Have Assets, Share Them
Why you should share what you have
Share your assets, my dad always taught me.
That means please use what is mine, most any time. After all, if I’m not using it right now, it’s probably going to waste.
Share what you have, as sharing IS caring …
I was motivated to write about this after reading an article about a guy with a helicopter who let friends use it as they wanted, which makes total sense to me (especially as I used to fly helicopters and am very familiar with the costs).
After all, what good is an asset if you can’t share it?
And frankly, what good is having money and good things if you can’t share the benefits with others, and do as much good in the world as you can along the way?
Have gear, will lend
Let’s back up.
My dad founded & ran a construction company for many decades, and we always had lots of useful and expensive equipment such as tools, trucks, backhoes, cranes, cables; all the stuff you need to build stuff.
And he had friends who were occasionally in need of such equipment, and would thus borrow it at all hours of the day and night. Which was fine, as long as they knew how to use it, didn’t break it, and brought it back before we needed it. What was ours was theirs to use, more or less.
Keep in mind these were often expensive $50–100,000+ tools, and could easily get damaged or even kill people in the wrong hands (that happened once and is another rather sad story), but we trusted those who borrowed things to take care of them, themselves, and others.
Ask first, if you can
It was of course always best if people asked before they borrowed something, lest we need it, wonder where it went, or ponder if we’d left it somewhere (as often happened).
But if we weren’t around the house or shops, and well before the age of cell phones, there was no practical way to ask. So, if you needed something urgently on a Saturday afternoon, you were expected to take it and tell us about it later.
On more than a few occasions, we’d return home to find a crane or backhoe missing, wondering where it went. Given rural Maine’s very low crime rate, the working assumption was always that someone needed it, and they’d bring it back when they were done, hopefully before we needed it.
Stuff always came back. Always.
No one worried about stuff getting stolen, and in fact, if you didn’t leave the keys in it, how would someone borrow it in a time of need? New England thinking, that is, and I’m pretty sure we still leave keys in everything even today.
I don’t recall any money ever changing hands for any of this borrowing, as dad was always sure he’d need something from them someday, too (expert at bartering, he is). Favors, equipment, supplies, and help were traded all the time this way, as has been customary for centuries.
We borrow, too
Of course, we borrow stuff, too. Equipment both big & small is always in need, along with personal items, too. For example, the kayak I use daily each summer belongs to a friend — he dropped it off 20 years ago, knowing we’d use it more than him — he uses it maybe once a year.
This type of sharing is of course common in many rural communities, and in industries with high capital costs, such as construction, winemaking (everyone shares in Napa/Sonoma), and many others.
It builds communities and connects you to your neighbors and friends, plus reduces overall consumption or waste, as not everyone has to have everything, all the time.
Sharing also makes you feel good, helps others, and spreads the love — all things we are surely in need of these days. Pay it forward, you might say.
And not everything has to be returnable, for you can share expensive wine and chocolate, too.
Sharing is caring
So what expensive assets do you have that you can & should share? Cars, cameras, condos, caldrons, …