‘You are your most valuable asset,’ is not a new concept. Nor is the idea that you should ‘invest in yourself.’ But how do these concepts apply to achieving success?
Some may think of investing in yourself as getting a good education and, yes, that’s part of it. Formal or informal, basic or entrepreneurial, education gives you more tools to put to work for you.
But achieving success has much more to do with your physical, emotional and mental status. And those things should be your primary investments
Why? Think back on the days you’ve dragged yourself out of bed with the weight of the world on your shoulders; or times you’ve felt sad, intimidated, frustrated, angry, mentally foggy, or just not really 100% with it.
On those occasions, everything you do takes effort and nearly everything seems impossible. Achieving success is practically a lost cause.
But when you are alert, focused, feeling good, in tune, on the ball – when you’re on top of your game and you know it – nothing can stop you. That’s the real you; that’s the ‘yourself’ being referenced in the phrase ‘invest in yourself.’
A vital step in achieving success is finding out what keeps you on top of your game, or gets you back up there when you’ve suffered a setback. Anything that does that for you is well worth the investment. It really could mean the difference between success and failure in everything you do.
It used to be that a person could go to college, get a degree, find a decent paying job and, with that job, have some level of certainty and security. The job might also provide enough income for them to pay off their student loans in a decent amount of time. To get a promotion or a raise, you’d get another degree and expand your expertise. Companies would appreciate it and reciprocate some level of loyalty.
