If I could change one thing from my early 20’s it would be understanding the value and ROI of investing in myself. Not just on products and subscriptions but the value of learning and growing as an individual and the impact that has on the progress you can make.
Investing in yourself, is going to take both time and money.
Time.
So many people believe they are the busiest. You have a job, and kids and kids extracurriculars, and volunteering and and and…but the truth is everyone has the same 24 hours in everyday. What you choose to spend your time on, just like money, is up to you. Unlike money though, time is non-renewable. It doesn’t come back to you. Once you’ve spent it, it’s gone, and the time looking forward is less than what you had.
When you think about it that way, when you put value on YOUR time, you can start to look at what you’re really spending your time doing. Do each of your kids really need to be in multiple activities at once? Do you actually spend 3 hours every night binge watching seasons on Netflix? Do you sleep in?
Take a real hard look at what you’ve been doing, what do you need to change to open up time to invest in yourself? Then, what would you spend that time doing? Reading, taking a course, listening to podcasts, creating a website, researching how to do something, creating content, or creating a product?
Start slow. Pick one thing to take out, like one less episode of Netflix per night, replaced by learning how to create a website via YouTube videos or blog posts. Could you wake up an hour earlier to start creating content more consistently? There is time for you to invest, you just have to choose it.
Money.
You’re not alone in thinking that you don’t have the extra funds to spend, but the thing is you can start wherever you are.
There are courses online that range from $10 to $10,000. So wherever you are friend, just decide what you can invest. What can you give up and replace? Do you actually stop at a gas station multiple times a week and pay convenience fees to grab a quick breakfast and drink, or do you grab lunch everyday? If so, then you do have the money to invest, you’re just choosing to invest it in a different way.
So say all you have right now is $50. Then do your research! You could absolutely find a $50 course online, teaching you the basics of WordPress, how to become a social media manager or a virtual assistant, how to code, how to start a business, or how to create a franchise. It’s the internet, there really is no limit! Or you could decide to learn some of these skills from free YouTube videos and save your $50 to buy a domain and hosting to get a website up and running for yourself. There are so many options. Start where you are. Wherever that may be.
You might not think that an hour everyday or $50 could change your life but it will grow you in a way that will open up new ideas to you, new skills and new ways of thinking that will lead you to your next step. This is why investing whatever time and money you can, will grow you exponentially over time.
