The first records of investments and financial expertise date back to the times of Ancient Babylon. It was there, thousands of years ago, that people, for the first time, became aware of the necessity to handle their incomes carefully and manage the financial flows intelligently. In Ancient Greece, for instance, each citizen was entitled to a land plot and provided with government support. Credit provision was, too, on the rise at the time. Mortgage services, so popular nowadays, first appeared also in Ancient Greece. It was already then that all kinds of loans at interest, land plots, and real estate gave good opportunities for investment and accumulation of capital funds. The words ‘to invest’ and ‘investment’ appeared long ago and are of Latin origin. The verb’s original meaning was actually ‘to clothe’, and only in the XVIIth century was it extended to mean ‘to put out money at interest’, the notion being of giving the capital another ‘clothing’ or ‘form’. Generally speaking, human life is, in a sense, an endless series of investments. When a child, I joined a chess club, as I desired to learn to think the way grand chess masters do. I also went to a music school to develop my emotional intelligence and feel the beauty. I committed to memory poetry and read complicated books, as it is the only way to train the brain and acquire analytical skills. Then, I spent six years studying philosophy to be able to think systemically and find ambivalent answers. We do sports, take care of our health and beauty, play mind games, make new friends, communicate, and travel, thus collecting emotions and experiences. All that symbolic capital is our investment in tomorrow. Sooner or later, some famous personal growth coach is sure to say, ‘One fine day, take a seat, write down what is of real importance to you, point out a few key values, and invest in them’. In the meantime, I am sure we must invest in what makes us feel happy. If we do, our investment has worked. And if you wish to know how to make profitable investments, read the professionals’ op-eds in this issue. In this respect, I am also just a beginner, ready to sit down at the student table next to you and set foot on the yet unknown path of investments.
