We all know if you multiply by zero, you get zero. Obvious right?
1×0 =0
234,456 x 435 x 54 x 0 =0
Here’s a story.
Suppose you were trying to become the best basketball player in the world. You’ve got the following things going for you:
1. God-given talent. You’re 6’9″, quick, skillful, can leap out of the building, and have been the best player in a competitive city since you can remember.
2. Support. You live in a city that reveres basketball and you’re raised by parents who care about your goals.
3. A proven track record. You were the player of the year in a very competitive Division 1 college conference.
4. A clear path forward. You’re selected as the second overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.
Sounds like you have a shot, right? As good as anyone could have, right? What would you put the odds at of this person becoming one of the better players in the world? Pretty high?
Let’s add one more piece of information:
5. You’ve developed a cocaine habit.
What are your odds now?
The story is from Farnham Street.
Something all engineers learn very early on is that a system is no stronger than its weakest component.
When you invest for your future, you could use a ‘reputable’ fund manager, a ‘well-respected wealth manager’, in ‘prime city-centre offices’, ‘privately educated’, ‘top university’, ‘Hermes tie’. Everything you expect for success. Is there anything that might mean you are multiplying by zero? Hopefully its not the cocaine habit, but how do you find the ‘zero’, because it’s there, you just haven’t seen it.