Fear vs Greed: which is your worst enemy?

Question

I see both as potentially blinding. Which do you think hampers you most? Any hard-knock lessons learned?

Robb Almy · Answer

I think fear is the lesser of two evils. In my mind, fear can be dealt with and overcome by taking action, being inspired, or becoming more educated. I see greed more as a character trait that is harder to get rid of. Great questions!

Account Closed · Answer

Anybody who stayed too long in the 2008 market would say Greed. ;-)

Account Closed · Answer

@Nolan O.Have you noticed that in our culture, there are a million stories about those who overcome their fear and a comparative minuscule number of stories in comparison about those who overcome their greed?I don't have a good answer, unfortunately.

Account Closed · Answer

I have seen a lot of people in this business carry their greed to the point of stupidity. The thing is, the outcomes of investment fear are often unmistakable as the outcomes of fear. The outcomes of greed are often not as easy to diagnose.The tenant moved out and in resentment of the frequent rent increases, completely let the place go in the last year they lived there. The stupid-greedy landlord will dismiss this as: "OMG, tenants are all just slobs."The tenant lived in fear of things going wrong with the house, knowing that the landlord would take advantage of every service call as an opportunity to argue for raising the rent. So the tenant fixes little things around the house that go wrong without telling the landlord. When they leave, they remove their fixes and replace the non-functioning parts. The stupid-greedy landlord says, "OMG, the toilet didn't flush. What a pig!"On a renovation for a 1920's-construction house, the owner wanted to forego the expense of a general contractor, so they decided to handle subcontractors themselves. Knowing squat about construction, they simply compared the renovation quotes they got to online national averages for houses typically built from anywhere from 1910-2010 and insisted that the subs were all robbing them. Six quotes later, they got a quote from "a nice guy" who promised to do the job for well below the national average price. The guy totally screwed up the job and then quit in disgust, never properly finishing the work. The owner's response, "OMG, contractors are all untrustworthy incompetents."All these are the outcomes of greed carried to the point of stupidity. But not one of the people who are at fault think they really are, or will admit that their greed caused the outcome. Introspection doesn't help these people much, because they're not too good at it in the first place.

Nolan O. · Answer

Account Closed, good point and interesting examples. If introspection can't help, what would you suggest someone do to recognize how greed may influence their decisions and take an honest assessment of the eventual outcomes?

Nolan O. · Answer

@Jeremy Roll, I was just doing a little introspection and thought it might be interesting to hear what others think. I'd like to be aware of how fear and greed color my decisions with the aim of basing decision more on fact and analysis. I personally am more likely to be influenced by fear than greed.

Jeremy Roll · Answer

I agree with Robb. Greed can potentially lead to greater damage and have harsher lasting effects on oneself as well as
 to others. After all it is one of the 7 deadly sins: Greed, Pride, 
Sloth, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, and Envy. Fear on the other hand can be debilitating and may cause one to shrink back from taking action. Greed is an intense, aggressive
 desire and active whereas fear is inhibiting or causes immobility. A 
little greed/desire may be good for taking action, but needs to be 
tempered with balance and accountability. Curious, why do you ask?

Fear vs Greed: which is your worst enemy?

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