Start Investing

Start Investing In Yourself!

What does investing in yourself consist of?

It could be numerous things or it could be just a few things. It all depends on what you value in life. We all invest in various things, stocks, 401ks, savings accounts, etc... But at the end of the day, does it REALLY make you a better person? Money is nice, and yes we all want to have plenty of it, but the amount of money you have does not determine how valuable you are.

How can you invest in yourself?

First, Share Your Knowledge!

Sharing of knowledge is incredibly valuable. If you are trying to accomplish a task, it's always helpful to read about it from someone who's already done that task. A free way to do this is to create a personal blog. It's MUCH easier than you think to have your own domain. Wordpres.org makes having a blog incredibly EASY. Create a personal banner (or have someone do it for you i.e. Elance.Com) and several categories (sub pages) for people to be able to view. Write in your blog as much or as little as you feel like. However, when do you write something, be sure it is VALUABLE to others. For instance, if you are going to write in your blog, do not write about how "bad" your life is. No one wants to read a depressing article.

Second, Help Others!

For instance, holding doors for people or returning valuables (such as a wallet or purse) to its rightful owner demonstrate your desire to help others. The most effective way to help others is to volunteer for charities. There are millions of charities out there. Find a charity that truly touches your heart and volunteer for the activities.
Don't just donate your "money" to these charities. Working the events, help acquiring sponsors, and recruiting individuals to help with the organization are all great activities to become involved in the charity.

By helping others, you are investing in yourself whether you realize it or not. However, do not expect that other individual to help you out. Giving a homeless man a few bucks or offering that friend who does not have a car a ride to work are just a couple of examples of helpful tasks. The outcome of the situation is irrelevant, just do it! When you do help others out, do not be boastful and brag about how you did "task A" for "Bob". If someone asks you about it, then you can talk about it. Being humble will take you places you never imagined.

Third, Network With Others!

This is valuable to you and the others involved. For instance, a plumber performs a job for a customer and that same customer has an issue with their car. Being involved in a networking group, this plumber knows a mechanic that can fix their problem. Therefore, the plumber recommends that mechanic to his customer. The customer is happy, especially if the plumber has performed high quality work. The mechanic is happy because it's new business. Overall, the plumber is happy because he's helped solved two problems.

Fourth, Become A Problem Solver!

You have the energy within you to do this! I have an exercise for you to try. For the next twenty days, write down every situation you come across where you run into a problem. Then, after you have overcome the problem, write the solution. No problem is too big, or too small. Do not think, well I can't do this. If you "can't" accomplish something, write the necessary steps down to be able to come to accomplish it. If you think you can't accomplish something, look at the life of one of the best achievers in history, Abraham Lincoln.

PORTRAIT OF AN ACHIEVER

Failed in Business - Bankruptcy, 1831

Defeated for Legislature, 1832

Sweetheart/Fiancée Dies, 1835

Nervous Breakdown, 1836

Defeated in Election, 1836

Defeated for U.S. Congress, 1843

Defeated again for U.S. Congress 1846

Defeated once again for U.S. Congress, 1848

Defeated for U.S. Senate, 1855

Defeated for U.S Vice President, 1856

Defeated again for U.S. Senate, 1858

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Elected President of the U.S.A., 1860

Do you think if Abraham Lincoln wasn't elected president in 1860, he would have given up? NO, he would have invested in himself until he reached his goal. All these failures he had, only made him STRONGER. Don't be afraid to fail. It is going to happen. Everyone fails, whether it is something big or small, we all have failed in some point in our life. However, to avoid this, you must learn from your failure and apply it to future experiences.

You are only worth what you think you are worth. If I was to win the lottery today, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Yes money is NICE, and helpful in many ways, but if I had 20 million dollars, I wouldn't be WORTH that much. Why do I think this way? I didn't earn the money! I simply was lucky and acquired a huge amount of money. I might have that much money in the bank, but overall, I'm still not worth 20 million to others. Overall, invest in YOURSELF and I promise you won't regret it.