Making Wise Investments

I just returned from a girls’ trip to San Francisco and the California Wine Country – the Napa Valley to be exact. I needed a little break from work since I just finished busy season and my mind needed an escape. Throw in a couple of good friends, some wine tasting, and sunshine, and it was just what the doctor ordered.

One evening at our hotel in Napa, I was sitting by myself in the lounge area that’s covered, but still outside, so I got the benefit of the cool, fresh air, but was also warm and protected from the wind. I was a happy camper as I had my book and glass of wine, and had just completed a self-guided tour through the vineyards on the property. Next to me was a group of about eight people – I think four different couples. They were considerably older than me, but clearly they were in Napa for the same reason: some wine tasting with friends and an escape from the real world. As I listened to the deep, hearty laughter radiating from their table and heard snippets of their stories, it became wildly apparent to me that they are how I want to be when I’m their age. Not obnoxious (ok – maybe slightly obnoxious on occasion), but joyful, happy, relaxed, and at ease with the people that they were with.

When we are young, we can make investments in lots of different things: investments in our health, investments in stocks & bonds, investments in a house, investments in our career. There are plenty of options, and we each have the liberty to invest in whatever we choose, but ultimately, don’t we all put in the effort with hopes for a positive return of some sort? There are some investments that are meant to be short-term, but I think of those more as business decisions. What I don’t think of as a business decision, is an investment in people.

Although everyone comes and goes into our lives for a reason (and I truly do believe that), there are some people who are worth the long-term investment. They are the people who give you the positive return, because after all, an investment is give and take right? They are worth the time, energy, effort, and sacrifice. They are going to be the people you sit with around a table at a hotel in Napa when you’re 50 years old, sharing a bottle of wine, remembering old stories and creating new ones, and radiating laughter. That is a great return on an investment. It’s a wise investment.

So what do we do with the rest of the people out there? The ones who are good for short term benefit? Those people are important too. And I emphatically do not believe that they are not worthy of time and energy and effort. We all need different relationships at different points in our lives. Every year I meet a new person who may or may not become a staple ingredient in the basic recipe for my life. If they do, they become a long-term investment. They have potential to be sitting around a table with me in Napa sharing stories and radiating that laughter that I keep talking about. But some may just be entertainment. And I’m okay with that as I like to be entertained. The trick is, where do I invest my time and my energy? That’s the lingering question.

I don’t want this to sound snooty at all. And I certainly don’t want people thinking that they are not worthy of being one of Lisa’s long-term investments. I know that I’m a short-termer for many people, and I’m okay with that! It’s fun, it’s living in the moment, and there are some great experiences that come out of it. But the reason I even wrote this blog, is to really remind you of the long-term investments that you have made. You may not have known it at the time, but since you started investing in someone years ago, they have become very valuable to you and have, and will continue, to give you a return on your investment like no other. They are the truly special people, the foundation, the basic ingredients to the recipe for your life. So think about those people often, make the effort to call them, or better yet, write them a hand-written letter and send it United State Postal Service. You’re helping the economy that way too!

And then next year, or five or ten or twenty years from now, grab together those long-term investments that you’ve been building up all these years, and reap the benefits of them. Cash them in. Sit around a table together, radiate laughter, make fools of yourselves, and tell the stories of today. That's when you know that you've made a wise investment.