More than a decade ago, I began studying the financial markets simply because I was curious. I’d read books like Good to Great and become interested in why some businesses succeeded while others failed.
Those explanations turn out to be good stories.
I didn’t plan on becoming an investor, though eventually, I did.
The profits earned via my stock market investments have been excellent, but what I didn’t understand was that just a few years into my investing career, I would begin working with corporate clients and business owners, and my newfound understanding of their companies, the sectors in which they operated, the people running these companies, and even the language of business would prove invaluable to me.
Far more profitable than my gains in the stock market.
I wasn’t exactly a corporate titan and didn’t possess a degree from Wharton. Still, I felt at home working with companies like Amazon, Slack, Johnson & Johnson, Phizer, Smuckers, Microsoft, Salesforce, and the like.
I understood enough to hold my own and bring new ideas to the table.
But none of that was expected or planned. My interest in business and investing was born from curiosity. Nothing more.
Three years ago, I became interested in aviation after watching a YouTube video about the reality of an aviation sequence in a film. One video led to another and another, and before long, I was reading about the history of aviation, watching videos of takeoffs and landings, and listening to air traffic controller and pilot exchanges.
Last summer, I took my first flying lesson. I spent about 45 minutes over the greater Hartford area, learning the basics of operating a small plane and even landing it with assistance from the instructor.
I possessed no long-term plan for this newfound interest in aviation. I simply believe in continuing to be curious about the world and learning whatever I can. I enjoyed flying, but I didn’t see myself pursuing it much further after that first lesson.
I didn’t suddenly have the urge to get my pilot’s license. That flight was the culmination of my interest in and study of aviation, or so I thought.
Then something surprising happened.
On his own, Charlie also became obsessed with aviation. He began reading books, downloading flight simulators onto his iPad, watching videos about aviation, and more. A couple of weeks ago, we visited the New England Air and Space Museum for the day.
On Saturday morning, Charlie was sitting at the table, using a flight simulator on his iPad, when I heard him complaining about a crosswind. “Did you need to do a go-around?” I asked.
“Two,” he said, sounding frustrated. “The crosswind is 30 knots. I nearly had a wing strike the last time.”
“Have you tried crabbing?” I asked.
He didn’t know what crabbing was, so I sent him a video from my laptop to his iPad demonstrating the technique.
As I clicked send, it hit me:
Three years ago, I started studying aviation because it struck me as something interesting. I had no plan for this course of study and no idea where it might take me. No conceivable use for this newfound knowledge.
My interest and study in aviation eventually took me to the sky—a flying lesson that I loved, and maybe someday, another. I had assumed that flying a plane would be the pinnacle of my aviation study.
But I was wrong.
That flying lesson had been a stepping stone to a moment on a Saturday morning when Charlie and I found ourselves talking about go-arounds, wing strikes, and crabbing. Discussing crosswinds and landing procedures.
Charlie and I spoke the same language. Understood the same concepts. Problem solved together. We found ourselves immersed in the same world, and the results were a morning that I will never forget.
Charlie says that he wants to become a pilot someday. Flying for a living.
Maybe he will.
Either way, something I began three years ago because I am constantly looking for the next thing resulted in something special between a father and son.
You never know where these things will lead.
Keep on being curious. Keep on learning. Don’t worry about the end product.
Just find your next thing and see where it might land.
