I bought a new iPod the other day. 160GB. A real bad boy.

I have about one fifth of my music collection on my old iPod, and it was signaling “No Mas” when I tried to coax it into more action.

I’m on a decluttering/organization/simplify kick. Want to get rid of the CD clutter and have all my music and lectures in the palm of my hand. A simple plan.

But the execution of this plan proved to be more challenging.

Like my old iPod, my MacBook laptop was waving me off, telling me the hard disk was full. I could not understand how this was the case, but the logic of my computer was unyielding to my protests. So, before I could use my iPod, I’d need to solve the hard disk problem.

I have some strange perversion in wanting to do things for myself. I’m sure that it serves me in some positive ways, but it feels like I usually end up taking on projects that are beyond the scope of my skills/knowledge/interest.

I am reluctant to ask for help. And I suppose that I am sometimes reluctant to pay for help. Why pay when I can do it? (This especially ironic because my living is based on people investing in me to help them in some way.)

Back to my issue…

So my first approach reflected my self-reliant programming.

I went on various websites looking for answers. I spent at least two hours hunting around and found myself entering lines of DOS-like code into my Mac (into a Mac, mind you!) with little idea of what the hell I was doing. Hitting my wall, I called Apple.

They wanted 50 bucks for support. At first I was miffed, coming up with some cockamamie protest that I’d just bought a $250 iPod and could not use it. The rep remained polite but firm. The issue was with the computer and I was out of warranty. He told me he believed he could help me.

When I heard those words — I can help you — I believed him. And that’s what I really wanted.

Help. Relief. Ease.

I wanted to be free of this problem. I wanted to get on with the organizing of my life. In that moment I could see how silly I was being in my resistance to invest in help.

I reached for my credit card, and for the next two hours on a Saturday morning, Daniel solved all my problems and then some. In time and energy, the investment was worth many times what I paid.

Getting help — good help — is not an expense. Doesn’t matter if we’re talking about someone cleaning your house, creating your website, or coaching you through a problem.

They are investments.

Wealthy people invest in getting their problems solved.