‘Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. it will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.’ – Robin Sharma (Executive Coach & Author)
This is just one of many quotes I was able to find on the importance of investing in yourself. In fact here is another quote from bygone days, that still remains valid.
‘Take a coin from your purse and invest it in your mind. It will come pouring out of your mind and overflow your purse.‘ – Benjamin Franklin.
Investing in yourself not only leads to a financial increase (like when you learn new skills that are more valuable to your employer or enable you to create your own business), but it leads to an increase in the quality of your relationships, the level of your health, and the joy you get to experience in life. So where investing in the share market may increase your financial worth it does not directly impact the quality of your relationships, your health or your daily happiness. That is the realm of ‘self investment’.
Some teachers even suggest a monetary number of self-investment; like 10% of your income. I definitely support this strategy myself and have invested 10’s of thousands of dollars over the years. What you feed grows. So feed your mind the good stuff.
So today I am going to share with you the 3 best ways to invest in yourself (which for me have the highest ROI…a little financial or time cost for a much big return).
1. Read. Read. And Read.
And I am not talking romance novels, vampire books, or erotica. Those are great for entertainment, but aren’t what I am talking about. Read books that raise your knowledge, that teach you new skills, that cause you to become more, that challenge you to step up, and that show you how to do it. Below are a list of my favourites (and yes, of course, my book is on the list ;-)):
- The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho (this book has changed 1000’s of lives)
- Loving What Is by Byron Katie (about working with ‘reality’)
- Evolve Your Brain by Joe Dispenza (how to more effectively use the mind)
- The Guidebook to Happiness by ME (relevant and practical and a fun read)
- The Biology of Belief by Dr Bruce Lipton (you need to understand how much beliefs matter)
- The Power of Infinite Love & Gratitude by Darren Weissman (an introduction to the LifeLine Technique)
Read at least one (1) great non-fiction or motivational fiction book a month (or listen to an audio book).
2. Take some sort of Personal Development Course.
Just like a muscle in the body, if we do not exercise our minds it starts to atrophy and become ‘weaker’. One of the best ways to overcome this weakness creeping in (just as we do for the body) is to do something that is new to us and preferably a challenge. Something that is a stretch (more than comfort and less than snapping us). This stretch actually causes the mind to fire up, to create new neural networks and to cause you to become more.
And to make this more relevant for yourself, learn something new that relates to your big future goal, or your bucket list, or will overcome a current challenge in your life.
Examples for new things could be:
- Learn a new language
- Learn to speak in public
- Learn to paint, draw, write, etc.
- Learn a new physical skill like surfing, archery, mountain biking, salsa, etc.
- Do a specific personal development course like our 30-Day Happiness Challenge, or any other well-structured, supportive, well-delivered and results-focused course. There are a few great ones to choose from. If you need one with more support, look for that. If you are good at self-disciple and self pacing a audio/video program might work for you.
3. Add and Subtract One.
All of us are fully aware of one thing we could stop doing or start doing that would make a big difference in our lives. And just in case you are completely stumped (or just playing dumb on me ;-)) here are a few for starters.
Start Doing:
- Morning stretches like my energization exercises
- Daily meditation or mindfulness exercise (like 5 mins of controlled breathing or some ‘breath walking‘)
- Drinking a daily Green Drink (blended drink with a dark green leafy vegetable as the base)
- Do a gratitude exercise daily (5 things you are grateful for spoken or written)
- Read an educational or inspiring book for 15 mins each day
Stop Doing:
- Complaining, criticizing or gossiping
- Smoking
- Drinking energy drinks (water + rest + good nutrition = energy)
- Beating yourself up (show compassion for yourself)
- What other people think you ‘should’ be doing; if it does not resonate with you
So for the next 21 days choose one thing to add into your life and one thing to take out of your life.
Just one thing. No big deal. Easy to do. And the great thing is, research has found that changing a habit in your life can have a flow on effect to other areas of your life, because you are also self-investing in your willpower muscles.
And think that is enough reading and doing for you for now. Have a super day and an amazing 21 days as you make the best investment you could make this year. And let’s finish up with another great quote by Jim Rohn:
‘Formal education will make you a living, Self education will make you a fortune.’