In any situation, it is important to keep track of our resources. This has been true since the beginning and it has only gotten more true as time has gone on. But what, you might ask, do I mean by resources? And how do you manage them effectively? Well, there are couple different categories of resources, from very large abstract idea resources to small personal ones. For instance, in terms of very large abstract idea resources, you could take lumber. Lumber is a resource with a very slow growth rate and a very finite boundary in terms of accessing it. There are so many trees on Earth, we can’t make them grow back faster so we have to make sure we use lumber wisely. Lumber might be a large and rather general and abstract resource but it is a perfect concrete example of the idea of resources in its largest incarnation. A resource, whether enormous or small, is typically a tool that allows you to take some sort of action. Resources are, by definition, human made because nature in its solo, neutral form has no use for resources. The closest you can get to nature utilizing resources are animals using very small tools to open shells or eggs but, for the most part, resources can be thought of as tool that is utilized by humans to achieve something that humans want. You want nice chairs and timber frame homes? You are going to need lumber. You want hardwood floors and tables at restaurants? Lumber again. That is, unless you can use another resource to stand in for it. There are smaller, less concrete resources as well. Energy, for instance, is a finite resource that we all utilize each day. Though not many people think about it, our energy is absolutely finite and is used slowly on different tasks throughout the day. This is obvious in the case of hard physical things like exercise but it can be more subtle and less noticeable too. There are mental calories as well as physical ones and we can only expend so much energy in either direction before we need to recharge. We often think of mental energy as infinite or endless but the truth is it is very much not. Your mind can get tired. You can be intellectually and emotionally exhausted. We have to utilize all of our resources wisely lest they run out too fast. Let’s take a look at another resource, one rather infamous one that still dominates society to this day.
Banking, Money and the World Going Round
Banking, whether it be online banking or online bill pay or going for a small business loan or home loans or managing your mortgages, is all about money and money, as we now know, is a resource. A carefully managed, human created, occasionally human destroyed resource but still a resource all the same. So how do we manage it effectively? What should we do with our money when we get it and how do we avoid losing it? Well, banking is one obvious solution albeit less obvious than it might appear first. We all have bank accounts that hold our money for us and keep it safe which is good. You can also invest in banks and utilize them if you need more money for a money making venture. But banks can also give you money advice and money knowledge you couldn’t get on your own. In this way, banks are actually trafficking in the resource of knowledge which is slightly different than money. Money is power, there’s no doubt about that but knowledge is, of course, the most valuable resource of all. Knowledge can unlock all of the money in the world if you want it too. Well, alright, knowledge can’t do that exactly , apologies, but knowledge can help open a huge gateway of banking and money opportunities. The first and best advice when managing your money is to manage it with knowledge. Manage it by knowing where it is going in great detail and know how you are going to acquire it with great detail. By combining money and knowledge, you have two of the world’s most important resources at your own disposal.
