What is your Financial DNA?
In a conference call earlier today, Steve Jobs said, “What we want to do is deliver an increasing level of value to these customers, but there are some customers which we choose not to serve. We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk; our DNA will not let us do that. We’ve seen great success by focusing on certain segments of the market and not trying to be everything to everybody, and you can expect us to stick with that winning strategy.”
I have always admired Steve Jobs. Not just because I use and love Mac’s but because he has an ability to seize the moment, grab our attention and inspire us to not only believe in what he’s doing at Apple, but what we can do for ourselves through the products he creates. As I kept thinking about that quote, I realized there’s a little something there for all of us – particularly with respect to our personal finances.
Think about what Steve Jobs said above, making inferior computers in order to reach a low price-point isn’t in Apple’s DNA. Essentially, the grounding principles of Apple won’t let them risk the trust of their customers by compromising their standards.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the Human Genome Project. Essentially, the project has mapped out the human genome by literally decoding our DNA in such a way that each of us are now able to have our personal genome decoded. This process will literally revolutionize the way doctor’s treat their patients, allowing them to predict what diseases or conditions the patient will ultimately develop and treat them before they even occur.
Just as Apple’s DNA won’t let it produce cheap computers at the risk of an inferior product, our own DNA has imbedded with it certain characteristics that increase or decrease the likelihood of some health related problem down the road.
All of this begs the question, what is your financial DNA? Does your financial DNA dictate that you won’t use credit cards because of the inherent risks they pose on your spending habits? Conversely, does your financial DNA show signs of potential spending problems down the road and warrant the need to “treat” the problem early and the need to develop ways to live more frugally?
It’s a shame we can’t send our financial DNA to a specialist and have them decode it for us like they can our actual DNA. However, with an honest look at the way we handle our finances, we can get awfully close.
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