Investing Advice for a Lifetime

Wednesday Wander
September 7, 2016

Where should you invest?

Here I will tell you about a bit of investment advice that I learned after 20 years of observation and living. It may or may not surprise you if so, it may be so easily realized but poorly executed.

Invest in yourself first before anyone else. 

"What about my friend? My subordinates? My lover? My dog?" 

None of it deserves any time or energy from you before you invest those in yourself. It's all about giving yourself the best chance to succeed before anyone else. You can call it selfishness, but I call it personal heroism. Well... That may be a stretch. Perhaps you'll understand it like it's a rule of evolution, helping someone else get necessities only leaves less for you to succeed at keeping your lineage strong. 

Once you have given yourself ample time, energy, love, and dedication (here is where I recommend the cherry of honesty on top), then you are welcome to take those resources and allocate them to build up another person. In fact, it should a rule of investment that you apply time and energy and love to at least one person in your life. This is a great way to receive dividends and returns on your investments, second only to one in yourself. 

Why do I keep using the word investment? I believe investing in people is a lot like stocks, it bobs and weaves, climbs and dives, zigs and zags. Some days it will end on a record-high and others it may plummet. Even if you take a loss on any given day, it's okay. Selling out at that point will surely result in a major loss for yourself and for others. Just know that when you rise in the morning, you can begin the process again from a new baseline. 

Applying the resources you have, such as love, time, energy, and focus, you can build a wonder this world has never seen. What's the downside? It takes continuous application and spending of these resources to achieve such a status, and there is no "end goal", it may cost more to just maintain than to continually gain. Chase after your dreams, soar into the skies, and become what you want to be most.