The way I heard it, people used this method to catch monkeys in jungle areas. The captors would cut a small hole in one end of a coconut shell, just big enough for the monkeys to fit their open hands into, and then put nuts, a favorite treat of the moneys, into the coconut shell. The captors would tie a rope to the other end of the coconut and hold it or anchor it, and wait for the monkeys to come along. The monkeys would put their hands into the hole and grab the nuts, but the hole was so small that, while their open hand would fit into the coconut, their closed fist would not fit back out through the hole. The monkeys, in their desire for the nuts, refused to open their fists, and the captors could easily walk up and capture them.
Now, first, you and I think, “Gee, it sure is silly of those monkeys to be so greedy for the nuts that they allow themselves to be captured, when all they have to do is drop the nuts and they can escape.” Simple enough, right?
Next question… Do you have a ‘fist full of nuts’ in your financial life? Something that you are holding onto so strongly, and you will not let go no matter what, that might be costing you your financial freedom? How about something like keeping up with the Joneses? How about wanting to drive a little too much vehicle for your finances? How about a little too much fun, or not quite enough hard work? How about too much house, or too much credit card spending? How about too much television time that could be used more productively in your part time business, or working some overtime, or getting a second job for a short period of time to push your finances to a new level? How about expensive habits like gambling or smoking? How about ideas regarding how to handle your finances, that, despite the fact that they have not worked for you in the past ten years, you continue to cling to, instead of learning new, better ways (you have heard the saying, ‘if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got’)?
Truthfully, don’t almost all of us have one or more examples of ‘a fist full of nuts’ in our lives? I know of some I have been able to get rid of to a large degree (like television), some that have burned me badly (like thinking I could outsmart the market place using stock options), and I know of some I still have (like the big fancy truck I decided I deserved, and the nice house and pool I decided my family deserved). Now, some of my things, like the house and truck, I decided were earned because of the hard work and real estate investing success I enjoyed over the ten years prior to those purchases, and maybe that is completely true, and maybe it is only partly true – I can’t say for sure until the end of the story, but this I know for sure… if the monkeys would have been willing to let go of the nuts, they could have escaped. And this I know for sure… there are a lot of things that the average American holds onto tightly, that, if they were willing to let go of them for a short period of time early on, it would allow them freedom from the rat race and financial bondage for the rest of their lives.
How much sense does it make for millions and millions of Americans to drive fancy, new vehicles, live beyond their means using credit cards, and spend their whole lives struggling financially, living paycheck to paycheck, if the alternative is to drive cheaply for five or ten years early on, keep the spending under control, put all of the extra money into wise investments (or, if they adhere to Dave Ramsey, debt reduction), and then after five or ten years they could have comfortable finances and be able to drive what they want and spend what they want for the rest of their lives?
One way or another, every day with every dollar, we all vote for what happens in our lives. We decide on a fist full of nuts, followed by a lifetime of financial captivity, or we decide to make some sacrifices, so we can enjoy a future of financial freedom. Best wishes at the ballot box!!!
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