Invest in Yo’Self
Looking to invest in something? How about yourself? You are your own biggest asset!
The reality of life is, and this is something you already know but either haven’t realised or you don’t want to admit to yourself, in order to achieve growth and success you’ll need to start with yourself.
You are the most important place you can put your time, money and energy, and yet you are probably the one thing that tends to get neglected in life. Break the cycle and put yourself first.
Nourishing yourself brings the biggest return on investment. It’s never a risk and it always pays off. Whether you’re learning a new skill, developing professionally, or investing in your health and well-being, the key to success is to give yourself first before you give to others. Showing self-love and putting in time, energy and money into developing yourself is the best you can do for yourself worth and ultimately your monetary worth and value.
Investing in yourself showcases that you appreciate and value your own potential. That you value yourself and your skills enough to give them the necessary means to grow and develop. You can’t expect others to believe you, invest in you and your ideas, or believe in your talent unless you do that for yourself first.
Investing in yourself starts with understanding the importance of doing so. Understanding the value and potential gains. That, and being willing to accept the cost of not doing so. Are you willing to go through life not quite reaching your full potential?
You have to make a choice and making the decision to put yourself first. You have to want to do it.
In order for you to grow, as a person, as an individual, as an entrepreneur, you have to grow and the only real way to achieving growth is by investing.
Look at the biggest athletes in the world, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, what do they all have in common? They invest in themselves (quite heavily might I add). You have tennis aces such as Roger Federer practicing daily, working with a coach daily, spending hours every day perfecting their craft.
Look at Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, Elon Musk or any other successful entrepreneur. These guys have conquered the world of business in ways most of us can only dream about, yet they all insist that they read daily, exercise daily, explore new opportunities and learn new skills. They know that growing any business starts from the inside out. These guys are the walking and talking proof that investing in oneself pays tenfold, but also that you should never stop learning. It’s a continuous process.
By now you should be pretty sold on the idea on enriching your own skills. Here are some practical tips where to start.
Set Goals
Be specific about your goals and dreams. ‘I want to be a millionaire’ is not good enough.
Instead, add as much meat to the bones as possible. Details are your friends. ‘I want to start my own company by the end of 2017 and have my first client by January 2018’
Work on your strengths
Start with what you know, what you’re good at and what you have a flair for and work on that first. Then move on to exploring new growth opportunities and new ways you can develop yourself that will ultimately help you achieve your goal.
Put money where your mouth is
Stop spending money on things you want and invest in the things you need. The tricky part is distinguishing between the two. I myself am prone to spending a ridiculous amount of money on shoes and clothes for reasons I still cannot explain. But I have identified that as an issue (and admitting you’ve got a problem is the first step to recovery, right?). I am focussing my efforts and finances in myself instead. Invest in your own dreams and aspirations instead of spending your hard earned money on building up people’s empires.
Make time
Time is a scarce resource nowadays. Disconnecting is difficult and finding time for yourself may even seem impossible.
Make the time.
Stop making excuses for yourself. Dedicate an hour a day to nourishing yourself. Be it an hour before bed, waking up an hour early or saying no to drinks after work, make yourself a priority in your own life. Don’t just wait for time to free up in your diary, make the time and pencil it in. Be stingy with your time and block out time for yourself so you can think, learn, and focus on what matters to you.
Invest in your health
This is so obvious that I almost didn’t include it in the list but it’s too important to leave out. Take care of yourself, your body and mind. Eat healthy meals, exercise, go to the dentist for your check ups and allow yourself time to relax.
You can’t build a better and stronger you if your body is giving up.
Learn to say no (a lot)
I’ve always had trouble saying no to others. I hate coming across as rude or unhelpful. But more often than not, saying yes to everyone leaves me tired, stressed and takes away time I could have spent on other things.
I am not saying you should be a d@ck and always refuse to help. But be mindful of when you’re being helpful and when you’re being pushed too far. Know your worth, know what your time is worth and only give that resource to the people who truly deserve it.
Work on your confidence
Knowing your own worth is essential. Constantly putting yourself down is poison. If you focus on the negatives, on what you can’t do or don’t have then other will do too. If you don’t love yourself, how can others love you?
Similarly, if you value and appreciate yourself, other will do too. Learn to have the courage to believe in yourself and to know you’re worth it. Own your power. Own who you are.
The world is unpredictable, markets are volatile, nothing is ever certain. There’s only one guaranteed investment in life, and that’s you.
That’s right, you.
Invest in yo’self! You’re worth it.
