I had visited my village some couple years back and was chatting with my friend, when one of my nephews came to meet me. He had completed his 12th and was planning to go to Delhi. He wanted to know what he should do? Should he continue his studies or take up a job?

I told him that I am no professional career counselor and have very little idea about the current career opportunities. I advised him to spend some money and consult a professional career counselor in Delhi.

Money Spent On Expert Advice Is Money Well Spent

I explained the money he will spend on paying the fee of an expert will be money wise spent. He looked interested and said he’ll contact one upon reaching Delhi.

Days went by and then months, I didn’t hear from him. One day I got to know that he has taken up job of gas filling in buses in some CNG filling station.

I felt sorry for him. No, there’s nothing wrong in being a gas filling boy, I felt he might be wasting his time and talent by randomly choosing what come his way and not making an informed decision. He could have done better and may have chosen the ‘right’ thing for himself by getting counseling from a career counselor.

He too, like most of us, must have fallen in the trap of saving money by not consulting an expert (a professional career counselor in his case)

I have seen this happen many times. We feel that money spent on consulting professional experts, lawyers, architects, advisers, therapists or someone who knows his stuff is nothing but a waste. We believe that it’s no big deal and we too, can get the things done the same way.

I don’t know when and why we started believing in such absurd concepts. True, there are some so called ‘professionals’ prying on your money but there are good people too, whose advice can change your life forever. These people are well worth of your money.

One More Case

Another nephew of mine called me up once. He was planning to build house on his plot. I have read a couple books on Vastu and Feng Shui, and he wanted me to help him make a Vastu complaint map.

I clearly told him that though I have a somehow good knowledge of Vastu, it would be better if he can hire a professional Vastu expert since the services he’ll get will worth the effort and money. Some thousands spent on paying his fee will make awesome use of lacs he is going to spend on constructing his home.

I suggested him a well known Vastu expert whose articles are regularly published in various leading dailies. He had his number which he noted down from one of his articles only. At first, both of us were a little hesitant because we thought his fee might be too high for us to afford.

Then we decided that at least we should talk to him and inquire about his fee. If we can afford his services, we’ll hire him. I called him up, and to our surprise, his fee was affordable. We fixed an appointment and got the job done.

At that time, that boy was staying with one of his relatives and when he discussed getting a Vastu complaint map from a professional, he got a negative response-he was told that building home is no rocket science and he himself can make a map. Hiring a professional Vastu expert will be a waste of money.

Confused, the boy again asked for my advice. I encouraged him to go ahead and he did. Today, his home is a well planned, comfortable and peaceful structure.

Had he listened to his relative’s advice, he would have saved the money (or so he might have thought). A decision that he would have regretted all his life.

When You Need ‘Good Advice’, Go to ‘Good People’

Will you go and ask your milk vendor what medicine to take to cure your fever? Then why do you take advice from ignorant and sometimes even dumb people when it comes to your career or something else that is important.

Believe me, there are people willing to give you advice even if you don’t ask for it. I remember when I was unemployed and passing through a bad phase, one guy gave me a long lecture on what wrong I was doing and how can I correct that to become successful. I pity him, since he, himself is a failure and doesn’t know what he want from life. (He is still living on his father’s money)

Beware of such people and take advice from experts only, you’ll be glad you did.

The guy who wrote this post is Avdhessh Arya: Avdhessh Arya is a personal development coach and voice actor from New Delhi, India. He writes about personal development, and living life on your terms. As a voice actor he is responsible for voicing documentaries, radio spots, television commercials and more - you know, the cool voices you hear on National Geographic Channel, History Channel, Discovery Channel and stuff like that. He's one of them.