I’m sure you’ve heard about the GameStop fiasco by now. 

No? 

Here’s a quick and dirty summary – a group of unsavoury, albeit intelligent Redditors caught wind of some hedge fund activity and saw an opportunity to flip the script. 

They banded together with a short squeeze strategy, which turned GameStop into an overvalued bombshell that exploded the stock market. 💣💥 It caused quite the stir, with a lot of money exchanging hands in a way that’s frightening and foreign to a lot of traditional investors. 

All that said, I’m not here to tell you what to do with your money. 

Because, quite frankly, I don’t know the first thing about playing the stock market. And I’m not the best with numbers either. I prefer words. 

No, I’m here to tell you about a different kind of investment: the kind that always shows a positive return and is more valuable than Bitcoin, GameStop, and Silver combined. 

I’m here to remind you that the most important investment you can make is the one you make in yourself.

Health, Wealth, and Happiness 

As I’ve aged (like a fine wine, of course) I’ve realized there are three pillars to fulfillment in life:

1. Health—because without it, where’s your quality of life? 
2. Wealth—because desperation fills the bank account of a poor person’s heart and soul.
3. Happiness—because the world is a brighter place when you’re smiling.

Health and happiness are pretty self-explanatory, so let’s focus on wealth first. The immediate association is money, right? 

Merriam-Webster defines wealth as the “abundance of valuable material possessions or resources.” 

In investment terms, it’s classified as “an accumulation of valuable economic resources that can be measured in terms of either real goods or money value…“ or “…all the assets of worth owned by a person, community, company, or country.”

So, money, right? 💰 

Mostly. But there’s a lot more to it than that. 

Wealth is built over time – it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme – it requires patience, diligence, and self-control. Wealth requires sacrifice. It’s not a casual cruise or smooth sailing; it’s the long road and it’s the raging sea.  

And despite what the self-proclaimed experts say, it’s never easy. 

Admittedly, I’m in the infancy of learning how to build wealth, so I can’t offer any groundbreaking advice.

I’ll say this though – wealth is mindfully collected, and it isn’t just monetary or asset based. It includes:

• the people you love and admire; 
• the knowledge you acquire;
• the lessons learned through failure; 
• the acceptance of who you are; and
• the legacy you leave behind.

An Investment in Self-Improvement

Back to health and happiness. 

Creating wealth is one thing, but it’s pointless unless you’re happy and healthy enough to enjoy it – again, the most important stock to invest in is yourself. 📈

That means making a commitment to habits and behaviours that build wellness, and remembering to fall back on reliable systems if things veer off the rails. 

Currently, I’m focusing on these seven essentials: 

1. Eating well—my biggest challenge is eating three proper meals a day. Anybody else constantly skipping breakfast?
   
   
2. Getting enough sleep—the older I get, the harder it is to function with less than six-hours of sleep. And I’m a bit of a grump when I’m tired, or so I’m told…
   
   
3. Reducing screen time—this is twofold: I need to be more ‘present in the moment’, and my cell phone can be a huge time-suck.
   
   
4. Getting outside often—working from home combined with the pandemic has led to a lot of time spent indoors; the benefit of fresh air cannot be understated.
   
   
5. Staying hydrated—first off, I need to manage my caffeine intake better, and secondly, drinking lots of water not only boosts energy, it improves mental clarity, too.
   
   
6. Exercising regularly—I’m no longer lifting canoes and kayaks all day long, and playing squash isn’t an option at the moment, so my fitness (and mental health) is suffering.
   
   
7. Being kinder with self-talk—I’ve always been my own worst enemy, and negative self-talk deflates motivation, halts productivity, and damages self-esteem. 

Finally, nurturing relationships – with my partner and those I care about most – is essential to my health and happiness.

And sadly, the more invested I’ve become in my career and the Davis Daily, the more disconnected I’ve become to the people who’ve inspired this journey. I can do better, and I owe it to my friends and family to put more effort into our relationships. 

So, don’t be surprised if you get a random phone call one day instead of a text.

Anyway, that’s a wrap.

Life isn’t a short squeeze and hedge funds are a dime a dozen. If you bet against yourself, the market’s going to crash eventually. 

Do the smart thing – invest in yourself above all else. 🥰

What’s your portfolio look like? 

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