Best Investments for 2012
It’s 1975: Wheel of Fortune premiers; the Viet Nam War is coming to an end; Terry Bradshaw leads the Pittsburgh Steelers to victory in Super Bowl IX; Gerald Ford is only months into the presidency he inherited following the Watergate Scandal and the economy is in recession. Imagine, at this time, being approached by two young men about a “high-tech” capital investment opportunity involving personal computers. Keep in mind, in 1975, most individuals do not own, nor have they even heard of a personal computer. Being the savvy investor that you are, you ask questions of one of the aspiring entrepreneurs.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
“Do you have any entrepreneurial experience?”
“No.”
“What is your educational experience?”
“I dropped out of college after the first semester.”
“Do you have a source of income presently?”
“No, but I don’t really need one. I’m crashing on the floor of a friend’s house.”
“What about food?”
“I get free meals at the Hari Krishna temple. If I can find enough Coke bottles, I can get enough money for a Happy Meal.”
“Where is your business?”
“My mom and dad’s garage.”
You’re underwhelmed and you politely decline. As you are likely aware, you’ve just walked away from Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Fast forward to 1997. Apple is still around but has a dismal track record. You reward yourself for not investing in that loser high-tech start up by purchasing a PC for $2000.00. Fast forward to 2012. If you had used that two grand to purchase 100 shares of Apple stock in 1997, you could ring in the new year with $150,000.00 shares of Apple stock. And what if you had helped those 20 year old hippie dropouts in 1975? If spotting great investments were easy we would all be rich.
What are the five or six investments that you could make in 2012 that would have the highest and best return? For a parent, it may be the decision to invest more in a child than a career. For another person, it may be the decision to forgive and release the bitterness that has poisoned her life for many years. The best investments create returns that go well beyond financial prosperity.
Join us in January and February as we explore the teachings of Jesus and some of the best investments we can make in the coming year.