Opinions... Everybody's got one.

Opinions...

Wow.

Y'know, I was thinking the other day about how many people actually believe that their opinion should be valued as equal in standing with other people's opinions, and I must say, I find that notion utterly preposterous. Sure, everyone is definitely entitled to their own opinion, but somewhere along the way, people started misinterpreting that as "my views are just as valid as anyone else's."

Hogwash.

The value and validity of an opinion usually stems from said person's experience with the subject at hand. This is why we hire financial advisors, consultants, and professionals to do our work for us. Because we value one person's idealogy and experience over someone else's. I know that it sounds pretty simple, but it is surprising how many times I stumble across someone who subscribes to this nonsense. If I were building a house, I would rather trust the opinion of a contractor with more experience than one that has only built a few houses; just as i would prefer a contractor with less overall construction experience than one that had more experience but had only built metal buildings.

This is why we must carefully examine ourselves and check who we put our trust in. Know your peers! Know their strengths and their weeknesses, and you can accept their opinions at face value. Take it from someone who has been there, the shortest road to personal growth usually lies with whomever you have trusted yourself with. And from my Birthday post, you can tell that I've obviously failed at some things... so take a tip from me. My opinion is worth a lot when trying to avoid failures. I've been there. ;)