When I think of an investment as opposed to spending, there is an obvious and huge difference. Spending, of course, is exchanging one thing, usually money, for something in return. Investing can also involve the exchange of money for something else, but the intention is to provide a greater return. So, what are you investing in? I’m not talking about securities but rather talking about the things that you invest in everyday.
For the purposes of this blog post, we will look not at securities or commodities but look at whether we choose to invest our time and effort in a job or in something far more valuable. I heard it said one time that the word job is an acronym that stands for “just over broke.” If you are a person who is simply going through life investing all your time and effort in a job, I’m afraid to tell you that you are investing in the future of someone else. This time and effort exchange never leads to the things in life most of us really want out of life. These things are usually described as abundance, freedom and satisfaction.
If investing your time and effort in a job isn’t the way to create true wealth, then in what would we invest? A simple one word answer, “YOU!”
If you think about it, even investing in a college education is still just training you for a job of some sort in all likelihood. Again, maybe your dream job or dream situation involves you trading hours for dollars. Maybe you want to work as a physician or scientist or some great thing like that. If that’s the case, more power to you. If it’s not the case, then again you are likely training for a job and a lifetime of being broke…perhaps at a higher standard of living but broke nonetheless.
Investing in yourself and your own personal development is the key. Grow your mind. Grow and expand the way you look at life. Consider your strengths and gifts. Think about how you were born to solve a problem. Then equip yourself to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to solve the problem for others and in doing so you will reach your goals in terms of satisfaction, financial reward and freedom. A formal education prepares the student for a career while a person who educates himself prepares for a life. This is not my own original thought and can’t say exactly where I heard or read it before ,but it is a good saying that is worthy of consideration.
So who are you going to invest in? Yourself or your boss? May I suggest that as long as you need your job you give your boss everything you possibly can. In your free time, pour as much as you can into yourself until you are ready to step into your life role you were created to walk in.
Below you will find a helpful Amazon link to a series from a speaker and author I highly respect and who has motivated and inspired me so much. Les Brown is an amazing communicator. Give him some of your time; it will be a worthy investment in your future. This product is billed and fulfilled by amazon.com.