If I have to choose, then I choose… BOTH.
I’ll explain.
Everyone has a dream. Whether your dream is to flip burgers at your beachside restaurant or to be the next Warren Buffet, that dream exists. But with your crazy busy lifestyle, do you have the time to really think about your dream ambition? And what is the perfect dream “thing” these days?
When thinking about my dream, I realized two things:
I had to take the time to really think about what matters most to me.
I had to invest either time or money to really understand this dream.
Choosing ‘both’ is easy here.
Everything starts with an investment. Whether it’s an investment of time or an investment of resources. Investment is key.
So I invested my time first – that’s simple. Just do it. For me, it meant giving my iPad a rest, which freed up some of my otherwise app occupied time.
I had to figure out what mattered most to me. To do this, I tapped into my five senses. Since I use the senses every day, I figured it was time to really start paying closer attention to the feedback.
For the most part, unless my senses were informing a flight or fright response, I pretty much ignored the data and went about my day. But when realizing my dream, I knew it had to be different. When realizing my dream I put those senses to work!
Putting Those Senses To Work
What smells did I notice? What sounds did I hear? What sensations did I feel? What tastes awakened my taste buds? What did I look at? I noted all things – both what I liked and what I didn’t like. One informed the other.
Noticing both the good and bad was challenging. I reminded myself to not attach any judgment. Just notice the feeling without clouding it with a judgment.
Now came the tricky part. I had to make an investment in either time or money. I pulled up information on my past investment portfolio to see if the data could help me.
What investments did I make? What type of investments worked best for me? I liked real estate, startups, and certain publicly traded companies.
Before moving into marketing, I worked as a commercial financier – we called ourselves lease-finance brokers. Before the job category evaporated after the financial crisis, I helped many companies get access to capital through equipment financing.
I liked to invest in the companies I worked with. If publicly traded, I bought their stock. If they were purchasing millions of dollars in capital equipment, it was easy to conclude that investing in their stock had compelling merits. It was a logical next step to sell the stock when the enterprise stopped making capital expenditures. This was just one part of my simple formula.
But before we go any further, I need to tell you something.
For over 80 years the 99% have been locked out of the investment world. For the most part, the 1% have the “in” to the investment world.
But that’s about to change.
The JOBS Act
The JOBS Act is helping change this.
Essentially, the JOBS Act is opening the doors so unaccredited investors get access to investment opportunities. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act or JOBS Act is a law intended to encourage funding of small businesses by easing various securities regulations. It passed with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 5, 2012.
To my chagrin, the change is not coming in leaps and bounds but more at a snail’s pace, that’s slowly pushing an elephant uphill.
Investing to Understand Your Dream
Let’s get back to 1 and 2 on my list above.
Since the financial paradigms are shifting, I had to think differently about investing either time, money or both. And after taking note of all the data collected from my senses, I had a bit of an epiphany.
When I walk my dog in the morning, I pay attention to all the sensations around me. I hear the different birds chirp, the fog horns beaconing in the muffled distance, the sun is peeking over the hilltop scattering early light across the night’s shadows, the fog is creeping back to the ocean, the air is crisp, the rain encouraged fog is gently erupting a cacophony of smells from flowers blooming to the steel of the pavement. Despite the tugging Corgi, my nose still guides the way.
In Sausalito, it can smell musty. I avoid those smells.
So my nose informs most of my activities. My nose knows. I didn’t know this until consciously taking note. So I started to put more pieces together.
Here’s the epiphany:
All my winning investments had one thing in common. I only invested in things that smell good to me!
What, you gasp?
When buying real estate, it has to have that new smell. When investing in a business, the lobby should have an inviting smell. I like the smell of a machine shop or industrial complex, so yes, I’ve even bought stock in similar companies.
In full disclosure, I love the smell of skunk. No, no, not as a perfume. I like the smell wafting in the distance. So does my Mom, so I know I’m not completely whacked.
But here’s how a skunk investment would work: If there were a company that came out with a revolutionary vaccine that helped mankind in a significant way, derived from the elements of a skunk’s smelly gland, I would certainly invest!
Someone’s skunk investment is another’s fortune.
Remember, if given a choice, I’ll choose both.
Enter Stage Left – Crowdfunding
As new online crowdfunding platforms start to make their presence known, the unaccredited investor is still not able to invest without restrictions. As mentioned above, this change is slow. But it’s happening.
Now is the time … to take the time and invest in your dream. You are going to have the opportunity to peruse investments and get exposure to a new kind of investment vehicle. There’s crowdfunding portals, fintech, if you will that are changing how we finance our future.
How will you decide what works and what does not work in defining your investment and dreams? If my formula works, use it.
But know this, you are in charge. You know.
Usually, the investment opportunity is staring you right in the face!
For me, my investments are staring me right in the nose!
