Warren Buffett said in an interview that the best investment he ever made was on a $100 course on public speaking. The world’s best investor says that the best investment you can make is in yourself, not in any company or stock.
Like Warren, most successful people tell us to invest in ourselves. Warren says that when you invest in yourself, you enhance your skills and talent. Nobody can take away your skills and talent. They might be able to take your wealth, your money value can decrease, but your talent always remains with you.
We start a business to make money, to get profit. We get a job to earn money. But we invest in ourselves to become better – whether it is to learn a new skill or to improve existing skills. Once we do so, it remains with us forever. You can always get a job if you have the right skills. You can also start your own business if you have the right skills necessary to do so.
When we hear the word investing we usually think of business, stocks, bonds, properties, or other assets. We seldom hear people talk about investing in ourselves. But it is one of the most important investments there is.
7 Ways to Invest In Yourself
There are different ways you can invest in yourself. Investing is known to have the involvement of money. But investing in yourself might or might not cost you money. Investing can also involve time and energy, not only money.
If, for instance, you are investing in your mental and physical well being by doing activities like exercise and meditation, you might not need to spend money unless if you are paying for a gym membership or a meditation course. But, if you are taking a course, like Warren, you will need to spend some money. That money will be worth it.
So without further ado, let’s list out the 7 ways you can invest in yourself.
- Read
- Learn
- Have a hobby
- Take care of your health
- Set goals
- Write
- Improve your relationships
1. Read
Reading is a wise investment. The more you read, the more you will learn. But there is a difference between reading and learning. You read to understand the facts and get information on certain things in the world. But you learn to develop a skill and to gain in-depth knowledge about something.
Reading is a habit you must include in your daily life. Reading allows you to understand the perspectives of different people by studying their books/articles/journals. In today’s world, reading does not have to be only from a book. There are podcasts, online journals/articles, ebooks, audiobooks, videos, and a bunch of other ways you can read from. You can find a lot of free content to read from on the internet. (Click here to get free access to my collection of ebooks.)
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2. Learn
Like I said, learning is not the same as reading. You learn to improve your skills on a certain topic. Learning is to understand something in-depth. There are different ways you can learn – by taking courses, joining classes or communities, finding a mentor, attending seminars/workshops, or reading books. Like reading, you can find a lot of free materials online as well.
The most important thing about learning is that you will develop your skills. If you have the right skills, you can achieve whatever you want in life. Getting a job requires skills. Starting a business requires skills. And, like Warren, communicating with people requires certain skills too. So go ahead and identify what are the right skills you need to develop. Find out where and how you can develop these skills. Once you know what you need to do, do it by learning.
3. Have a Hobby
A hobby seems like a nice way to pass your time. You need to foster your hobbies and do them frequently. Your hobbies might not only make you feel good during the time but they might work out as ways to make a living.
A hobby might not seem like a big deal at first. But it can turn out to become a way you find your passion in life. Whether you like playing the guitar, painting, gardening, cooking, or whatever, you need to do it more often. We are lucky to be born in the internet world where we can make a living off of our hobbies. So don’t let your hobbies fade away because your life got busier.
4. Take Care of Your Health
Health should be at the top of your list containing the most important things in life. You should never sacrifice your health for other things in life. Without health, there is no life at all. Investing time and money to improve your health will always be worth it.
You can invest in your physical health through regular exercise. You don’t need to pay for a gym membership to have good physical health. Running, cycling, and simple body-weight exercises can prove to be just as effective if you do them consistently. Remember, consistency is key here.
To improve your mental health, the obvious way is to meditate. There are many different techniques of meditation. But you don’t have to know and do them all. You can do simple breathing techniques for mindfulness to improve your mental health. Again, you don’t have to take special classes for this. There are a lot of videos on the internet for simple meditation practices. Meditation is something you should practice every day, even if it is only for 10-15 minutes every morning and evening.
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5. Set Goals
Setting goals helps you achieve more. It not only tells you what you have to do but also motivates you to do what needs to be done. Goals help you stay organized in life. The best way to set goals is to write them down.
Goals that are not written down are just wishes.
Writing down your goals makes them more likely to be accomplished. But, setting goals and writing them down is not enough. You need to make sure you take necessary actions too. Set long-term and short-term goals. Long-term goals usually include the goals that you want to accomplish in the next 5-10 years. Short-term goals include weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. It is good to set daily goals as well. You have to measure those goals from time to time to stay up to date about them. Make sure that you set SMART goals.
6. Write
Writing is also a good way to invest in yourself. It allows you to share your thoughts and ideas. Even if you do not want to share your writings in public, you can still write to stay aware of what is in your head. Writing doesn’t have to be anything professional or perfect. You can write journals that will help you keep track of your days. This is a good way to start writing.
If you want to experiment more with your writing, you can start a blog and share it with people. Remember that everything does not have to be perfect from the beginning. It is all about learning and enjoying the process.
7. Improve Your Relationships
In life, we will have to deal with the people around us. We meet people every day, whether it is at work or at home. Without family and friends, our life seems incomplete. Our happiness depends on how our relationships are with our friends, family, and loved ones. So we need to spend more time with friends who make us feel good. We all have old friends with whom we haven’t spoken to in a long time. Catch up with them. Call them.
Spending time with our family is also a good way to improve the quality of life. Our family is very important to all of us. So we need to make time to spend quality time with our family, friends, and loved ones.
