Landing on the other side of another holiday season we find ourselves once again in January – just like in the past.  It’s the same, but somehow with a twist of difference.  This year the twist is dizzying.  At the top of a huge amusement park slide I push off—plummeting downward, building up speed, hitting slippery bumps with no navigational controls, taking sharp turns that toss me from side to side, finally stopping with a thump on my bottom which, fortunately, has enough padding to handle the sudden drop!

I am like Alice in Wonderland, and I’ve landed in a new global “money mall.”  As a seasoned shopper, I know the drill for getting around in an unfamiliar retail venue.  Locate the directory. Identify the anchor stores.  Find the symbol indicating “YOU ARE HERE.” Having oriented myself I can then navigate towards my desired destination.  That’s the way it’s always been, but in the new money mall, things have changed.

To illustrate my point, I’ll describe my experience last June in the most fascinating mall I’ve ever seen—the Dubai Mall.  The statistics on this mega facility are staggering.  According to Google it is the 2nd largest mall on the planet, with approximately 1,200 stores and 6 anchor stores.  I walked through at least 3 levels of retail space, connected with several major hotels by a series of long corridors, all spanning one huge city block.  I found no directory, but security was everywhere, so I simply asked for directions.  Surprisingly, security personnel could not point me to the stores I wanted.  Instead, they advised me to download the Dubai Mall app on my phone.  It included a live GPS system that provided turn-by-turn walking instructions to any store in the mall!  Voila!

With this picture in mind, I’ll return to the money mall to investigate how it has evolved.  In the past most of us were familiar with the “investment” anchor stores:  stocks, bonds, real estate, mutual funds, gold, silver, commodities, etc.  Lining the corridors between these anchors we found a variety of customizable, specialty products.  The internet technology facilitated the globalization of investment markets significantly, creating tantalizing new options and opportunities for investors.  We found ourselves trading in various national currencies and investing in companies and commodities that are not commonly known in our native land.  Finally, the blockchain ushered in an array of decentralized money products that are flooding the markets – at the speed of thought!  We’re in the Dubai money mall.  

Our usual “mall security” can’t keep up – they are not capable of giving clear directions.  Here’s what I mean.  My husband and I recently sat down with our tax accountant (mall security #1) to discuss how to report our crypto currency activities.  The accountant had no clear answer because the laws are changing rapidly.  We pointed him toward some research materials to get him started.  He promised to check out our information and consult with his own expert sources.  Then, together, we’ll all find the right answer.  

Next, we consulted with our financial advisor (mall security #2) about adding NFT’s (Non-Fungible Tokens) and tokenized real estate to diversify our holdings.  She had no ready suggestions but agreed to research available offerings, help us analyze our options and work through a reasonable strategy.

So, while our objectives have not changed, we’re finding vastly new products and tools for achieving our goals.  Just to keep ourselves on track, we crafted a new written plan to clearly articulate and re-state our personal and family goals.  They have always been centered on stewardship of personal assets but we’re beginning to view these assets in three distinct categories.  These are our new definitions:

  • Money.  Our Economic Asset.  The goal is appreciation.  As usual, we will focus on creating wealth by converting one asset to another in a way that maximizes its value.  Then we will deploy all money assets to maximize the time asset and the health asset in ourselves and others, and thereby strengthen the economic systems of the community.
  • Time.  Our Life Asset.  This is a fixed asset of 86,400 seconds, renewable each day.  The goal is to invest it in a manner that maximizes money and health in ourselves and others and strengthens the economic systems of the community. 
  • Health.Our Energy Asset.  Health is both energy and power.  It includes the spiritual, emotional and mental, as well as the physical dimension of the persons.  Transmitting this energy to fuel the money and time asset will create a surge of power in the individual and will strengthen the spiritual and economic systems of the community.

Note that the end goal always results in benefit to self, others and the community.  

Re-entering the money mall, we’re forced to acknowledge that proper stewardship of the money asset has become enormously complicated.  We need a new app on our phone, a GPS system, or let’s call it an APS (Asset Positioning System) with turn-by-turn instruction to navigate through.  The one requirement of the new system is to actively seek out and contribute to a community of people who are focused on education, development and utilization of new money products (assets).  No Lone Rangers here!

YOU ARE HERE!

If you are aware of the changes in the economic landscape, then you are definitely here.  And if you are unaware—well, you are still here.  No one escapes.  We have all arrived.  The FUTURE is here, now.  I believe we all have a moral responsibility to understand the new “free enterprise” system, as we work together to develop an even better system for the years to come.