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Hey guys, what’s up? It’s your guy, Stephen Ajulu. And today’s topic is Investing in yourself, now I am in no way a certified advise-man, but this is something many self-made recognize and encourage. This is what Warren Buffet said,

“The most important investment you can make is in yourself. Very few people get anything like their potential horsepower translated into the actual horsepower of their output in life. Potential exceeds realization for many people…The best asset is your own self. You can become to an enormous degree the person you want to be.

Warren Buffett

The very best investment you can make is one that “you can’t beat,” can’t be taxed and not even inflation can take away from you. And that is you!

Without working on ourselves and improving ourselves every day, it would be unrealistic for us to expect a much different future from the one we have right now, it would also be unrealistic for us to perform better in the future because we will be no different tomorrow from the person we are today.

That is why YOU and GOD are the most important people you can place your time and money on.

An investment in yourself is a great example of self-love, and may very well be the most profitable investment you will ever make.

The worst thing you can do that will self-sabotage the ‘future” you is continuing to do the same thing and assuming that you will automatically improve and advance to where you wish to be. That is definitely wishful thinking. Let’s not forget that madness is doing something over and over expecting the same good results.

No improvement in our lives will happen automatically without us working on them. If we want to get better then we have to work on it.

And no one is exempt from this fact.

Whether you are a powerful CEO wanting to expand his company and build his legacy or an employee at the lowest point in the corporate ladder wishing to climb it faster, self-investment, therefore making yourself become more valuable to others around you is what will make you achieve those objectives.

When you are bold enough to take steps that will improve your performance and overall well-being, the universe will respond by granting you amazing results.

The effort you put into consistently investing in yourself will also play a large role in determining the quality of your life now and in the future.

The surest way to achieve a better quality life, to be successful, productive, and satisfied is to place a priority on investing in both personal and professional growth. The effort you put into consistently investing in yourself plays a large role in determining the quality of your life now and in the future.

Consider these:-

1. Develop Your Skills

Improving your skills doesn’t always mean investing in higher education, though that’s surely an option, and perhaps a necessary one depending upon your career field. Investing in your knowledge and skills can take many forms. We live in the information age, you can literary learn and grow your career for free. Think YouTube, Curiosity(The App), Lifehack, etc

In addition, expanding your level of knowledge and skill isn’t limited to the business arena and doesn’t necessarily need to be formal. There are many “skill investment” avenues.

  • Advance your education – extra classes, advanced degrees, relevant certifications, are all valuable investments. Take classes, either in person or online. (Lifehack also offers this Masterclass that helps you to break free from limitations.)
  • Utilize available training – enroll in workshops, attend conferences or participate in webinars.
  • Expand your knowledge – there’s a lot of information available on nearly any subject imaginable. Read books, articles, white papers, anything related to the talent or skill you want to work on.
  • Keep current – stay abreast of the latest trends or advancements. Subscribe to publications, read blogs of experts, and follow the latest news.
  • Stay tuned to my blog 😉 – I post on topics touching Technology, Cybersecurity, Self Improvement, Fitness, Fashion, and Lifestyle. Subscribe!

2. Explore Your Creative Side

There is a fountain of creativity within most of us that has never been tapped or certainly hasn’t been used to its highest potential. We may need to unearth and hone our individual creativity.

Creativity, in any form, helps us to grow personally and professionally, to view problems and solutions in different ways, and to utilize other parts of our mind that may have been previously untapped. It’s important to keep in mind that creativity has many faces. It’s far broader than being a painter or sculptor; it’s also about trying new things.

  • Learn a new language – take a class or use language training software.
  • Try gourmet cooking – enroll in a formal class, buy a new cookbook, or ask someone you know who enjoys cooking in a different way.
  • Write something – a book, short stories, poetry, anything.
  • Explore the outside world – try gardening, bird watching, or landscape photography.
  • Enjoy music – play an instrument, learn a new one or join a music group of some kind.
  • Create something tangible – paint, sculpt, make pottery, make jewelry or design your own clothes.

Choose some form of activity that you have never tried, haven’t practiced in years, or have never explored fully.

3. Nurture Your Mind and Body

Nurturing both your mind and body allows you to have more to give now and in the future — more energy, more knowledge, more compassion, more ideas, greater strength, physical and mental endurance.

Expand your mind. Learning new things and keeping your mind active even in simple ways helps to grow and maintain your mental ability.

  • Read – anything and everything.
  • Explore culture – attend performances, listen to different music, travel, or join an organization or group comprised of people from different backgrounds.
  • Open your mind – engage in conversations with those who disagree with you. Look at an argument and try to make a case for the opposing point of view.
  • Keep your mind active – play word games, (yes, even Words with Friends counts,) board games that include strategy, or try using your brain to perform simple calculations rather than relying on a calculator.
  • SLEEP – Yes sleep is important. It helps consolidate memories. Helps heal the brain. Helps the brain eliminate toxins. Improves focus, attention, retention, and clarity. Skipping even an hour is detrimental to your overall health. 8 hours is recommended. If you can 10 hours. And just like junk food, its effects seem nonexistent, at first but as the days and years go by things start becoming worse. Just adding 1 hour of sleep to your 8-hour schedule increases your lifespan. So stop listening to your parents. Use your “software”. Keep it up to date and “patched” otherwise you’ll end up using your “hardware”.
  • Meditation – Try it, am sure you are already well acquainted with the word.
  • Drink water, take a little more sodium(salt), and if possible add some Omega 3s.

Care for your body. Your body is like a well-oiled machine. If you care for it in the way that you might maintain an expensive car, it will perform marvelously and last for a very long time. Remember the basics:

  • Give it high-quality fuel – meaning to make healthy food choices as often as possible. What you eat does play a large role in your energy and ability to perform. You truly are what you eat.
  • Don’t push it too hard – meaning to rest and relax often, slow down, and don’t overload your system. Also, don’t shift gears too quickly; it causes stress and damage to “your machine,” A.K.A. your body.
  • Get regular and necessary maintenance – meaning to go to the doctor when you’re sick – don’t put it off until you totally break down. Better yet, use preventative maintenance; get check-ups, take appropriate vitamins and pay attention to irregular or erratic behavior.
  • Polish the exterior – meaning to take care of the outside too. Many people dismiss this as frivolous and self-indulgent, but it’s not as long as you don’t go overboard. We’re not talking about facelifts and Botox, we’re talking about getting a fabulous haircut, and wearing clothes that make you feel confident and attractive.

4. Invest in your finances

A lot of people say that money won’t bring you any happiness, and that may very well be true, but you can’t ignore the fact that being financially independent will give you the freedom to do the things you love a lot more.

And that definitely does bring a measure of fulfillment and happiness.

It does pay to be financially independent, that is why you must invest time in maintaining and managing your finances wisely.

As many financial planners will tell you, building wealth is a process made of many small actions that add up over time. So if you want to see your bank account grow over the next year, adopting new money and lifestyle habits now is a smart way to start.

So learn how to save more, read on and talk to the people who are successful financially, and devote 10 minutes a day to building a new financial skill. This will be of great value to you throughout your entire lifetime.

5. Invest in your self-confidence

Confidence in yourself will take you places.

Self-confidence will determine whether you stand up for yourself or not. It will determine whether you find the courage to leave a dysfunctional relationship or continue staying in one. It will make you act on your business plan or not. And it will mostly be the determining factor in whether you succeed or not.

So find the time to invest in building your self-confidence. Learn to have the courage to speak your truth. The more you love yourself and own the value that you offer, the more confident you will become in sharing it with others.

Investing in your personal confidence is a great investment that will even inspire others to do the same.

6. Invest in your relationships

One thing we can’t use an ‘instant results’ business model on and expect it to flourish is ‘our personal relationships’.

Relationships add more value to who we are and they take time to build. Your priceless most valuable relationships won’t take one day to build; they will take years and years. But they are also not built automatically without us putting in any effort. Go out there build your communication skills. Keep in touch with friends, family, and acquaintances. Unfortunately for me, I sweat and get anxious at the thought of starting conversations especially with people i don’t know so well. I am an Introvert and an INFJ to be more specific. Still, I can be quite the blabbermouth when I genuinely and truly know someone and they do me.

We need to work on building them all the time otherwise they will slowly fade and die off.

This applies to business relationships as well.

The benefits reaped from building our relationships can be measured and seen over their lifetime value. The more they grow, the more value they will have and the more valuable benefits you will see.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Investing in yourself emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially truly makes a difference in your life, your well-being, and your ability to thrive and perform to the best of your ability. The extent to which you invest in yourself, mind and body, not only shapes the way you interact with the outside world, it often reflects the opinion you have of yourself and this will affect your chances of success in the future.

Your future is in large part determined by your willingness and ability to invest in yourself now.

One of the most important rules in life is for you to “Invest in yourself”. If you don’t, who else will? You and only you have to be proactive enough to take that responsibility.

Be yourself, and do what you can to make yourself the best you can be.

If you are a man then you must absolutely do this as the world demands it. We are called to be builders and providers.

So invest in yourself, because your future depends on it. R

That’s it for today, have a wonderful day.

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