I sometimes get asked ?What is your best investment?? and the answer seems to surprise some people. Sure, I do well in crypto, 18% win yesterday, and I have rentals, stocks, and even a stake in an animated TV series, but none of that compares to my best investment.
My absolute best investment is time spent with my family nurturing the relationships that mean everything to me. What?s the point of being a good provider if I neglect the reason I work so hard to provide?
I hear you! ?We want to hear about your best financial investment!?
The answer is once again, time. Time spent working on my skills and knowledge. I?m not necessarily talking about formal education. If you know me, then you know how I feel about most college degrees. They?re only good if they propel you in the direction of your goals!
I?m talking about picking up a book and reading. I?m talking about grabbing a course on a subject you want to learn about.
That?s how I learned to trade. I read books, blogs, and news articles. I took a Udemy course and watched YouTube videos, and then I practiced. That?s also how I earned my professional certifications.
I try to spend an hour each day in study of one kind or another. Sometimes it has to do with my day job, like learning a new programming language or working toward a certification. Other days I spend it improving my trading skills, blog skills, financial literacy, hobbies, or looking for potential investment opportunities.
This has allowed me to earn promotions, and walk into jobs that I was by no means qualified for and thrive.
?I wish it worked that way!? is something I was recently told.
Let me tell you, it does. When we were at our lowest point, my wife decided to retool. She?d spent most of her work life providing nanny services, fast food, or working at a daycare. She really didn?t have any highly marketable skills, but she picked up study guides to learn and take the insurance exam. Once she had a fair base knowledge she took a position as a CSR for a local agent. After she passed the exam, she became an agent. Today she could out earn me if she wanted.
She did again when we had to move for my job. She spent some time on YouTube and learned how to properly clean a house (for a client) and started her cleaning business. It didn?t take her long to average 30/hr and set her own schedule. Yes, she could have gone back to insurance, but she wanted to set her schedule and we didn?t need much. By the time COVID hit, we were looking for employees because she had more work than she had time or desire to do.
In High School, I decided I wanted to learn to build and maintain PCs, so I bought a book and worked toward an A+ Certification. I did small jobs for a company, like installing PCs in schools, repairing computers, and setting up DSL for people. It took time and effort to learn the skills, but it didn?t take much money. I still use these skills, and when I was briefly unemployed, I used them to help us get from one job to the next.
Bottom line. Invest in your skills and knowledge and I believe that you?ll find promotions to be easier to earn, or it will be easier for you to change jobs. Find something that you want to learn and devote an hour a day to it. The changes won?t happen overnight, but they will happen.
Remember, things take time to change, and even once you have momentum they take time to grow.
My wife and I are working on another pivot. I?m learning Affiliate Marketing, and we are working on a business plan that we hope will retire us both back to the farm. Hopefully, you too will be able to make changes that lead to growth.
I want to help you on your journey, and I hope you can help me on mine. Tell me about your personal development strategy in the comments! I would love to hear about your journey!
P.S. Oh wait! You wanted to know where you should invest your money? You could learn Affiliate Marketing like I am, by getting hours of training and top notch mentorship from veteran marketers. Check out Dean Holland and his amazing team! They've helped over 1000 people make money online.