Salary Seeds is a culmination of experiences -successes and failures – over my nearly forty year career as an engineer, manager, director, VP, entrepreneur and real estate investor. I am not an ordained financial expert, however I am a student of financial learning. Although I am not an expert, my wife accuses me of experiencing a “teaching high” whenever someone asks me anything on the subject of investing. I have strong convictions about what I wish I had known in my 20’s and 30’s and how I know I can help other career professionals make better financial decisions.
I use the analogy of planting seeds because it is personal to me. As a curious 5 year old boy, I discovered that maple tree seeds – helicopters in our vernacular – could be planted to grow a maple tree. I took action as any rightly constructed midwestern boy would and planted a seed in my Mother’s flower bed. I did this with no expectation of what it might be 50 plus years in the future. That, as it turns out, was the benefit provided by ignoring it over the passage to time. I planted it for fun. I did something. I gave it the opportunity to grow. And it did grow.
Financial seeds planted for fun, as a way to take action, can also grow. I encourage you to think about the future, but mostly act in the present. Give the future the opportunity to provide its dividends… literally.
Thomas A. Slater