The Best Investment
The most underrated investment.
Yourself.
Here are 5 ways you might not be thinking about to invest in yourself and...
The most underrated investment.
Yourself.
Here are 5 simple ways to invest in yourself.
And...
10x your returns which include…
better health, more time with loved ones and yep...
Money!
This post by ‘Contrarian Thinker’ Codie Sanchez drives home the missed opportunity of not investing in yourself.
I'm guilty of spending money where the ROI isn’t as big or is zero.
"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 S. Sharma
Investing in yourself will advance your career, help you achieve better health, and discover new income streams.
It will also improve those around you, especially your family.
Example:
I’ve been focusing on my health for 8 months now.
I'm healthier, have more energy and am more present.
Now, my amazing wife got in on the action.
She started a 4 day a week workout routine for the first time in her life and she has become an unprocessed foodie (healthy and tasty whole foods.)
She makes us the healthiest and tastiest meals all week long.
And now our kids are getting the best version of mom and dad because we are healthier and more present!
The 5 easy ways I found to invest in myself and reap the magic of compounding returns:
1/ Hire a coach.
Someone that can help you succeed because they have been there and done that.
Who can show you how to succeed.
A good coach gives you the map and challenges you.
But doesn’t do it for you.
This past year I found fitness coaches (shout out to my coaches Kyler and Aaron).
One of my best investments in the last 5 years.
I’m now harder to kill (lost 25lbs and cut my risk of dying by 67% according to a heart risk calculator).
You can also hire a coach to learn a new hobby or improve practical skills.
The investment in a coach will level up your game.
And the results are priceless.
2/ Take a course or training.
I’m a lifelong learner, but I was more willing to spend a couple grand on a vacation than on a course that could improve my skills or teach me something new.
The challenge for me since leaving college was what kind of course should I take?
Here’s where to start, borrowed from Cody Sanchez, but applied to learning.
The best place to start is by finding something you're curious about and have been interested in learning more about for at least a year.
Find a skill people are willing to pay for.
And something where there is a community you can plug into, whether that be locally, on reddit, discord, etc.
It doesn’t always have to be skills that pay the bills.
It could be an obscure hobby or skill that just improves your life by being good for your brain.
We must have something that requires active participation that can send our brains into flow.
Flow is like a sweet, sweet massage for the brain.
And just maybe…
When a new skill is stacked with your existing skills, it could also impact your earnings.
Start with what you’re curious about and
make a splash.
3/ Prioritize learning experiences
This kind of goes along with investing $2k in a training vs. a vacation.
What if you could do both?
Our last vacation I planned around a tech conference.
I invested $1000 in the conference plus the travel to a new country so I could learn about emerging tech trends from experts.
It was both a vacation and a learning experience.
My son even joined me and the memories and learning were priceless.
My lil’ man with AR/VR headsets at the WebSummitt in Lisbon, Portugal.
4/ Get a certification
Jobs, roles and opportunities are changing so quickly.
Four-year degrees can’t adapt quickly enough.
The best way to adapt to the pace of change and prove it is…
To get a certification.
Last year I got two (blockchain and AWS cloud practitioner).
This year I’m gunning for one (robot-related).
Certifications usually require a test that demonstrates mastery of a topic.
In IT there are cloud certs (architect, data engineer, etc.), AI certs (prompt engineers) and security certs(CISSP).
And for non-technical, there are project management, HR, and marketing certs.
Even hands-on fields have valuable certs (rad tech, dental assistant, building inspector, aircraft tech, and a slew of green job certs).
No matter what field you are in there is likely a cert for you.
5/ Over-index on health.
We’ve all heard the stories of people working their whole life to retire and do what they want and…
then they die without getting to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Sorry to be grim but it’s true.
Investing in health now significantly reduces the risk of poor health later.
My health has been the best investment for me and my family.
It has been a foundation of positive change.
What ways have you found to invest in yourself?
This Is Killin’ Ya
WFH and desk dads, you might’ve heard before that "sitting is the new smoking."
Our bodies evolved to move.
Prehistoric humans could be found fishing, running from lions, and building shelters.
Nowadays, not so much.
You’re lucky if you make it to a gym session each day when you’re a busy dad.
How much you sit matters.
Researchers looked at 13 studies and found that sitting is as bad as being obese or smoking. Does anyone still smoke these days?
The evidence shows that lack of movement can lead to depression and increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some kinds of cancer.
I’m a desk jockey and this is my horse.
I sit at a computer, fire off emails all day and talk with people through my screen on Zoom meetings.
The study did show that 1 hour of moderately intense exercise is a great anti-venom to sitting. Which I do every morning.
But I still feel the effects of sitting for hours post workout.
I need to do better.
The research inspired me to find a way to combat the effects of sitting at a computer for long stretches.
And here are the 4 that I found and one of which has had more than a health benefit.
1/ Take a break
Take a break every 30 minutes per Mayo Clinic.
I found with my 3 young kids that are mostly at home, I use breaks from my desk to chase them around for 10 or 15 min.
These breaks both revive me and help me connect with my kids.
Wins all the way around.
2/ Try an alt-desk (standing or walking).
I haven’t done this because of my WFH setup (see pic up top).
But people I know who do say it is great.
It gets the blood flowing and keeps the heart rate up!
One day when I have a proper office, I will invest in an alt-desk.
3/ Address the pain points.
My lower back suffers the most from sitting too much.
I recently found this lower back routine from fitness influencer Dan Go.
I’ve mixed in a few of these moves and it has helped.
Precise moves that relieve pain points and get you moving are win-win.
4/ Walkie-Talkie
Walking meetings and phone calls.
This one has several benefits.
Especially for a tough call or a cold call.
It makes me a little looser and a little more relaxed.
Now that the weather is getting nice I anticipate doing this more often.
I get steps in and get my work done.
Have you found anything to incorporate more movement into your day?