Invest in Yourself

 

Warren Buffett, on the best investment you can make

During the Q&A session at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting, Buffett said:

"The most important investment you can make is in yourself. It is an asset that can return 10 fold. "

"Very few people get anything like their potential horsepower translated into the actual horsepower of their output in life. Potential exceeds realization for many people...The best asset is your own self. You can become to an enormous degree the person you want to be."

"Generally speaking, investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you. They can run up huge deficits and the dollar can become worth far less. You can have all kinds of things happen. But if you've got talent yourself, and you've maximized your talent, you've got a tremendous asset that can return ten-fold."

"Well, one way or another you develop habits when you're very young. And the habits you develop live with you for the rest of your life. The most important message is that the best investment you can make is in yourself. Teaching them if something's too good to be true, it probably is, and so on. If they learn those things the easy way through these stories early on, it may save them learning it the hard way later on."

So, what are some of the best ways you can invest in yourself?

Warren went on to say:

1.    Create your own personal development plan. A good one helps you define your preferred future (your dream life), clarifies your life's purpose, evaluates your current reality in the basic areas of life (financial, family, career, health, spiritual, etc.), reveals your personal values for each life area (the beliefs that are important to you), sets well-defined goals, and creates a specific plan of action.

2.    Be a lifelong learner. Read good books and resources. Take classes (formal or informal). Attend webinars and listen to podcasts. But don't stop there - you've got to apply what you read and hear, and take action!

3.    Surround yourself with people who will help you achieve your goals and dreams. If you have friends or family who are downers all the time, or who don't believe in you or your goals, get new ones. I don't mean that you replace your friends or family, but find some new ones to add to the mix. We all need to have positive people in our lives. And maybe you need a mentor or coach who can help you follow through take action on your goals.

4.    Improve your communication skills. Buffett mentioned this in one of the interviews. Communication skills are extremely important today. And not just in how to be a great speaker, but also a great listener.

Habits and beliefs are impossible to break - you have to develop new ones. 10% of us can do that on our own, the other 90% need someone to help them, be accountable to, provide the best practices (habits) and keep them on track to adopt those good habits, the ones that will result in that 10 fold return on the investment.