Memory Dividends

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The business of life.

When I was 15 years old, my parents gifted me a roundtrip ticket to Chicago to visit my aunt and uncle for my birthday. It was the best gift I've ever received. I thought getting on an airplane and going somewhere new was cooler than getting a new pair of shoes or any other material gift. And I still do. Gifting life experiences like trips to Chicago, concerts, and sports tickets have a much higher ROI than material gifts.

This is because experiences have memory dividends.

A memory dividend is the re-experiencing of an experience. When you're 90 years old, sitting with your lady happily sipping a cup of joe, you may think back to your early twenties when you stayed up all night in Barcelona – on the beach – drinking beers till sunrise with your buddies.

You're re-experiencing a memorable night in Barcelona – one that you probably wouldn't trade for anything. That's a memory dividend.

If you've ever shared an experience with someone and talked about it weeks, months, or years later, that's also a memory dividend. While visiting my best friend's house over the holidays, I spent hours talking with him and his family about the cool shit we did as kids and the memories we've all shared. I get to relive those experiences we all shared after the fact. It's pretty damn cool if you think about it.

Memory dividends are one reason you should do cool shit. I first came across the idea in Bill Perkin's book, Die With Zero, where he writes about using money to invest in experiences that you love. He claims that those experiences have the highest ROI for your life. More than any monetary return you'll make from the stock market.

Today, there's a toxic hustle culture on Twitter and in the real world. I've fallen victim to it, and many people like me have too. Work hard for hard work's sake – that's the gist. Bill argues that you should work hard to live harder. In other words, use your money to create experiences that bring you joy and contentment. This idea is rarely mentioned in a society that continues to suffer from anxiety, depression, a lack of presence, parasocial relationships, and discontentment with life.

Bill's book is about using money and wealth to create an awesome, meaningful life. But underneath it all, he's asking the reader to ask themselves what gives them life and realign their priorities to do more activities that bring them joy, contentment, and satisfaction. Anyone can benefit from that message, regardless of their level of income. If you enjoyed this blog post, read Die With Zero and check out his podcast with Peter Attia.

Keep crushing.

Cheers,

Noah Cracknell

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