Best Investment I Ever Made!

October 17, 2012

Best Investment I Ever Made!

It only took me forty years to perfect my investment strategy.  But now when I think about all the lost years of investing in things that didn’t matter, I wish I could liquidate my past and start again.  I suppose every investor has similar wishes.  Before I tell you about the best investment I’ve ever made, let me tell you about some near misses.

Many years ago I was working with a company called Internet Today.  iToday, as it was called by the employees, was a publishing and internet design company.  It was lots of fun working there and the reason it is relative to my investment story is because I was working there the day eBay went IPO.  I recall that day very vividly and thinking to myself, “why didn’t I invest”?

If I went back even further in time I could recall a company that made software called DOS (disc operating system) manufactured by a company called Microsoft.  I knew in the 80’s the company was ‘hot’ because I used the basic programming language produced by Microsoft.  I could have invested back then.  But I didn’t.

The list goes on and on.  Later, other companies would join my list of misses…Yahoo, Google, Facebook, etc.   Any one of these hot companies could have given me high returns on my investment, had I invested.  But I didn’t.  Instead, I floundered, dreamed, and waited for an opportunity to drop in my lap.  I was always wishing for a break.  I was always looking for the next big thing.

I am not sure when I realized it, but one day I woke up from the forty year investment strategy (dreaming) which had yielded me exactly 0% return on investment, and I realized I had been looking for the wrong investments.  I always thought, “If I can just create or find the next big thing than I can ride the investment to the bank”.  That was my thought process.  I realized those investment are rare and although they do happen, they don’t just happen.  You have to make them.

I had a "WOW" moment!  That’s when I realized the most undervalued asset I knew and the highest earning potential investment I knew, had been right in front of me all along.  What was that investment?  That investment was me.   I was undervalued, privately owned, and my equity had been building for forty years.  However, I never believed in the investment enough to take a chance.   It wasn't until I began to believe in myself that I realized I am worth investing in.  I am a stock, an asset; I am filled with return on investment potential.

In 2005, I begin filling my investment portfolio (myself) with knowledge and education.   I began with an Associates of Arts in Business.  I continued with Bachelor of Science in Management / Marketing.   Later, I extend that into a Masters of Business Administration.  Today, I am continuing my investment with a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership.  I am investing.  I am taking a chance and all the risks associated with the chance in hopes that my investment will yield high returns.

How much I have invested is not as important as why and how I invested.  (Why?) I invested in myself because I believe that I have IPO potential.  I believe that I can impact the marketplace with my skill set and I believe in my product, me.  (How?) I have invested in myself through education and time.  I have taken the time to expand my mind and extend my belief in myself through the expansion of knowledge and not only knowledge, but the capacity to learn and share that knowledge with others.  I measure my return on my investment not only in dollars and cents, but in the effect that belief and investment is having on my daily life.  My stock is up.  I am trading higher and higher each day.

It only took me forty years to learn that I am my best investment.  Everything I do impacts the markets (people) around me.  The higher my value, the higher and more beneficial I am to those I come into contact with (my stakeholders).    Bull market, bear market, recession, none the matter because I have invested in something that will have value to me regardless economy around me.  Shares in my life are valuable and those that partake of my shares, get their own returns.

Understand, I am not talking about dollar and cents here.  I am talking about investing in my self.  You can invest in many ways.  In some ways my investments in myself began the day I had surgery.  I realized on that day that I was worth something and I wanted to give myself a chance.  Since that initial investment, there has been many things that have  affected the value of my life.  School, marriage, parenthood, and friendships have all enriched my life. But, to say I only invest in one way, is to say that there is only one type of investment on the stock market.

Why did it take me so long to realize how valuable I am?  I don’t know.  If you are reading this and you are 20, 30, 40, 50, or even 100, don’t wait another day to start believing in yourself.    Start investing.  Invest heavily.  Go all in.  It’s your life.

Here are some other ways you can invest in yourself:

• Diet & Exercise
• Learn a language
• Take up a hobby
• Travel
• Write your memoirs (or begin a journal)
• Read more
• Meditate (or pray)
• Slow down and enjoy the little things.

Bo McCoy, a nine year employee of ObesityHelp, holds the position of Vice President of Operations.  Bo earned an MBA degree from University of Phoenix and is presently seeking a Doctorate of Management at University of Phoenix.  In 2012, Bo accepted a (part-time) position as an adjunct professor at Daymar College located in Ohio.   Bo married Jill McCoy in 2012.  Together, they two raise three children ages five, six, and seven.  For fun, Bo likes to cruise and travel to new destinations.  Recently asked what his retirement plans were he responded, “I don’t have any retirement plans…once I become a tenured professor, I plan to teach until the day I die”.

 

 

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