Last week, I was in Hong Kong to give a presentation about investing and building companies in the cannabis industry. The majority of the people that I spoke with had no clue about the traction that the market has gotten.
Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of interest (A LOT!), but in general, most people I spoke with really had no idea what is going on in the US, Canada, and other countries.
This is one of those assumptions that humans have, and I’m no exception. When you are doing something, you think that others are aware of what you’re doing. It’s kind of like when you’re embarrassed about the way you look or what you’re wearing… guess what? No one cares. They’re too worried about the way that they look.
This happens with nearly everything. People think the news about their city, the developments in their industry, and the events of their life are what others are aware of. In general, that’s just not the case.
And that’s one of the big lessons I’ve learned about investing – cannabis in particular. As one of the earlier investors in the industry, I should have been much more transparent and open about what I was doing from the beginning.
Originally, I had thought that what I was involved in was secret and proprietary – and maybe it was to a certain extent – but the reality was that I needed a lot more help from fellow entrepreneurs and investors to make certain projects and investments successful.
Think about this… in the United States, only 55% of adults are invested in the stock market. Of that 55%, the large majority are extremely passive investors who really have no idea what is going on with the economy or individual companies.
When it comes to cannabis, a surprising 29% of adults are interested in investing in the industry. But that just means they’re interested. There is a whopping 95% of the population that is interested in having 6 pack abs, but very few who actually get it done. I just totally made up that statistic… but you get the point.
Being interested in something and actually following through are two completely different things. Kind of like the people who have tons of great ideas but rarely execute on anything.
Realizing all of this, and as tempting as it is to keep information secret, I now look back to the ‘early cannabis investing days’ (which was only several years ago) and realize that it’s much more strategic to be open. This is especially true if you have valuable information, but can’t do anything with it.
Really, this line of thinking and this kind of behavior, comes down to scarcity mindset. It’s really toxic to think like this because it will effect all parts of your life. The way you make and spend money, the way you treat those close to you, and the actual physical way you present yourself will all depend on what state your mind is in.
I’d love to end this article with some secret information that I have for you (maybe in the near future), but I think you get the overall point here. Sharing ideas and information, even if it was difficult to get, almost always ends up giving you more power and value. Opportunities will start to come to you, which will enable you to act upon that value you have provided.
