In life, you're going to come into contact with people who you really don't want around. This is just the way things are. Sometimes it's a short time, and sometimes it's years before you figure it out. That said, I'm going to share with you a couple of stories of people like this, and how to buy them out of your life.
About 5 years ago, I was studying at a small school, in a small town. I was broke as dirt, renting a house for way too much money in a bad part of town. One day, a couple of guys knock on my door. They looked like drug addicts, and had some really old lawn equipment with them. They asked to mow the grass for $15. I didn't have a mower at the time, and my yard looked like garbage. If they were on drugs, I didn't want to support their habit, but I didn't know for sure. Also, they were offering to work, and I needed the work done, so I said yes.
They came back every week after that on the same day around the same time for about a month. Everything was looking ok. Then one day, only one of them came to my door, with no equipment, and asked for an advance. It was at this time I knew if I gave him the money, I'd never see him again. I thought about it, and gave him the $15. He said he'd be back in a couple days, and I never saw him again. And you know what, I'm totally cool with that. $15 was all it took to buy this shady character out of my life, with no hard feelings, or ill will. Small price to pay.
The second story doesn't involve money, but it does involve a letter. About two years ago, I was working with a gentleman who called himself a Christian. Went to a rich church every Sunday, and moved his life around money. He was apart of Amway, and had tried to recruit me to no avail, however we did start up a good relationship and that soon progressed into a partnership to write a book.
For about a month and half, I woke up extra early to write this book. I got about 20k words on paper, I did all the research, and invested all of the time. Meanwhile, this dude was busy not helping me. He sent one email that took him about 30 seconds the entire time. He was also trying to suck up to someone who was already successful in that field. Another sign. So things started to go south in my mind quickly.
One day, I woke up and said forget this. I had made the mistake of picking someone to partner with that was no good. They were essentially using me as a work horse, and I was too blind to see it. So what did I do? I typed a one page letter outlining the dissolution of our partnership, and why I was doing it. Then I went, looked him in the eye, and told him we were done. He smirked, made a few stupid statements, and he was out of my life for good. I never did give him the letter.
I don't know where he is today, but I'm glad I got out when I did. That dude was no good. Looking back, I got that lesson, and all it cost me was some time. Not bad. I got away unscathed. No money issues, or anything. And the lessons were well learned, and well earned. I also learned what I don't want to be. And the dangers of chasing money. All the hype, and at the end of the day, it's a soulless enterprise. No thanks.
You have to be smart about who you deal with and why. And trust your gut. Sometimes it takes time for someone to betray you, or for you to see the snake behind smile. But when you do, it's time to cut sling load and run. No matter the cost. It may be time, it may be money, but it's only going to cost more in the long run if you keep them around. Life is too short for that business. So look for good character in your friends, in your future spouse, in your business partners, and dump the rest.