I’d like to think I’m an intelligent person…
But more often than I’d care to admit, I do some really stupid stuff.
Today, I want to tell you about one of the stupidest things I’ve done recently.
Although it caused me a ton of stress…
It could help you make a lot of money.
All Aboard!
Back in April, I was planning to attend a conference in Washington D.C.
Although I travel a lot, I’m not very good at it. I do everything at the last minute, including booking my ticket and hotels. So, inevitably, I mess something up.
But this was an important conference, so I decided to get organized ahead of time: two days before I left, I booked all my travel and packed my bags.
And my planning paid off:
On the morning I left for the conference, I got to the station on time, boarded my train, and calmly found my seat. Then I pulled out my laptop so I could get some work done.
But then, just as the conductor made his final “All aboard!” announcement, I panicked.
This Could Get Ugly
I quickly patted all my pockets, left, right and back. Then I burrowed through all my bags.
By that point, I was sweating up a storm.
And as the train pulled out of the station, my stupidity was confirmed:
I’d forgotten my wallet!
I was stuck on a four-hour train to Washington, D.C. — without cash, credit cards, ID, or my train ticket.
A million questions whirled through my head:
Was I three minutes away from being kicked off the train?
Even if I somehow made it to Washington, how was I going to check into my hotel without an ID or credit card?
How was I going to eat?
And assuming I got to my destination, how was I going to get home?
“Wow,” I thought. “This is gonna get ugly.”
But surprisingly, things didn’t get ugly at all.
Steve Jobs to the Rescue
Once I took a deep breath, I took account of what I had with me:
My carry-on. My laptop. And my phone.
Wait a minute….. my phone…
My Phone! My iPhone! My phone that can do anything:
Talk, text, get the news, play video games, edit documents…
And most important of all given my current situation: replace your wallet!
Let me explain…
My New Wallet
To survive the following few days, I needed a few main things:
First, I needed a ticket so I didn’t get kicked off the train.
Second, I needed a way to identify myself so I could check into my hotel.
And finally, I needed some money so I could eat and drink.
Here’s how my iPhone helped me every step of the way:
1. Train Tickets — Using my phone, I logged onto Amtrak.com and had my ticket emailed to me.
The train conductor quickly scanned the ticket’s bar code from my iPhone — and boom: I’d solved my first big problem.
2. Hotel — Then I had to figure out how to check into the hotel without ID…
Luckily, I had photos of my license and passport on my phone. You see, when I travel abroad, I keep digital copies of them in case I lose the documents themselves. And since I’d just gotten back from a trip to Cuba, I hadn’t deleted them yet.
3. Cash — This was my final challenge.
I knew I wouldn’t go hungry: the hotel already had my credit card on file, so I could order room service. But I’d be at the conference all day and all night, with lunch, dinner and drinks meetings already set up with various clients and investors.
It would be really embarrassing to have to borrow money every time I went out.
But then it dawned on me:
A few days before my trip, I’d set up a new feature on my iPhone. I never thought I’d actually use it. But as it turns out, this single app saved my entire week…
Happy Ending (For All of Us)
The app I’m referring to is called Apple Pay.
Apple Pay lets you store your credit and debit cards directly on your phone…
Then, when you go to a store that supports Apple Pay, you hold your iPhone to a scanner and it charges your credit card automatically — even if you don’t have the card on you!
As soon as I realized what I had in the palm of my hand, I realized I was saved.
I soon found an app called Mastercard Nearby. It showed me a map of all the merchants that accept Apple Pay near where I’d be.
And as it turned out, Apple Pay worked perfectly. It paid for my morning coffee at Starbucks, and it paid for dinner and drinks every evening.
But this unintended “technology experiment” provided another benefit, too:
It reminded me about one of the keys to Apple’s success.
This key is the reason I’ve been bullish on Apple for nearly a decade…
And it’s the reason I continue to be bullish on it...
Apple Is NOT a “Device” Company
The talking heads on CNBC would have you believe that Apple is a “device” company.
They’ll tell you that Apple is successful because it makes revolutionary things:
Personal computers. Music players. Mobile phones.
They believe these “things” are why Apple’s stock is up 1,000%+ in 10 years.
But I don’t believe that’s right.
I believe Apple is successful because it builds platforms. In other words, it creates a foundation on which other businesses can build and flourish.
Think about all the companies that have become multi-billion dollar enterprises thanks to the iPhone:
Instagram, WhatsApp and SnapChat — each of them is worth billions of dollars…
All because they built their business for the iPhone platform.
Simply put, by enabling other businesses to flourish, Apple can ensure its own success.
But now I believe Apple is creating the foundation for its next big platform…
And this one could be its most valuable yet.
Apple vs. Wall Street
I believe Apple Pay is part of a far bigger vision.
You see, as we become more and more dependent on our phone, we’re willing to integrate it into more and more areas of our lives.
And with Apple Pay, we’ve now opened up a new part of our lives to Apple:
Our financial lives.
We’ve given Apple access to our credit cards and our bank accounts — and in the near future, I believe we’ll let it into our investment accounts as well.
This will open up an entirely new platform for financial and investment services…
And this could fundamentally change how we manage our money.
Sure we’ll be able to use our iPhone to buy a cup of coffee — but soon we’ll be able to use it to quickly and easily buy and sell stocks, real estate, and bitcoin.
And as long as Apple sits in the middle of all of these transactions, it could generate a fortune in transaction fees…
The type of fortune that could mean a new wave of growth for the company — and a new wave of growth for its stock price.
So be on the lookout for Apple to add financial functionality to your phone…
And remember: if you ever get stuck somewhere without your wallet, don’t panic:
Just reach for your iPhone.
Happy investing.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
