A surprising thing happens to people in their forties. After working hard, buying a house, and starting a family, they suddenly realize that they'd better start being responsible with their money. They begin reading financial books and trying to learn how to set up a nest egg for themselves and their families. It's a natural part of growing older.

If you ask these people in their forties what their biggest life worry, the answer often is, quite simply, "money". They want to learn to manage their money better, and they'll tell you how important financial stability is to them.

Yet the evidence shows something very different.

If you want to start a business, the best $20 you'll ever spend is to find successful entrepreneurs and take them out to lunch. They can be from your industry or other industries — it doesn't matter. For example, if you're interested in hospitality, you could pick up a hospitality magazine and see who's doing interesting work. Then email them and ask to take them out to lunch.

Spend 90% of the time talking about them:

• Ask them how they did it.
• Ask them what mistakes they made along the way.
• In the final few minutes, you can ask about your idea. Is it crazy? What should you be thinking about?

After you meet two or three people, you'll start to see patterns that you hadn't recognized before. And that's when you realize how powerful it can be to ask others for advice. Continue reading...