A
Wall Street tycoon invites a college student interested in finance to
visit her. The student has no real connections and comes from the same
impoverished town as her, so she wants to help mentor him.
After some pleasantries, the young man asks her, “What do you think are some good investments?”
“I am glad you asked,” the woman smiles.
“I recommend three—they have all worked well for me.
First, invest in your relationships.
I am where I am thanks to many people that helped me get here. I make
sure to help them when I can and let them know they are appreciated.
Second, invest in saving your time.
We all have the same number of hours in a day and need to use them
well. I invest upfront to save time when I can since it gives me more
time to focus on the things that matter most later on.
Third, invest in your knowledge.
You don’t beat markets by following conventional wisdom and parroting
what others say. Voraciously reading books has greatly deepened my
understanding of the world and helped me come up with new ideas.”
The woman pauses and sees that the student seems confused, so she chuckles remembering how she felt when she was younger.
“I
have been in your shoes and know you are probably wondering why I
didn’t talk about stocks and financial assets. I will teach you about
those later, but I needed to teach you a different lesson first: The best investments are often investments in yourself.”