I find that people are always willing to sell their "tomorrows" cheaply. As a matter of fact, the farther a tomorrow is away, the more likely the owner is to sell it cheap or give it away. I'd like to jot down a few of my observations on this matter.
First, it seems that wealth, at least in a free society, is gained or forfeited based on ones management of his portfolio of tomorrows. Many people site social conditions or psychological conditioning as causes for poverty, and those are valid, but the very essence of poverty is the personal valuation of one's tomorrow. The very same hold true for wealth -- so much so that the entire population can be broken down into those who buy tomorrows and those who sell them. The wealth, of coarse, belonging to the former.
How does one sell his tomorrows? Well, we all do it. Anytime we agree to get something now for a future value to the granter, we've sold a tomorrow. When I get a car loan; I've sold a tomorrow in that I've agree to pay someone back over time for the valuable asset I've acquired today. For most Americans this means credit cards, student loans, personal loans, car loans, boat loans, etc. For most, today is tomorrow's greatest enemy.
Some other examples are work contracts. When Kobe Bryant signs a multimillion dollar deal to play basketball, or John Grisham signs a new book deal, they are selling the value of their tomorrows for a deal today. These are illustrious examples of those who are getting great value for their tomorrows, yet I would submit to you the tomorrow is still more valuable.
If we really consider it, most of our tomorrows are given away. We only have a very limited quantity of tomorows. Every time we decide to do something just to "kill time" we are selling tomorrows for the pleasure of doing nothing today. Don't get me wrong. Relaxation is very valuable, and sometimes it is a proper way to steal from tomorrow, but it is taking from tomorrow nonetheless.
The wealthy understand these principles. Find me a wealthy person, and I'll show you someone who buys tomorrows. Without exception, this is true. She may buy stock in some company, she may save her money in an interest bearing account so that interest can compound over time. She may even buy other people's tomorrows for cheap, for that is the way that the extemely wealthy become so.
The wealthiest of the wealthiest among us are those who recognize how willing the masses are to sell their tomorrows cheaply. They buy them at a discount and the sell them back at a huge profit. They are able to do this because tomorrows, at least up until now, have always turned into todays. The most valuable commodity on earth is a today. Sadly few realize that tomorrows turn into todays; at least they fail to realize it today.
As we educate ourselves, learn some new skill, or perfect a craft, we do so with the hopes that it will make our tomorrows more valuable, and therefor sadi tomorrows will command a higher price. As I mentioned earlier, Kobe Bryant and John Grisham both sell their tomorrows for a huge profit because of the skill they have developed. We most always consider however that buying tomorrows is always more profitable than selling them. Those who buy Bryant's and Grisham's tomorrows will most certainly profit more than they provided their tomorrows' value remains high.
They average man's tommorows are a much safer bet for those savy investors who are in the know. Their are many more average men, and the average man's tomorrows can be purchased dirt cheap and will pay dividends until he is worked to death. Fortunately the average man has two children who both learned to sell their tomorrows as well, so even though the one man works himself to death paying back the mortgage on his tomorrows, there will always be a greater population willing to sell their's.
One thing is certain, at some point everyone tries to buy back the tomorrows he sold, and, oh yes they are for sale, but they will be sold back to him for a far greater sum than he sold them originally. So, I wonder, is it possible to simply own one's own tomorrows.
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