So you want to invest

john | March 9, 2021, 3:58 a.m.

Let's start out with what the definition of investing is:

: to commit (money) in order to earn a financial return

This is of course based on the Merriam-webster's definition.

So now that we have the definition of investing.  I figure that's the best place to start investing.  In order to fully understand a subject one must actually understand the meaning of the words.

: to commit (money) in order to earn a financial return

The basic principal is one must have money, and use it in a way of returning a return on your investment.  This may seem simple, but is rather loaded, and should be broken down a bit further.

to commit, this mean entrust.

money, is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, or in other words, a currency, which is a medium of exchange.

in order, is to arrange the items

to earn, to make worthy of or obtain for

return, which is yield

In other words, we could rewrite this definition to say that

: to invest is to entrust a medium of exchange in an arrangement worthy yield.

Now that we have a better understanding of the thing it is we want to do.  The word that sticks out to me is entrust.  Basically because that means I have to trust, front and center.  So we should hash out a bit of what it is most people trust.

Your gut.

So, the first thing is something you trust, which would mean yourself.  Now we deal with the medium of exchange.  A medium is a conduit, so like electricity just a transfer of something.  The only thing you can transfer yourself is knowledge. 

That leaves exchange floating around, so there must be something you can exchange in this conduit, which is time because it is something you are given at birth that is limited by death.

As we progress we make it to an arrangement, which means we are placing pieces in an certain order worthy of yield.  Notice this doesn't say guarantee, simply worthy.

So more simply,

: to invest is to trust your gut's knowledge that the pieces you spent time arranging will be worthy of yield.

The only way your gut knows what to do is if you feed the thing that powers your gut, your heart and your brain.  Thankfully time creeps it's knowledge into you, but the rest is on you.

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