By: Paul E. L. T. Borrow-Longain
If it were possible to sit in one’s favourite armchair and travel back in time to the moment before birth and seriously contemplate our future, how many of us would tell our soon-to-be born self that we wanted wealth, happiness and success? If I was forced to place a percentage to that answer, I’m highly confident it would be above 50% and more than comfortable saying it would be north of 90%. Unless we had a poor understanding of the 21st Century and wholeheartedly believed in the saying “the best things in life are free”, I would go as far as to say almost everyone would list those three in some order and some manner. Alas, it is a scientific impossibility to have this theoretical debate with oneself before our moment of birth. However, it’s possible and highly advisable to discuss this with one’s partner before the birth of one’s children.
Approaching my 43rd birthday, and in eager and hopeful anticipation of a happy and loving marriage before the year is out, followed in quick succession, God willing, by the birth of a healthy child, my mind turns to the lives that they will live and what my future wife and I can do to ensure best the most wonderful lives for our beloved children. They are, after all, our future, our legacy, the best of us both, who one day in the distant future we will leave behind to rule our small corner of Earth. They will blend aspects of two families, both steeped in history, forging a more perfect united future for our families and, in ways both small and possibly great, the future of all humanity. No matter the situation of our birth, we all have an essential part to play in the future of our planet.
As a businessman, I know all too well the importance we all place on our profit and loss and balance sheets, especially bankers who, for good or ill, often get a deciding vote in the opportunities we have in our lives. However, what are the most critical assets that we actually have?
I would argue that the three most valuable assets in our lives are health, time and education. Happily, these are three assets which most people are able to acquire without the involvement of bankers.
Health, time and education are three assets my future wife and I are united in believing we must, at all costs, give to our future children and whose importance we are committed to instilling in them as early as possible.
Now I will turn my attention to explaining each of these assets in greater detail.
Health
Having been born in the United Kingdom in the closing decades of the twentieth century, I have been privileged enough to live during the existence of the National Health Service (NHS), the so-called “universal healthcare” provider. To speak ill of the NHS is almost sacrilege; to put it into an American context, our NHS is akin to their Social Security, the third rail of American politics; touch it, and you die. Sadly, the NHS is no longer the beacon of hope it once was. Waiting lists are getting longer, treatments appear to be rationed, and the quality of service is sadly becoming degraded. All of this points to one conclusion – access to the best quality healthcare isn’t universally available.
Without having one’s health, which I refer to as my first asset, it is not overly critical what your second asset is. Without being healthy, it becomes far more complex, and in some cases impossible, to have a decent education in order to secure well-paid and meaningful employment, to generate the income required to enjoy the wonders of the world and explore the wealth of opportunities that are open to us, and to ultimately lead to a comfortable and safe retirement. In short, good health is the foundation of our entire lives. So, how can we best ensure the health of our children?
Private insurance – Secure the best available private insurance you can afford. The best time to secure private health insurance for an individual is as soon as possible after their birth. This is because the two key factors which dictate the monthly premium are age and pre-existing health conditions. This simple decision will best ensure your child will benefit from the best medical opinions promptly and treatment commences as fast as possible. It is no secret that the more affluent individuals and families in our society tend to have the best health, opportunities and chances in life. Not everyone can be born “into money”, but I honestly believe almost anyone can afford private healthcare – it all comes down to priorities.
As we live in a civilised society, we must all pay for the provision of a health service via taxes.. It is an important safety net, primarily when children cannot be held responsible for their parents’ decisions . However, that does not mean we all have to use the service, we can choose to free space and resources for those who need it the most and draw on private health insurance to maximise managing our health outcomes..
I want my children to benefit from and have access to the most cutting-edge medical treatment and medicines possible, should they ever need them. I also want them to receive it immediately – so yes, they will have private health insurance.
For anyone thinking to themselves, “I can’t afford health insurance.” I would ask if you enjoy having a bottle of wine at the weekend, the occasional coffee shop visit, or smoking tobacco. If the answer to at least one of those is yes, compare that cost with taking out a health insurance policy for a newborn baby. I know in which direction I would rather spend my money.
Having access to high-quality medical attention promptly is only one component of ensuring good health. As the saying goes – an ounce of prevention is cure. eEducating oneself on nutrition, on healthy eating, on the advantages of maintaining a healthy weight, and on looking after your physical and mental health all contribute to maintaining good health. There is no need to go “over the top”.; We do notl need to run marathons or be super-athletes, and medical experts appear to agree that the once-sacred Body Mass Index (BMI) to gauge a healthy weight range is far to simplistic . However, being a healthy weight and eating a balanced diet has been proven repeatedly to improve quality of life significantly, which in turn gives us more time and a more significant number of opportunities.
Time
We are destined to only be on this planet, living our lives, for a finite period, and none of us has a clue how long that will be. There are 24 hours in a day and 365 days in (most) years. Medical science encourages us to sleep between seven and eight hours per night to live a healthy life. I am well aware that some individuals survive (and possibly even thrive) on far less; the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reportedly slept four hours a night, as did various other high achievers.
Most of us need to hold down a job of some sort, either as an employee or as an entrepreneur.Currently, an eight-hour working day is the norm for most employees, I have only come across one entrepreneur who considered that eight hours a day was enough to start, and grow, a business, and many put in far more. However, for the sake of this discussiont, we will agree that eight hours of work is typical.
Having started with 24 hours and after allowing time for sleep and employment, we are left with eight hours over which we have significant control – let’s call this “your control” time. We can double the average number of hours available for both Saturdays and Sundays.
In short – do not waste time.
What do I mean by “do not waste time”? The best way to answer this is via acouple of examples.
One: We all want to get the items and experiences we want at the best price. I know many people spend hours researching online to find the best price, then drive to collect the item before returning home after saving “a few pounds”. This is often a false economy when you factor in the cost paid to save that money – both in terms of additional travel costs and time.
Two: It is often cheapest when travelling by air to fly via one or more stops instead of direct. However, how much do you spend at each stop, and how much longer did you spend in the air overall?
There are many, many other examples of false economies of both money and time. I would challenge everyone to keep track of the use of their time for just a week. I would be surprised if, on average, at least two hours of a person’s day are not used as efficiently as possible. Over a week, that makes 14 hours;ver a year, that totals 728 hours. Put another way, over one year, your potentially underutilised time equates to 91 days’ worth of your control time. Assuming for a moment that the average adult works for 50 years, that’s a total of 4,550 of “your control” days.
Having suddenly found all this “extra time”, what can you use it for? Anything you want! Start your own business to increase your wealth Learn a new language to increase your knowledge. Get involved in your community or a charity toincrease your friendship circle and self-worth Travel to exciting places you’ve always dreamed of seeing, rather than just seeing them on the television. Spend time with family and friends. Invest for your future. The options are almost limitless.
Enhancing your time management skills and using one of the excellent apps which are available to do so has the potential to revolutionise your life for the bette After all, none of us knows how long we have to enjoy our lives.
Education
At times it feels that the more educated one is, the less the world cares about your opinions. Social media has arguably elevated the wrong people to be “leaders”. How much of social media is accurate, and how much is fake or ill-informed?
Combining the social media effect with “reality” TV and news programming, which appears to be “dumbing down” at an ever-increasing rate while the world is becoming increasingly complicated and interconnected, is, in my opinion, a recipe for disaster. There has arguably never been a more critical time in the history of humanity for individuals to take education more seriously.
Firstly, I believe in choice when it comes to education, and I will choose to send my future children to private schools. I wholeheartedly believe that to get the best educators, you have to pay them well. To get the best educational environment to enhance learning, you need to have the best surroundings and equipment – both of which cost money. Together, they present the best potential for an individual to excel. Private schools do not and cannot guarantee exceptional graduates.; There are too many other vital factors in play, though they give people the resources to ex.
Can a student achieve excellence in a state school? -Absolutely! I went to a state school. However, I would have preferred a private school, which has many advantages. Can state schools close the gap? Yes, though they require more money, higher teaching standards, and a myriad of other conditions addressed which I dot believe are currently possible.
Parents have approximately a five-year runway to plan for their children’s education. With the right investment approach, time management and hard work, I believe more children could have the opportunity to attend a private school of their choosing.
Putting aside schooling for a moment, I fully acknowledge that not everyone will be able to benefit from private school education. There are a wealth of other ways to enhance one’s education.
Most people can access learning material online, allowing the choice of a topic or subject at will, and providing the opportunity to build a strong foundation of knowledge. There are millions of free ebooks, webinars, podcasts, YouTube videos, and courses available at a touch of a button. However, check the reliability of the source of the knowledge youare consuming – not all information is equally valid. It is probably best to avoid social media and anything where the general public can edit content or anything where the author is o’t identified. Anonymous is not a name!
The 21st Century has seen a rapid rise of colleges, universities, and other institutions of learning offering courses online at a fraction of the cost of more traditional learning at higher education institutions. Putting aside the “soft” skills, such as “people skills” learned by attending institutions,, these online alternatives present an excellent opportunity to increase one’s knowledge.
We are surrounded by some of the greatest museums, libraries, and art galleries in the world. All of the public institutions are free. Our history is all around us, which is one of the advantages of living in the United Kingdom. Membership of the National Trust and English Heritage (to name but two) are cost-effective routes to gain access to their magnificent buildings and landscapes, and just as importantly to their army of volunteers eager to engage in discussion with anyone who approaches them. I urge my readers to take advantage of all of these learning opportunities.
As the saying goes – knowledge is power.
The more reliable knowledge one can consume, the more enriched life becomes, increasing social circles, employment opportunities, and bringing a wealth of other benefits.
In conclusion
What I refer to as the three most important assets are interlinked and create “feedback loops”. One can be healthy, which increases the time one is probably going to have in life. Managing your time efficiently will increase the opportunities you can take advantage of during your life, and using some of that time to advance your knowledge has the potential to enrich your life. Increasing knowledge allows you to understand the importance of many things, including how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and how to manage your time. These three critical assets, used in unison, will become self-propagating and make you far wealthier and more successful.
