What imagery does the word ‘investment’ invoke in you? For me, it is that of a spectacled serious banker with the gravitas of a funeral, a client relationship manager with a business-like silken voice that is emblematic of tough love, a standoffish, sullen, and miserly uncle by the name ‘Uncle Scrooge’, a greedy banker CEO with a fat compensation package, the book “Kane and Abel” by Jeffrey Archer, massive colonial buildings whose very appearance is intimidating, that bulky tome “The intelligent investor” by Benjamin Graham, a centuries-old legacy like that of Rothschild’s, ‘Merchant of Venice’ by Shakespeare – the origin of the phrase ‘my pound of flesh’, and more such not-so-pleasant imagery.
Lately, I have been mulling over that word and now see that it packs a lot, in fact. If we think of investment in a strictly financial sense, sure, it would invoke a collage of all that imagery I just talked about. But what if you apply it to life? Ah! Then, suddenly, it doesn’t seem like such a dreary word after all.
Some wise guy said that investment is an act of faith. God knows we certainly need more of that faith – I see it conspicuously missing in something as complex as families, romantic relationships, institutions, businesses, or even in something as simple as gardening. And yet, whether we realize it or not, investment is something that comes naturally to us.
I remember the times I was asked to water our garden at my home. I would sulk and get around to it, but eventually, I became so involved in it: I weeded out the grasses and other wild growths competing with the potted plant for resources, I saw to it that each plant received adequate water coverage, I moved some pots into the shade, I let the succulents thrive on their own, I even planted a few seeds in a fertile corner for the sheer pleasure the anticipation offers. See, I was practising Investment 101 in basic gardening without the slightest thought of it.
A more seasoned gardener would have made humus and added it to the potted plants. They would have sensed which of the plants need the shade and which of those needed the sun more. They might even have helped a Bougainvillea vine grow by making suitable arrangements. So, I don’t see gardening as very different from investment.
In Indian families, it is common for the elderly to seek out favorites and instill traits in them that make them more “successful”. Note that I am not judging this but merely stating it like it is. They accord different roles to different youngsters, probably based on their predisposition or their perception of their predisposition towards certain roles.
Even parents are known to encourage performance in their children because of their natural aptitudes. There’s nature and there’s nurture, and children develop into adults wildly different from the moulds they were associated with. But still, parents haven’t got all day, so they encourage their wards to grow into this mould or that.
This is the norm even in schools, which are supposed to allow the child to make a choice about what should be the chip on their shoulder. Teachers pick favorites. Teachers can even vilify children with their nasty judgments that hold no basis at all. I have never been a parent, and I have never been a teacher, so I don’t know if my first instinct would have been planting those seeds of approval or disapproval!
In competitive establishments of music, sports, and art, there’s huge money riding on child prodigies. Everyone wants a thoroughbred horse, and the act of watching a child prodigy grow into a genius is totally their jam, but the act of nurturing that follows the act of investing is not a mean feat at all, to put it mildly.
In business, while most leaders are in it to make a quick buck, a few have a long-term vision. Most startups fit the bill when it comes to short-term thinking, while probably, capital-intensive businesses act like they are in it for the long haul. With the stormy waters businesses find themselves in these days, a long-term view can seem very anachronistic. Happy delusions make for nice elevator pitches and water cooler wit, but in the end, everyone knows how incredibly challenging it is.
Technology has always had its way with the world. In the IT industry, for instance, while software was once eating the world, Artificial Intelligence and/or natural stupidity are eating the software. My point is that people with a long-term vision are more likely to plant the seeds of approval, nurture the leadership, and help them navigate the choppy waters. That might sound like sound capital management, but on its flip side, it is an act of faith.
Even in relationships, we tend to explore a bit until we find what can be a sound investment plan – we seek emotional security, maturity, growth, mutual respect, and of course, love. It is the reason couples fight and make up. They know it is all worth it. When a relationship fizzles out, it can be very painful, unlike moving money from one pot to another, which seems like the most pragmatic thing to do. While it may sound like I am siding with gold-diggers of the world, I am sticking my neck out and saying that a relationship becomes successful only when a number of things fall into place. More importantly, I’m saying that a relationship is an investment in that it is also an act of faith.
So, please don’t do what I have been doing. Become more familiar with the territory of investment. Understand how it can be applied in areas of life in a way you have not imagined so far. We are nothing if not acts of faith, so treat investment wisdom as your ultimate flex.
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