“Everything improves because people are always finding newer and better ways to do things.”
Tip of the Iceberg
Recently, I came across an idea from a financial newsletter that I’m subscribed to. This particular article was about assets, and outlining good ones from bad ones (in a general sense). They also spoke about tangible and intangible assets; and while I won’t go too far down any financial rabbit-hole, they gave an example of an intangible asset that got me really thinking: education.
Now, education is a fairly large topic, so I just want to flesh out this idea for now. So, this won’t be a long one; don’t worry.
Tangible vs Intangible
To give you a quick run-through for some context, the difference between something tangible and intangible is that tangible things can be seen and touched (smelled and tasted too, if you’re adventurous); whereas, intangible things cannot be seen outright, nor do they exist in the physical world in the same ways that tangible things do. They are usually abstract and representative of something. This, of course, applies to financial assets, which furthermore begs the distinction between good and bad assets.
The article I mentioned gave the example of education as an intangible asset, because although you may have a certificate or a portfolio to represent your qualifications, the education itself — the knowledge, skills and insights — exist only in your mind. They can be harnessed and used to create tangible things, but before this they exist outside of the physical world.
I thought this was fairly fascinating, because so much these days rely on our education. Our job securities, our futures, even our ideas; all these things rely on the intangible nature of our education. They rely on something you cannot physically see or touch with your hands.
Good vs Bad
The distinction made between good and bad assets is fairly self-explanatory. Good assets increase in value over time, while bad ones decrease in value over time. You can always invest into a bad asset to help it turn into a good one (everything has the potential to change), but it’s far more beneficial and valuable to invest into good assets that can bolster their value even further.
I think education is a fantastic example of this. It’s an asset because it has to be usually be paid for — not always with money, sometimes with time — in order to own. Once you have it though, it seemingly exists on this razor’s edge between good and bad. If you leave it where it is, it will start to decrease in value. Think of how much your specific high-school education is different from what exists now. Curriculums have changed, information has adapted and new techniques have been developed that make the old ones obsolete. Everything improves because people are always finding newer and better ways to do things. That’s why experience is worth far more in the real world; experience changes as the industry changes — because it has no choice not to.
In the same vein, if you take your education and invest in it a little more, the value can increase as well. You don’t have to pay for another degree or diploma, but you can invest in your education with learning a new skillset or a furthering your knowledge in a specific area of your field. Education doesn’t have to be official to be useful.
Forever Uphill
The funny thing is that I think the value of our education will always lean towards decreasing, because increasing it at the same rate as it naturally develops in the industry requires constant and unwavering dedication to continuously learning. The moment you stop, that’s when the curve starts to rapidly slow.
Hear me out though, I don’t believe you need to be continuously learning and developing new skills in order to be useful and have a meaningful place in society; there are many more areas of value that exist outside of being in service of something or someone. But, I will say that if you want to stay on top of your game, in whatever you do, then I strongly believe you need to invest in yourself.
If you’re in a competition, whatever form that may be, then you need to invest in yourself more than what your opposition is investing in themselves. If your only opposition is yourself, then just keep on your own track. Learn at your own pace and further your knowledge in whatever you feel will give you the most value.
Value yourself and value your time. But, don’t forget to value your education. And if you feel you’re starting to lose traction, maybe it’s time to invest a little again. As long as your education can serve you, then you’ve got yourself a damn good asset you can rely on.
