Our basic needs of food, clothing and shelter all require 1 major prerequisite – MONEY. But too few of us (by “us” I mean the 90% on the bottom of the economic totem pole) actually know what money truly is. In addition to our unfamiliarity with money’s true essence, many of us don’t know or care how money and currency differ. Our collective lack of truth, principle, and fact concerning finance is what holds many of us back from making “power moves” or funding projects that effect positive change outside of our immediate household. My great-grandmother always said, “If they knew better, they’d do better”, the next few paragraphs are knowledge-filled so pay close attention…

Value is the IMPORTANCE or preciousness something holds.

Money is a RESOURCE that holds VALUE. A tool used to obtain goods, services, and more money.

Currency is the PHYSICAL representation of the value of money, used to uniform the value.

A physical $100 Bill is not worth $100, because $100 worth of VALUE did not go into the production of that bill. In actuality a $100 Bill is only high-processed fiber paper, covered in a few different types of ink. The VALUE is not in the bill the VALUE lies in what the bill can get – goods, services, and more money. Currency, dollar bills for example, exist so that people can agree upon equitable exchange. In reality, Money is purely conceptual simply because money is useful only because of the Value held in desired goods, services, and more money. All this considered, one doesn’t NECESSARILY need (currency) to acquire goods, services, or more money, but you must possess some type of VALUE that can be traded.

Business people all over the world utilize Leverage, which is the power and ability to influence people, events, or decisions (see www.infinityclubinvestment.com/blog). But your ability to leverage depends upon value you bring to the table, not necessarily the money you bring.

Instead of saying “money makes the world go round” it would be more accurate to say “resources make the world go round” or better still “value makes the world go round”. Being familiar with what people value and learning how to provide what they value is an integral part to acquiring resource. The common misconception is that it “takes money to make money.” This saying is partially true, but it is just the same to say “ it takes value to make money”. Value can be within individual people and shown through their skills, relationships, interests, and abilities. Business people go bankrupt all the time and lose millions of dollars, and don’t break a sweat. This is because most wealthy people realize that the value lies within their ability to leverage resources and execute business effectively, not in the actual business itself. So remember, don’t worry about the acquisition of money; add value to yourself and others. If you are of value, leveraging resources such as money will be the least of your worries.

Infinity Cub Investment Group (ICIG) is a private investment club with a primary focus on creating substantial capital gains for its members through day trading and long-term strategic investments in various financial instruments. At ICIG we diversify our trades across foreign exchange, stocks, futures and options markets. Infinity Club Investment Group is a private group and does not publicly offer securities. Please visit www.infinityclubinvestment.com for more info.

Mogul Minds is a 5-day course that provides practical insight to help teenagers grasp accounting principles, financial market basics, and technical investment analysis. The predominant goal of the initiative  is to change the way our students view money, income, and earning potential. We want to break the mold of exchanging hours for dollars by exposing our students to the world of finance and investing where earning potential is only limited by one’s knowledge.

By: D. James Studamire, Managing Partner at Infinity Club Investment Group