Tilting at windmills is an English idiom which means attacking imaginary enemies, or fighting unwinnable or futile battles. The word “tilt”, in this context, comes from jousting.
The phrase is sometimes used to describe confrontations where adversaries are incorrectly perceived, or courses of action that are based on misinterpreted or misapplied heroic, romantic, or idealistic justifications.
The phrase derives from an episode in the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In the novel, Don Quixote fights windmills that he imagines to be giants. Quixote sees the windmill blades as the giant’s arms, for instance. Here is the relevant portion of the novel:
Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, “Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished. Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them. With their spoils we shall begin to be rich for this is a righteous war and the removal of so foul a brood from off the face of the earth is a service God will bless.”
“What giants?” asked Sancho Panza.
“Those you see over there,” replied his master, “with their long arms. Some of them have arms well-nigh two leagues in length.”
“Take care, sir,” cried Sancho. “Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone.”
As we are aware most people who want to become successful real estate investors, albeit creative or regular investors fail. The term “Analysis Paralysis” has long been used by the new person to describe their reasoning for not getting started in real estate investing. This in my opinion can also be referred to as “Tilting at Windmills”.
When I was in Marine Corps Boot Camp we took Military Occupational Specialty tests to see what would be the best area to be trained in after boot camp. Since I was a licensed amateur radio operator prior to enlisting in the Marine Corps I Scored 100% on this particular part of the test so I was trained as a Radio Telegraph Operator, simply put, because to become a licensed amateur radio operator you must pass a test using Morse Code, that’s those dots and dashes that represent alphabet letters and numeric numbers.
My point being here, if I would have scored high on the MOS test, let’s say as a rifleman or “grunt” which is sometimes the word used, then after leaving the Marines on any employment application under job description, filling in “trained killer” might cause some problems with a potential employer.
If you as an investor were to put together a “Test” to find out if a Newbie would be suited to real estate investing, what are some of the questions you would ask? This test could include monetary, prior education, personality, etc. or any questions you feel would be important. Then again could such a test be developed?
John $Cash$ Locke
PS: Thank you Christopher W for your post on Tilting At Windmills as this is what prompted me to write this post.