Have you ever talked to someone at a dinner party, only to realize that the other person is just completely disinterested at what you’re saying? You know the look: glazed eyes, mouth half-open, and a stoned expression that bears a stunning resemblance to the zombies in World War Z.

So last week, a friend of mine asked me about how he should start investing. I started to carefully explain the steps: researching, opening a brokerage account, dollar-cost averaging, etc… and then I stopped talking. My friend, who was obviously really interested at first, suddenly had the zombie look on his face.

At first, I thought it was just because I was being a colossal bore, but my friend said something that really surprised me. He said, “I’m sorry – I don’t think I’d have the time to do all that work you just mentioned.”

I found that really interesting. ...