There have been times when I noticed something, either a friend or a business situation, and when I mention it to others, no one sees it. My archives are littered with situations like this. For example, I said a long time ago to be careful using Facebook, as many are detracting from their goals by using Facebook. Those that love the service looked around the privacy issues, continued to use the service, and many ended up angry at the decisions Facebook made. That does not change the fact the signs were always there.

Let’s look at it another way. The other day when I went on my porch, a neighbor was sitting on their porch. You know how you make small talk? I said hello, talked about the weather a minute, and then I asked if he thought the house across the street was being knocked down. He responded, “Naw, I think they are fixing the front porch.” I looked at the house and his response blew my mind so much, I took a picture and decided to write about it.

The house did not look this bad prior to them working on it. They stripped all of the siding off the house, took out all the windows, the steps were not broken like that previously. They removed the steel/wood/glass where the porch was. They are actively knocking everything out of the inside of the house, filling up huge dumpsters. One other tidbit, they knocked down a house the other day the same way. Another, they completely redid the house.

Yet my neighbor, sitting on the porch watching them do all of this, honestly believed they were fixing the porch.

I cannot grasp the logic in his statement. These houses being knocked down are the first victims of the bad economy. We started feeling it here before most areas, when we lost the factories that employed so many people. They could not sell it without remaining in debt. They could not afford to pay the ballooning mortgage. The street began to empty out and the vacant lots drove the property values down further. Even those houses that were paid off would be sold, if they could be sold, at a loss.

My neighborhood is in the redevelopment stage where these houses, that could not be sold, are being knocked down and/or rebuilt. The houses being rebuilt are smaller and more affordable…good first home houses. Many cities experiencing foreclosures have years to get to this point.

Knowing all of this, my neighbor still said he thought they were fixing the porch. Note he did not say he thought they were refurbishing the house. He said “fixing the porch”. What about the rest of the house?

We all do this…

At some point in our lives, we all behave like this. Perhaps we had feelings for someone that was not the best choice for the goals that were set. Or perhaps you know of someone unrealistically jumping through hoops to make someone happy when, they would be wiser to pick someone that loved them as is – no change necessary. There are many people who are on a false path for wealth, and will not achieve it because they do not realize they are on the wrong path. Similar to the person who has worked many years for a company and does not want to accept he or she will never get that promotion they want.

We’ve all done it. We don’t have to continue to do it.