12 June, 2010
Moved!
01 June, 2010
Defining Moment
25 May, 2010
Rude Awakening
09 March, 2010
You Plus One - A Risky Investment
08 February, 2010
CFA Brings New Life
31 January, 2010
Business of LIfe
We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same - Anne Frank
I know I said that my next post would explain why we stay in relationships when we reach that point of no return, but - though anachronistic - I feel like I should explain the purpose of this blog – where all my ideas are coming from and why I feel that life can be brought down to these economical equations.
How I see it, life is a business. That sounds horrible - I know - but hear me out. A business where you make more money than you put in can be deemed successful. A life where the happiness you get is at least proportionate to the effort you put in to get it can be deemed great.
Let’s talk business. A firm starts out with a business plan. The owner will appoint a board of directors – a group of people who have the right to vote and decide on factors affecting the business.
A firm will also have shareholders – those who invest in the company and have voting rights on certain matters. They put money into the corporation in hopes of monetary profit.
A business will come across many things in its lifetime:
- Mergers
- Bankruptcies
- Quarters where returns are below expectations
- Quarters where returns are above expectations
The ultimate goal: monetary profit.
Now, life. You start out with dreams and aspirations. Your family is there to guide you, to use their known right to give input on factors affecting your life. And sometimes, to straight up tell you what you have to do.
You’ll have friends – people who invest in you. They counsel you and guide your decisions. They put in time and advice in hopes of making you more content. And in an equation of any true friendship – seeing you happy makes them happier.
In your life, you’ll come across many things:
- Relationships
- Extreme loses
- Failures
- Successes
Your ultimate goal: happiness.
Connection. Your dreams are your business plans and your family - your board of directors. Your friends represent your shareholders. Mergers equate to relationships and bankruptcies equal extreme loses. Lower than expected returns are failures and above - successes. And, most importantly: life's profit is happiness, a business' profit - money.
There will be future entries that will add more depth to what I've already mentioned above. It's not hard to draw parallels between life and economics. They both come down to supply and demand: how to get what you want and need with the resources you're given and how to find that comfort at equilibrium where supply meets demand.