I’ve joked with quite a few folks that since my divorce (and subsequent dissolution of all of my worldly assets), I have spent my last five years investing in people. That may sound very strange, and hopefully not selfish, but I feel that by focusing my attention on mentors, friends, and family – I will live a much more fruitful life.
A friend, Troy, asked me last night what I spent most of my time thinking about. 5 or 10 years ago, it may have been working, money, or the next toy. But I honestly answered him that it’s my kids. My son is already previewing some programs at IU and will be in his senior year. My daughter is also beginning to shape her thoughts for the future – thinking about interior decoration or arts & crafts. I’ve no doubt whatever my kids do that, they will be successful at it. Sometimes, my kids complain about all the time I spend on the computer or at work – but there’s not too much time that passes through my day without reflecting on what an incredibly blessed father I am.
Folks think that my kids are so great because of me. That makes me chuckle… I don’t think that’s the case at all. I have been surrounded in recent years by wonderful mentors, friends, family, and sometimes professionals to help me raise my kids. They also have a terrific mother who has readily shared her experiences with them to help them gain insight so that they don’t risk making the same decisions in their lives. To me, that’s an investment that will pay off better than any dollar that I will ever gain in life. I would happily live a life of poverty if I knew that my children, my family, and my friends were happy.
So… those are my investments in life. I think I have about 30 sites now that I host for friends and family. It’s something I don’t have as much time to do as I would like, but I try to do the best I can with the resources I have. It’s my little investment in their happiness.
Today, I launched a blog for a friend of mine, Pat Coyle. Pat is a person that I had the pleasure of working with for a few months. His insight on family, God, work, and marketing are things that I cherish as a friend. I can’t tell you how much I learned and enjoyed working with Pat for the short time I did. So… I threw an investment his way… putting a blog up for him. Pat’s blog is called My Life as a Customer. Perhaps it was a little selfish putting up Pat’s blog and twisting his arm to keep posting! The truth is, I’m just looking to get more of that advice from Pat that I got every day when working with him!
Invest in people! You’ll never be disappointed.
