LIVING OFF MEMORIES
Interim Memo
The days may seem small on their own, but together they have compounding power, as investments do. Every choice, every risk, every opportunity seized or ignored, quietly builds into the portfolio of our existence. There comes a time, however, when the dividends we live on are not only monetary, but also experiential — the memories we have earned. To “live off memories” is to withdraw from the account of a past richly made.
Investing wisely means understanding delayed gratification. The same principle applies to how we live. Memories are usually not formed from comfort or repetition, but from risk, novelty, and intention. They are the “capital gains” of a life engaged. Just as a savvy investor plants seeds in undervalued assets, we too can invest our days in experiences that seem inconvenient, costly, or uncertain, yet promise a return of meaning. The long trip we hesitate to take, the difficult but important conversation we postpone, the bold project we delay — these are potential memories awaiting purchase.
One of the cruel realities of time is that we only understand the worth of certain investments after the market has closed. As Andy Bernard from The Office once said — “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.”
Youthful years spent chasing only money, prestige, or certainty often lead to an impoverished memory account later. What good is wealth if it cannot fund stories, if it cannot purchase laughter, if it cannot pay for the companionship of those who walked life with us?
But living off memories is not merely nostalgia. It is the ability to recognize that what we have built is enough, that the past continues to yield strength for the present. A person who remembers vividly the bonds they built, the risks they took, the kindness they practiced, finds themselves with a rich reserve even when their current body or circumstances fail them.
Investing in memories requires courage and foresight: courage to act when it’s easier to defer, foresight to value the invisible dividend of meaning. The day will come when what sustains us is not our productivity or our earning potential but the wealth of moments — the sunset we chose to watch, the trip we dared to take, the time we enjoyed with old friends. To live off memories is not to live in the past, but to continue reaping the harvest of a well-sown life.