I have done such articles earlier, but this is on the basis of a request by a young boy (about 22 years I presume) asking me about running and about starting to invest! So here it is…

1. Investing and Running are both individual sports! Well, unlike say badminton or tennis, you do not need a partner to start running. If you find people, great. If you do not, that should not let you give up running.
2. Start early, start small – some people are lucky. Their parents may have started a PPF, or a mutual fund sip for them when they were 3 years old! If your parents did not do it, do not worry, you can still start at the age of 22. Similarly, running has no “must start by” date. Whenever you start, you have had a great beginning.
3. Invest in Yourself – health and mind. Both are great beneficiaries of SIP. A little effort at improving your health by joining a gym or by taking on a second hobby like cycling (running is no. 1 I presume!) is also very useful. So a SIP in health and wealth.
4. Immaterial of whom you start with, running and investing are lonely sports. It is you versus the others, and it is just you running against yourself. Even when you run in an event, remember that you are just running alone.
5. Ultimately if you start running (and investing) at 22, you could be running when you are 88! Be prepared to run long, run tall, run cool and calm. Ditto for your investing!