I can look at 2 ways of valuing the the way I allocate financial resources.
Emotionally ie how I feel when I project my opinions onto desirable objects
Examples - trophy partners, luxury items, clothing, gold, pleasures, *yummy carbohydrates, toys
Energetically ie - the actual resource cost and functionality
Examples - Structure, business, commodities, tools, skills, pasture raised meat.
I put gold in both examples, because it has the function of being a store of wealth, but at the same time has very little utility. It is held as a tool to alleviate fear or assure choices in a virtual future , rather than a present now.
By simply creating these distinctions I have in no way made the reality black and white. This is a thought exercise designed to help me make investment decisions. Of course I can not make reality that which it is not anyway.
Land and Structures come with fixed overheads, without attachment to a business they are liabilities. The same could be said for commodities and tools though probably to a lesser extent.
Liquid Assets - stores of wealth and tools of transfer.
Gold and Digital Money can have a fixed supply.
Currencies such as Fiat do not and therefore will always lose value over time, those who create them can influence the perceived value, (costs) of real assets.
As such, Money is going to be a better place to keep wealth.
Financial instruments - such as bonds, futures and options - I am simply not knowledgable enough to comment.
Stocks and Alt coins - these are essentially shares or parts of a business. They have a fundamental value that changes depending on economic factors and they have an emotional value determined by fear, greed and peoples projected futures, (the stories used to sell them).
Owned businesses, skills and tools - this is the asset class where we have the greatest ability to impact both the perceived and fundamental value of an asset class. These are assets we can influence through the quality of our own actions.
Summary
It seams wise to me that if we invest in businesses, skills and tools, we have the greatest control. Any excessive abundance produced from this can be stored as Money rather than Currency.
For me this all equates to building skills, acquiring tools that enhance those skills, owning a business to make things available to others so that I can pay bills and store any abundance as Money.
Land and structures and commodities is a place where people can become extremely wealthy, but these things also require a lot of attention and may not provide a lot of happiness.
Skills and the tools to enhance and express them, requires a non selfish focus that does tend to allow happiness and the rewards of being valuable to others.
Toys and tools, while we learn from both I guess toys outside of a business provide little exchangeable value to others. As such they are more of an emotional asset.
The ownership of Money, alleviates fear, provides choices such as the ability to grow our own or help others to develop and enhance skills. In such an environment kindness is both easy and fun.
Conclusion
Maintain a business that allows me to work at what I enjoy
Live simply so that I can build savings in gold and digital money.
Use those savings to stay relaxed while I build and help others to acquire skills and tools.
Do not own or control more land or structures than I absolutely need to, to operate the business.
Keep the main part of the business, the expression of skill, rather than the managing of systems, unless systems management is they skill of choice.
Everything we do is leadership, only the effectiveness varies.
- I have been enjoying enhanced physical and cognitive performance living without carbohydrates now for over 3 months, (others for decades), so they appear to be non essential. Considering that most food related inflammation and oxidation is being traced back to seed oil and insulin raising foods, carbs no longer seem like a functional choice. They are very pleasant, however, so I leave them in the emotional expenditure for as long as I am fortunate enough to have the luxury of choice.