What is YOUR Greatest Investment?
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been lucrative for me. In spite of that, I do not consider them to have been my greatest investment!
Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat from Pixabay
In 2008, I graduated from college. After tons of networking and about a million applications, I got an interview for a phones position at a discount broker. Being a stockbroker was my lifelong dream, and I was pumped! I had my final interview on September 14, 2008. The following day, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, all hell broke loose, and the brokerage firm called to tell me that they were in a hiring freeze. Dreams crushed...
Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay
One day later, they changed their mind. "We have a training class that started three weeks ago and we think you can catch up. Can you get fingerprinted tomorrow and start Monday?"
Why yes, yes I can. I loved being in the markets day to day, but I hated being on the phones. The hiring freeze was still on (my last-minute exception excluded) and extended to salary freezes companywide. So it didn't matter if I was amazing, advancement was limited... and I absolutely hated being on the phones. Fast forward a few months and I was having panic attacks in the parking lot, unable to step out of the car and walk into the building.
I ended up leaving, going back to my dead-end (but not anxiety-inducing) data entry job, and submitting MBA applications.
Image by Simon Alpha from Pixabay
So what does this have to do with investing?
When I finished my MBA and entered the workforce again, I was consulting for hedge funds and my starting salary was 53% more than my salary had been as a stockbroker. Then as I dedicated my time and energy into learning everything I could about my new job in fintech, I grew my salary at 21% per year for the next three years.
Later I started focusing my outside work efforts into better understanding crypto, applying my fintech knowledge and understanding of how processes work within big hedge funds to better choose which tokens to invest in and which projects merited additional time investment as well.
As I enter any space, the first thing I do is learn everything I possibly can about it. That helps me better evaluate any potential risks and red flags, but also frequently uncovers the best niches where amazing profits are available.
Capital is useful, but knowledge is priceless!
My greatest investment has been in self-education.
What has been your greatest investment?
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