When it comes to traditional investments, I’m pretty
low-key. I’ve done none better than join with my wife M in buying a brownstone
in Brooklyn in June 1992. (She had some
inheritance, I had just been hired by Birnbaum Travel Guides, a HarperCollins imprint.) The rest is plain vanilla: a sliver
of a company pension, a medium-risk 401(k), an M&L IRA. Stuff that rarely
comes up in conversation – even with my wife !
As for risk, I invest in sweat equity. The charts
tell me I run hard for my age. About 25 beats per minute above the top target range
of 136 BPM. While training for Brooklyn 2015, I’ve been doing a hard run of 45
minutes on the treadmill. I’m sweating pretty good at twelve minutes. By the
time I’ve crossed the tape at 45 – or about 5.2 miles from the first stride – I’m
drenched.
And for hours afterward, feeling fabulous. Investing in
sweat equity clears my mind, helps my appetite (for fuel foods like bread, nuts
and fruit, pasta), pumps me up with energy, lightens my mood, contributes to my
lights-out/without meds sleep history.
This might not be the kind of risk you want to take on in
your portfolio. But if you do, and do it smartly, you won’t be sorry. If you
ask me, it’s the key that turns the engine of a well-rounded investment
strategy.
Next: Running for Your Life: If the Greats Were With Us
Thursday
