Shooting Fish with George Washington

In the past I took it upon myself, just before a new TLD opened, to remind domainers about America’s founding fathers – those who in effect started their own “registry” and would up largely penniless because of it.

What is the connection? Well, for one, they were very much like domainers – they were speculators.

They bought and bought and bought thinking the land would one day be incredibly valuable. And they were right, they were just off by two hundred years or so.

Sad fact is that there was lots of land back then, everywhere – nearly two thirds of the country unsettled. So buying a plot to hold for speculation was like trying to shoot fish in the ocean – odds are you’ll hit water…but little else.

Of course eventually all the debt caught up with them and, unbeknownst to many Americans, most of the founding fathers died penniless, in debt, burdened by their speculation.

So again, what’s the connection?

Simple, for in the next year you will hear many, many cries from sailors all over the globe yelling “land-ho!!”

And while it may be tempting to follow their voices and invest in their land, I would ask you to remember the men who founded this great nation. Step wisely. Consider where money is best spent before attempting to shoot that blue-fin tuna or swordfish.

For wouldn’t be easier to shoot fish in a barrel?

That’s the idea behind calculating and measuring your risk to the point of stability and growth. I’ve seen many a domainer drown in reg fees while speculating on virgin turf…waiting, waiting, waiting and then dying penniless.

Does that ring a Liberty bell?

Oh sure, there will be some gold in them thar hills but the amount of overburden on top of the precious gravel can bury your bank account before your digger reaches it. Sad but true cautionary anecdote.

Instead, one should think more like the greatest founding father, George Washington, who did not suffer the economic fate of his colleagues. No, Washington’s ‘turf’ sat on the banks of the Potomac River, connected to the ocean while being far inland, protected. Good spot for a…capitol, eh, Georgie?

See what made Washington so great in battle and as President also made him a fascinating, successful figure: attention to detail.

That sort of ‘attention’ to every angle, every nuance, every option is what domainers need to apply to their craft, their ‘weird science’ as it were…before putting themselves in too deep.

With the possible difference being ending up like Washington or like…one of those other guys.