Current Thoughts: An Unproven Investment Strategy
One of the most influential books I’ve ever read is Die With Zero by Bill Perkins. My natural inclination is to push back against the norm and this book does exactly that with regards to investing your resources of time, money, and energy. Most investment models are based around the traditional trajectory of going to college, beginning work in your early 20’s, hitting your peak earning potential in your 40’s and 50’s, retiring around 65, and dying sometime there after.
Only two generations have been able to apply this strategy: the greatest generation and the baby boomers. Prior generations didn’t have the life expectancy or financial mobility to give it a try. Thanks to Bill Perkins, I question if this is an appropriate approach.
There are two main issue I witness. Most (not all) who apply this approach do so at the expense of two things: health and family. Sacrificing your health allows you the opportunity to work more which increases your earning potential early on but it also limits your work span (time in which you have the capacity to work). Being retired at 70 with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and the inability to do a pushup or run a mile seems like a bad trade off compared to still working at 70 with good health. While you can regain health and fitness, you can’t regain time with your family. Once your kid is no longer six, that time has passed. This is part of life and not something to mourn over but it is appropriate to realize that one of the most common regrets amongst those who have applied this strategy is that they wish they had worked less and spent more time with family.
I say this to bring awareness to you as much as to remind myself. It’s difficult to do things different than the way they’ve always been done and from the way everyone else does it. As far as I can tell, that’s a pretty good sign it’s worth doing.
Things I like
| There will come a time when you no longer have the opportunity to that thing you were just invited to participate in. |
Things to check out
| This guy just did the longest triathlon ever. He swam the english channel, biked to Nepal, then hiked to the top of Everest. Total badass. You can probably turn the TV off this afternoon and go for a walk. |
Have a great week!
David
