and then at the Grainola District Fair I would sell turtles.  Yep, I made a killing as most kids did not have a turtle and wanted to enter the races.  Of course, the dads were very competitive and would pay the higher prices to get a good racing turtle.  Another advantage I had was that I could test the turtles for speed and keep that one for me.  Now I will have to tell you that turtles are unpredictable, and one might not even put its head out for the race, but I had no guarantees for performance, but I could sell you another turtle.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• a turtle in the hand is worth more than two in the bushes
• Leverage your opportunity by finding what others don't see
• Enjoy what you are doing, else find something that excites you

Thanks for listening,

gary

gary.olson@finaciti.com

If you are interested in Finaciti and would like to join, send me an email and I will get you a code that allows you to have total access for $24/ year or $2 per month.

 

Old dogs can't learn new tricks

Well there is an old saying that “old dogs can’t learn new tricks”.  I am living proof that this is just not true.  Joe Bowie had challenged me over the years to further my education and pass the CFP exam (Certified Financial Planner).   It was about 2 months ago through lots of time and prayer I passed the exam.  It was a journey that started over a year ago with three classes a week at 3 hours per class.  Then it was studying on average over 2 hours a day and all told it was more than 75 tests (I should emphasize over 75 TESTS) ranging from 1 hour to the last one was 10 hours.  I feel extremely blessed as there was only a 57% pass rate.

With all of that said, life is a journey and it is a choice to how you invest in it.  I am not speaking about money although that is important but I am speaking about how we chose to invest our time and our words, 86,400 seconds everyday.  Use it or lose it.  Invest it helping others, spending time with your family and church, or spend it thinking and doing the wrong things.  

This year I will turn 60 and the way I see it I should have about 25 years to invest in my family, friends, and you.  So today is a great new day and I am looking toward His greater purpose.

This is a story I wrote for our newsletter at work and I thought I would share it with you.  If you would like to get our  newsletter send me your physical address and we will add you to our mailing list at Retirement Investment Advisors.

So what do you learn in the Osage?

• You are only done if you think you are done
• You are never to old to start
• Even when you doubt, if you persevere you can overcome

Thanks for your time,

gary@thepioneerman.com