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Influence Positively Interview - Lisa Spector

Past performance, dog adoption and wagging indicators

Past performance is no indication of future results for a dog.

When you decide to adopt a dog, it is highly likely they will come with a past. If they are a senior dog, that past could include an entire life of fun and games or incredible neglect. You decide to invest in this dog based on your instinct, a professionals guidance, and possibly past experiences. 

Wagging Indicators. 

When we adopted Cleo from the San Francisco SPCA, we had little information about her background. It was up to us to watch her closely, read a lot about German Shepherds and Siberian Huskies (I grew up only with Dobermans) in order to get an idea of what to expect. Managing expectations is important.

I soon discovered that Cleo's tail was a leading indicator of everything we did right. When we asked her if she wanted breakfast, her tail wagged. If we said it was time for a walk, her tail wagged. If we called her "Chloe", no response. For the first few months together, we both accidentally called her Chloe instead of Cleo, and both got the same reaction..silence.

Cleo-Dog-Adoption-Investing-Tips

The funny thing is that we've learned Cleo's poop is a good lagging indicator. If she has too many jerky strips, her poop shows it. When she has been staying over at the home of Team Cleo, we can tell by her poop how much bacon grease they have given her. If she ate some mulch while "gardening" with PL, her poop doesn't lie.

Past Performance is no Guarantee of Future Results

My previous job at the world's largest discount broker included helping the average investor understand financial terminology and the fundamentals of investing. My platform was mostly written literature and online. When we adopted Cleo, it was natural for me to apply some of what I did all day to our new life with a dog. It was easy to see that if we didn't know her past performance, then we couldn't predict the future with Cleo. However what we could do was manage our expectations of Cleo and invest in her success by guaranteeing her a lifetime of love with us.

It has been almost six years of togetherness for us, and I'd say our total return is well above average! 

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