View from the Summit

The financial experts have it all wrong. They talk about the strength of the dollar. They argue over if you should buy physical gold as a hedge against inflation.  They advise a balanced approach and diversification.

My approach over the last five years has been in a currency you may not have considered.  I'm all in on relationships, the ultimate currency.

Before you disregard relationships as a currency, consider what currency is.

• A store of value
• Something that is shared, accepted and circulated
• It's worth comes from both parties agree it has worth

Relationships are the ULTIMATE CURRENCY.

• Can not be taxed
• Can not be stolen
• Increase in value with time
• Unaffected by inflation
• Accepted where every you want to be

I didn't make this realization.  It came from a long time friend.  Bryan came to this realization when he tried to buy a piece of investment property 100 miles from home.  It was farm land located in a County where he knew no one and no one knew him.

Bryan had the money in the bank to buy the million dollar property, but getting the deal done was painful:

• The real estate agent was slow to respond
• The bank wanted tons of information
• The farmer wasn't interested in negotiating

Back home this deal could have been done over the phone.  Here they wouldn't take his check for a full price offer.  He had the money, but he lacked the most important currency: Relationship.  No one knew him, trusted him nor wanted to work with him.  He was a poor man with lots of cash.

Some people get this wisdom early.  Some get it late in life. For Bryan, it was both.  He shared this observation with me in his early forties, just a couple of years before his sudden death.  

We were friends since High School.  As adults, we talked at least once a week.  He was my Best Man at my wedding and the best, most creative, and most caring man I ever knew.  

You can't take your money with you when you die.  If you're blessed enough to have millions of dollars,  the government will even tax you when you die.

The Currency of Relationships continues to be valuable even after death.  As I've seen Bryan's friends love and connect with his family now, even years after his death, I realize how rich this man was.  His riches go to his children and some day to his children's children.  There is nothing his friends wouldn't do for Bryan's family. Time and Inflation eats away at the money.  The stories and memories shared about Bryan increase with time and became more valuable.

So what currency are you storing away?

• Gold
• Dollars
• Relationships