Every purchase is an investment. Money is inherently worthless.
What I will share with you today is one of my mentor’s/friend’s advice. He is a multi-millionaire and lives a rather simple lifestyle.
Money is Worthless
The paradox of money is that while it can get you things, you have to realize that it is inherently worthless.
Money is used as an exchange. Instead of trading pigs for cows, you sell pigs, then buy cows.
We live in a society too complex for bartering to be efficient. So we invented money.
When you work, you sell your time for $X. Then you can “cash in” and barter with $X by buying things.
One of the biggest realizations is that money is worthless. Money is the medium through which you exchange value.
Saving money means you’ve given more value to society than you have taken.
Therefore if you want to be rich, give lots of value to the world.
Money = Investments
Another cool thing I realized about money was that every purchase is actually an investment.
What is an investment? An investment according to the dictionary is “the action or process of investing money for profit.”
What is profit? It isn’t just money! There are two definitions of profit, one of which being, “advantage; benefit.”
Therefore every purchase you make is an investment. Whether or not you profit from the investment is based on how wisely you spend your money.
Many people think that an investment or profit on the singular plane of money. If you start with $10 and make $11, that’s profit. But that’s not the only form of profit.
During bartering, people would exchange goods because they felt like the other good was more valuable than what they currently owned.
Person A would own 10 pigs. Person B would own 10 cows. Person A would exchange 2 pigs for 2 cows from Person B.
Each person is giving up something they have a lot of, and each person is winning.
This is an example of an exchange in which two people profit from a transaction.
So every purchase is an investment. If you buy a $5 burger and don’t enjoy it, the $5 was not a wise investment. You lost profit.
But if you are starving, and give $5 for a nice meal, then you could probably agree that you profited.
This mentality really makes you consider whether what you’re buying is worth it. Many things are terrible investments, whereas other investments are wonderful.
I see many people too afraid to buy a $100 online marketing course. They’re so scared of losing $100 but they fail to realize the education will help them make more than $100!
Think of yourself now as an investor. Buy things that give you more value. This is the key to abundance!
If you win with every transaction, and you treat others fairly so they win too, that is how the world can become a better, richer place!
Life as Win-Win
Through realizing this it can be noted that life is not a win-lose game. There is no guilt in making money, assuming it is done so ethically.
Every transaction should be done to benefit others as much as yourself.
A restaurant sells a meal at $10. If they make a profit, and you enjoy the meal more than what else the $10 can buy you, it can be said both people win.
Many people see economics as a zero-sum game. It isn’t, assuming all transactions are ethical (most are).
Through this realization we realize that becoming rich is a noble goal, for to create ethical abundance you must make those around you abundant. Such is the secret of a successful economy!
Knowledge as Investment
Paying money for a strong education is one of the wisest investments you can ever make.
Most jobs pay low because they are paying for labor- labor which anyone can replicate.
The more you can educate yourself, the rarer and therefore more valuable you become.
It should be noted though that not all education is created equal. Some university degrees are necessary, and others are a joke.
For example, I met my friend’s friend the other day and she was studying digital marketing. This poor girl is shelling out loads of time + money for a silly piece of paper, when she could self-teach digital marketing for a fraction of the price!
There is no “cut and dry” answer for life. In her case, she’s paying more than what the education is worth. It was an unwise investment.
Another may go to university and develop skills that will be significantly greater than the cost of education. Such is a wise investment!
Regardless, knowledge is power. Knowledge is value. Just don’t over-pay for it.
Knowledge is the most powerful investment you can make.
Everything is an Investment
Let’s not limit ourselves to just money! Time is an investment!
The time you spend doing something (or not doing it) is time that you can’t get back.
Time is a limited resource. As far as we know, we don’t know how much of it we have, and when exactly our life ends.
As Seneca writes in On The Shortness Of Life, “People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”
Wow! Can we not all relate to words so true?
We are quick to save each penny, yet fast to waste our time! Can you think of an hour wasted today, this past week, past month, or past year?
I know for me, derping around was my #1 regret. Oh how I wasted time as though it was abundant!
My “leave Bulgaria” scare really woke me up. Thankfully I will be able to remain in Bulgaria, but for a moment I thought my life here was going to be torn apart.
There were many things I wished I had done, but did not. Now I am blessed to live fully.
Traveling really wakes you up to the shortness of life. A month in a city can go by so fast, and what you truly accomplished is easier to see when you’re moving around the world so often.
Time management is one of the most important skills to have. Knowledge is a powerful investment, but time is a fleeting investment you have no choice but to lose.
I’m no expert in this. I’ve been such a mess recently. This is something I will be focused on doing- starting new businesses, going on hikes, making time for yoga, and other things which I want to do, but often let pass me up.
What will you invest in?
-Michael.
