Being a victim has never been more “in” then it is today. It is so common for people to blame others or circumstances for their shortcomings. They believe they’re entitled to things even though those things in which they feel entitled to have not been earned. There is a strong ignorance tax you have to pay whenever you start down any worthwhile journey. That ignorance tax is usually paid over years and it takes persistence to break through. Everyone is quick to think of their own circumstances and how hard it is to be them without realizing that everyone pursuing anything worthwhile is paying the same price! If you find yourself blaming, defending yourself or your actions, or complaining things just aren’t right, it’s probably time to start introspectively reflecting rather than placing blame outwardly for your current circumstances.
The Ignorance Tax
Everything is exciting in the beginning. We as humans love things that are new and offer a “fresh start”. It is through these “fresh starts” so many people find themselves gravitating toward throughout their whole lives believing that whatever road they were on prior became impossible to continue on and that this new “fresh start” would spark a change in their lives alleviating their pain.
The truth is, all this means in many circumstances is just rewinding the clock back to the beginning wherein all of the same issues will manifest in different ways down this new path you have chosen. They may manifest in different ways but manifest they will nonetheless, all for the same reason they did last time and every time a “fresh start” begins.
This happens when it’s time to pay your ignorance tax. Defined simply, an ignorance tax is a payment made in the form of lost money, time, etc., as a result of doing something wrong that you may not have known how to do correctly. The only way to learn and improve is by paying this tax. If we feel the pain of this tax, we know we are on the right path, one of learning and growing into a better and more enlightened version of ourselves. It is over time that this tax burden lessens and our “ignorance tax preparation” allows us to keep more money in our pockets and time in our lives for the things that matter most.
The Issue With The Ignorance Tax
The biggest issue with the ignorance tax is that it is extremely painful. So painful that, just like with regular taxes, most people don’t want to pay it. Unlike real government backed taxes, this tax actually serves you well and serves a purpose beyond just taking your money. This tax allows you to learn and get better. When the tax hits, most people get defensive about their decisions, questioning why they may not have worked and blaming external factors and people for their failure or complaining about how hard it is to have the success they wish to have. These unproductive character traits lead to the jump from fresh start to fresh start. Stagnating and being stubborn, never looking introspectively or stopping to learn lessons from previously taken actions is the undoing of so many people.
In 2024, my company and I paid a huge ignorance tax, one that could have crippled the company had we let it. Instead of being bitter about it, we are trying to learn from it and be grateful for it which hasn’t been easy and will continue to be a challenge.
Our Ignorance Tax
In 2024, my team and I spent a lot of money on mentorships for our real estate business. It was through these mentorships that we were taught to change our marketing strategy from free to paid to make our business predictable and rely less on the free revenue sources of our business because of their lack of predictability. We concocted a plan with our assigned coach to take over a specific market with paid leads. Our choice was Jacksonville, Florida. The goal was to be able to make a consistent revenue of $100,000 a month off of $25,000 of marketing spend within 6 months..
Instead of the 4-1 return we were hoping for, we barely broke above a 1-1 return on our overall investment in 8 months. This is a complete abject failure as all of the money we made went right back into marketing leaving little profit for us. This was a time of deep ignorance tax facing the cold hard truth that this was not going to be as easy as we thought it would be. We also faced the humbling truth that we were not as good as we thought we were either at our craft..
All the while this was happening, we continued to generate free leads. We noticed that over the same period, our free leads generated more cash than our paid ones and with little to no spend leaving us with all profit! This realization while frustrating was also necessary for our business. We paid a huge ignorance tax to see what was working for us so we could double down on it. In the last 45 days, our company has closed or will close on over $120,000 in net profit for the company in real estate sales, all of this with almost no spend whatsoever.
Without our ignorance tax, we never would have had this realization. We also never would have picked up key skills on how to take over markets and other key parts of our industry we will take with us in the future. The experience has shaped our company and we will continue to pay an ignorance tax each time we hit a point of growth.
Paying Your Tax
Paying any taxes sucks. We all hate taxes. It is so important for your future that when paying your ignorance tax you don’t fall into the BCD trap as we learned from our previous mentorship. BCD is an acronym for blame, complain, defend. If you find yourself performing any of these actions, stop, look at yourself in the mirror, and begin to reflect introspectively rather than project frustration outwardly. The more you do that, the less “fresh starts” you’ll need and the more successful you’ll be!