Here is the age old question - chicken first or egg first?

Remember the never-ending debate you had since young on this legendary question that does not seems to have an answer… without the chicken there can be no egg therefore chicken should come first… but without the egg that could never be chicken therefore egg should come first… but again without the chicken, how can egg be hatched? Or even be laid? They called this “Mental Gymnastic” (not an official Olympic event yet)!

Like any sophisticated smart Alex that attempt to answer this question, it starts with “… well, it depends…” 
Well, in being one of the Alex, I would humbly submit that the answer to this question is most often taken out of context. It is either we are giving a philosophical answer to a scientific question or a logical answer to a romantic question. No winner either way.

Dad was talking to me (applying his new found skills as a real estate negotiator) yesterday to invest in more units in the condominium that I lived in (yes, we do own a few units as a family). Like an investment expert, he said that there are a lot of demands by the overseas students who studied in the college nearby and he can almost instantly renting it out with no hassle. Guess what, it also come with an irresistible price tag as he found some owner for a fire sale. Dad has certainly learned the American way of up-selling. He is confident as he knows the place well.

My first reaction – “Don’t put all the eggs into one basket!”

This golden phrase is the most accurate when it comes to investment that requires a balance spread of risk. It cannot be more true when you have only a handful of eggs to work with in the first place.  Single basket requires too much attention that does not sound right for an investment approach.

Yet applying the same golden phrase in business, you cannot be more WRONG! Different context requires different mindset! Your business is your chicken not your egg! Never kill your chicken that lays eggs! Hatch the eggs to be the chicken that lays eggs… this is a single basket approach that requires all your focus and attention and all in the same direction. It is only when you accumulate the eggs that you spread them into different baskets.

Here is another interesting conversation I had with one of my long time client (a good friend by now) yesterday when I called him to remind his payment for our bills. He quipped and said:

“Friend, is your money working or sleeping? My money is working for me all the time so it is better that the money to stay with me if my money is only pass to you to sleep in the bank. Ha ha! I can pass it (money) to you but can you make sure that it works the hardest for you as well?”

That’s interesting wakeup call. Do not just work for the money (too many constraints – remember my 24 hours a day and two hands argument for leveraging and delegation?). Instead let your money work for you when you have spare cash or eggs. Make money even when you sleep! Leveraging your money making power. Create more time by creating systems and just franchise it! Or, use others’ time and just pay for it!

Never let your money sit in the Bank and allow the Bank to make all the money. Instead act like the Bank, do what they do with your money! Remember, modeling (recognition of patterns) is a best function of the brain, kind of like “Monkey see, Monkey do”! Since, human is an “evolutionised” monkey, so may I propose: “Human see, Human do better”!  

My ANSWER:

When you have only one egg, make sure that you hatch it to be the best chicken possible in laying eggs.

When you get more eggs, look for different baskets.

In short, chicken before egg.

At least, in this context …

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