Why I Became A Capitalist Pig
I’ve talked about this before, but it’s definitely worth touching on again. There’s something that I see happen time and time again with my clients that can massively impact on their ability to reach their potential.
Here’s the thing…
You need to stop talking to your family about your property investing!
Hang on a second. Your family loves you, right? They want to be included in your life happenings… like your relationships, children, holiday plans and more… so why not property investing?
90% of Australians fall into the low to middle income bracket. Chances are this includes your parents (and if it doesn’t, I’ll talk about that in a bit). The way that people in this group think and act around money is not going to contribute positively to your wealth creation journey.
Let me illustrate this with a bit of a story…
Tall Poppy Parents
As you probably know, I’m involved in a fair bit of youthwork, which puts me in contact with young people and schools a lot. One day, I was having a conversation with the principal from a school in Brisbane which was in a disadvantaged area.
This principal was telling me a story about some of the families he sees come through the school. One thing he likes to do is ask them, “What do you want for your children?”
The response is always, “We want our children to get the best education and we want them to have all the things that we missed out on.”
Which is great, right? What parent doesn’t want the best education and the best things for their kids? Nobody is going around saying they wish their kids were worse off!
And so, these parents work hard to encourage their children at school and make sure they have everything they need to do well there. And generally, the kids will do well as a result! They’ll head off to university (or wherever) and get set up in a job that pays well, get themselves a nice car, and generally be considered successful.
What’s interesting is that as a young adult, this child will return home to his or her parents for a visit, expecting them to be (rightly) proud of their achievements. But quite often, the opposite will occur.
Their parent will say to them, “Don’t you walk in here thinking that you’re fancy because you’ve got a nice car and brand name clothes. You remember who put you through school. You remember who gave you the shirt off your back.”
It’s the tall poppy syndrome at work. Even though these parents wished for their kids to be better off, when it actually happens as an adult, they’re uncomfortable with it. So, they try to tear them down. It’s sad to see, but it happens all the time.
Are You a Capitalist Pig?
I know it’s a common occurrence, because it happened to me.
When I left my career as an officer in the army and decided to go into property investing full time, my father asked me, “Why are you leaving the army? It’s a very good job.”
I explained that I was ready to do something else, and then he said, “What, are you going to become a capitalist pig, are you?”
That’s right, my own father said that!
And of course, I love my father and I know that he loves me, so I had to stop and think for a moment before I responded. And I realised what was going on here. Something in him had been triggered by me deviating from a path and wealth that he was comfortable with. When I realised that, I simply responded with, “Yes, dad, that’s exactly what I’m going to become. A capitalist pig.”
Here’s why I’m okay with being a “capitalist pig”… our society owes a lot to capitalism!
Before capitalism, we had to run our own little farms just to survive, wash our clothes by hand and do everything from scratch. If it wasn’t for capitalism, investing, money, and wealth creation, our society wouldn’t have been able to advance like it has.
Be Careful Who You Talk To
So, here’s the thing, when you’re getting into property investing, be very careful to avoid mentioning it to people who just don’t get it. If you want to chat to somebody, find someone who’s done it or are currently doing it! If you want to talk to your family, find another topic of conversation.
In my experience, if you bring up property investing around someone who isn’t in that space, 9/10 times, they’ll try to steer you away.
Be aware that the people you listen to, are the people you’ll turn out like. If you’re okay with the same financial outcomes as your parents have, go ahead and follow their advice. In fact, if your parents are in the 1% and have plenty of money, I’d strongly recommend that you do that! Take them out for lunch this weekend and ask them to tell you how they did it and learn as much as you can off them.
But if your parents are like the majority and aren’t financially successful, stop taking their financial advice, and leave them out of your financial/investing conversations.
ADF or Ex ADF Member? CLICK HERE
Not an ADF Member? CLICK HERE
Happy property investing!
Daimien J Patterson
Daimien Patterson is the CEO of Integrity Investment Properties, a property investment company based in Australia. He regularly produces books, blogs, and videos on the topic of property investing. Head to [integrityinvestmentproperties.com.au] for your free copy of Daimien’s book, Safe as Houses.
