Episode 16: Investing in Your Biggest Asset – YOURSELF

Why is it important to invest in yourself?

1. You are your biggest asset. At any given time, you could lose all your wealth, your job, the economy … when you’ve invested in your own knowledge and skills, you’ll be able to shift and adopt to your new environment to reinvent yourself and be successful again
2. Your awareness and perspective will increase. You’ll be able to understand your experiences and give meaning to the things that will cause you to overcome challenges and grow as a person.  You’ll learn to challenge your old belief system and make room for new beliefs that serve you well to help you achieve your goals.
3. You’ll be able to gain over-all confidence in yourself. This will affect how you show up in the world.  How you carry yourself, how you communicate and interact with others and just feeling confident that you earned your place at the table. That you have invested in yourself valuable skills and knowledge that make your contribution so valuable.

I would like to share a personal story with you; When I decided to go to study to become a certified coach, paying for the program was not easy for me.  As a single mom of three kids, surviving on one income was a struggle.  I remember, I didn’t have the money to pay for full tuition so I requested a payment plan that will allow me to make monthly payments.  That was still a struggle!

One day, I reached out to someone I found online who’s a coach in my City and asked if I could meet him.  I wanted to connect with people in the industry and ask them to mentor me.

When I met with this coach and I told him that I was enrolled in a couch certification program, he told me that I didn’t really need it…that I could practice as a coach without being certified.  Then he asked me “Are you good at coaching?”  I told him “I think so…I think I’m naturally suited, get good feedback and enjoy coaching” then he said …” you don’t need the program!”

I remember leaving that meeting thinking … maybe he’s right! …you can barely afford it as it is…I’ve been in management role that allows me to practice my coaching skills, so maybe I should just develop my own resources and drop the course.

I didn’t make my decision just yet, I was still feeling uneasy about dropping the course.  I came to work the next day and I remember so clearly, we were in a lunch and learn webinar and the presenter was talking about abundance – the idea that there’s always enough and that’s the natural state of the universe to always produce more as we need it to support us.  It’s our own perception that sees lack – that everything is limited – Time, money, resources…etc.

When I heard that, I remember being confused and turning to my collogue and asking her what does she mean?

Later that day, thinking about this helped me shift my prospective.  In time I learned that the universe and god is always there to facilitate our growth and advancement and that the only thing that’s asked of us is to decide that we want more. As simple as that.

I didn’t drop the course; I knew dropping the course would mean that I didn’t believe that my dreams and future are not worth the investment.  The cost of the course and paying for it was not the issue anymore – My perception and awareness has shifted.

Think of how many times you wanted something, but didn’t have the money and the money showed up…you made it happen! You can always make it happen when you choose what you want – without a fail the universe – God will support you!

So how do you choose what to invest in for your personal growth and development?

This’s a multi-billion-dollar industry and you can get lost in the rabbit whole.  It’s more effective to determine what your goals are and then identify what skills and knowledge you need to help you get there.

If you don’t have a specific goal and you’re not sure, a good place is to start would be with your WHY?

• What’s important to you in life, in your career, in your business? if you could have it all – what would that look like?
• What are your values and interest and how can you design your life and business so that you’re able practice it daily?
• What knowledge and skills do you need to develop to help you get there?

Listen to Episode 8 – Starting with your WHY for your Business might be useful for you to listen to think of how you can build a solid foundation for your business starting with your WHY.

Investing in yourself doesn’t have to be expensive.  In today’s technology, you can find a lot of information online for free.  You can start by

1. Listen to podcasts.
2. Watch videos on YouTube.
3. Read blog posts and articles online.
4. Go to a library to read books.
5. Attend networking events or meetups.
6. Ask someone to mentor you.
7. Hire a coach that will work with you 1-on-1 to help you reach your goals faster.

The common block that comes up for people when they’re presented with the opportunity to invest themselves…is worrying about how much money it’s going to cost.

Instead of worrying about the money you’ll invest, which is rooted in lack perception…shift your awareness in determining the potential that investment will have on your life.  How it’s going to help you reach your goals and fill the gaps for you.

Then you shift your thinking – you become more into grateful to the chance to invest in yourself.  Your entire experience will be different.

You will no longer be focused on the cost, the monetary investment instead you’ll be focused on what you’re going to gain and how that will move you forward in your growth and advancement.

Every action you take will lead you to more and greater opportunities.  Focus on taking one step at time and doing everything that you can to help you get there!

The longer you’re not acting, the more opportunities you’ll be losing.

I’ll leave you with this – Decide what you want in life – Think BIG, BOLD and BOUNDLESS – ask yourself what’s the first step I’m going to take to help me get there?

I’d love to hear from you! What step are you taking to the life that you want?