The Insurance of Investing in the Best

The best of anything costs money and gives you no guarantees. But there is a reason why it’s known as the best. 

As such “The best” becomes twice as dear when resources are scarce, and the temptation to “save” that money is rampant. 

Example: Why spend 200$ on a pair of running shoes from a specialty sports store when Walmart sells them for 20$? The answer is simple: how seriously do you want to succeed? How big is your dream? Does your dream end with the school track meet which might get you a college scholarship? Or do you have a dream to make it to the Olympics? Too grandiose? Why? Athletes make it to the Olympics every four years…and they don’t have a single extra bone or vein or organ inside their bodies than you. The only thing that differentiates them from other athletes is the size and the seriousness of their dreams. Their resolve. Their commitment. Their belief in themselves and their higher power. 

As such, when I invested in my strategist in her twenties—she charged me 1500$ for a book launch strategy. Clearly she had no doubts about her value. 

My 1500$ produced a 25 long detailed list of people in magazines, newspapers and online platforms to reach out to, before launch and after launch. 

Overwhelmed and daunted, I wrote to twelve strangers. Four replied. Three rejected me, and I received a one line answer from a platform called Story Monsters Inc.: you should enter our Royal Dragonfly Award contest. 

My immediate thought was, of course: you want me to give you money. But hey, I had already rolled 1500$ on no returns. What was 60$ more? My book was in the best place it had ever been after that Red Adept content edit. 

What could I possibly lose? 

Yes. I still had a line edit pending with Red Adept, and zero clue about what on earth a line edit even was—but the Dragonfly contest deadline was ten days way. Scrambling to save some part of my tattered self esteem, I contacted Cristy Bertini of Story Monsters Inc. to ask if she would at least give my book a review in their online magazine. She said yes, but suggested I waited until actually publishing it. Then, if anyone was interested, it would be available to buy. 

So I spent my 60$ and entered that contest. 

Have you ever rolled your second to last quarter on the blackjack table of life? It’s one hell of a scary feeling. If you don’t roll it, you definitely won’t lose it—but you’ll also never win the jackpot.