By not fully understanding money, the vast majority of people allow the awesome power of money to control them. The power of money is used against them. If they used the power of the mirror, they would have asked themselves, "Does this make sense?" All too often, instead of trusting their inner wisdom, that genius inside of them, most people go along with the crowd. They do things because everybody else does it. They conform rather than question. Often, they mindlessly repeat what they have been told. Ideas such as "diyerstfyorJYour home is an asset." "Your home isjjrJaiesLinvestment." "You get a tax break for going intoreater_debt." "Get a safe job." "Don't make mistakes. Don't take risks." It is said that the fear of public speaking is a fear_greater than death for most peop[e. According to psychiatrists, the fear of public speaking is caused by the fear of ostracism, thfiTearof standing out,jhe fear of criticism, the fear of ridicule, the fear of being an outcast. The fear of being dif- ferent prevents most people from seeking new ways to solve their problems. That is why my educated dad said the Japanese valued the power of the mirror the most, for it is only when we as humans look into the mirror do we find truth. And the main reason that most people say "Play it safe" is out of fear. That goes for anything, be it sports, relationships, ca- reer, money. It is that same fear, the fear of ostracism, that causes people to conform and not question commonly accepted opinions or popular trends. "Your home is an asset." "Get a bill consolidation loan and get out of debt." "Work harder." "It's a promotion." "Someday I'll be a vice presi- dent." "Save money." "When I get a raise, I'll buy us a big- ger house." "Mutual funds are safe." "Tickle Me Elmo dolls are out of stock, but I just happen to have one in back that another customer has not come by for yet." Many great financial problems are caused by going along with the crowd and trying to keep up with the Jones- es. Occasionally, we all need to look in the mirror and be true to our inner wisdom rather than our fears. By the time Mike and I were 16 years old, we began to have problems in school. We were not bad kids. We just began to separate from the crowd. We worked for Mike's dad after school and on the weekends. Mike and I often spent hours after work just sitting at a table with his dad while he held meetings with his bankers, attorneys, ac- countants, brokers, investors, managers and employees. Here was a man who had left school at the age of 13, now directing, instructing, ordering and asking questions of ed- ucated people. They came at his beck and call, and cringed when he did not approve of them. Here was a man who had not gone along with the crowd. He was a man who did his own thinking and de- tested the words "We have to do it this way because that's the way everyone else does it." He also hated the word "can't.