The Garden Path

Have you ever been, “led up/down the garden path?”  Do you even know what the phrase means?

If you don’t, perhaps this will help (from Merriam Webster): : to deceive (someone) : to cause (someone) to go, think, or proceed wrongly.

Many of us are vulnerable when it comes to folks we trust in our lives.  Frankly, if you believe a friend has your best interests at heart, and this friend says–“I think this is a worthy investment,” and you invest a few dollars as a result, what can possibly be wrong with that?  (The stories about “what could possibly be wrong with that” are legion.) Still, in my own little life, I prefer to think that if my friend misled me, and he lost (or at least, didn’t make, money either, presumably he’d made the wrong decision as well.  Maybe, in the short-term, things just didn’t pan out as the “investee” had hoped.  That’s not necessarily a sign of malicious intent, nor is it a problem for me, unless I had gone overboard and off the rails, spending more than I had, or more than I could afford to lose.  I forget who it was who made that distinction clear--never invest more than you can afford to lose–nevertheless, I’m grateful.

As a result, if I stayed rational, I’d not likely have been financially affected as a result, and FTR, I’ve always followed the sage advice that I should never invest more than I–worst case–could afford to lose.

Isn’t such sort of investment always a gamble?  And isn’t the term “gamble” indicative of the circumstance? “Take a flyer,” as they say in the UK. Sometimes I listen to GBNews, and one of their ads is for some sort of gambling scheme which–I think–is government sponsored.  Lottery, maybe?  I don’t pay much attention.  But I can’t help noticing the coda at the end of each ad.  The PSA.  “Please gamble responsibly.”

Wut?

Still, perhaps that’s what I am doing.  At the same time as I take ownership for my actions.

I’m not a fool.  I’d never do something which might put me, my family, my holdings, or my finances, at risk.

But, if I have a bit of money burning a hole in my pocket, I might try something.  Not because I slavishly follow a friend, but because it seems that the potential for a substantial return over investment is something appealing to me.

If things don’t pan out, or if they might take longer to pan out than I’d like them to, I’m OK with that.

Don’t worry, dear friend who recommended my action.  (I sense you’re feeling guilty.) But I assume, for now, you were speaking in good faith when you suggested I invest.  And I’m not about to sue you for having misrepresented what may have been your own overeager conclusions to me..

At least, not just yet.

A little bit of my garden path