Editor’s note: Walt Grassl is an author, professional speaker and radio show host. For more information visit www.waltgrassl.com.
Karl and Bob were good friends when they attended college. After graduation, life happened and they slowly lost contact. They reconnected at their 20-year reunion. They were working for similarly sized companies, had graduated with nearly identical GPAs and had the same work ethic. However, for some reason, Karl was two levels higher in his organization than Bob.
At lunch a month later, Karl mentioned he had attended a training seminar in Dallas the past weekend. Bob lamented that, with the downturn in the economy, his company had cut back on training and thus he hadn’t been to a seminar in years. Karl shared that his company had cut back on training as well but that he paid for the training himself.
Bob looked at his friend with a puzzled expression and said he didn’t understand how someone would pay for training out of his own pocket. It was an expense he couldn’t afford and besides, if the company didn’t pay for it, it must not be too important.
Karl challenged Bob to think again and explained that since he started with his company, he has always taken additional training that he paid for himself. He didn’t look at it as an expense but as an investment in himself.
Karl has the right attitude: Your talent is your best asset. It can’t be taxed; it can’t be confiscated. You can take it with you, wherever you go. When you invest your time and money to improve yourself and learn new things, it is not an expense – it is the best investment you can make.
Here are the four benefits from investing in yourself:
1. It helps you.
Investments come in the form of both time and money. You can invest in your mind by going to the library and getting a book to read to educate yourself in any area of improvement. This costs time, not money. You can attend training events that require an investment of time and money. You can invest in your health by investing 30 minutes a day to go for a walk. You can invest by hiring a personal trainer or joining a gym.
When you enrich yourself, you can feel yourself grow and will feel better about yourself. It contributes to your happiness.
2. It helps those you touch.
When you enrich yourself through your investments of time and money, you improve your relationships with others. Taking time to help others is not only an opportunity to be generous and giving with your time, it is almost always an opportunity to learn and grow. You may learn new information, gain new insights into how people behave or develop new relationships. If I help you solve a problem with a spreadsheet at work, I will usually learn something as we figure it out. Instead of “I have to help you out,” view it as “I get to help you out and learn.” Our relationship improves, as does my knowledge base.
Your investing helps your ability to teach others. You can share what you learn and bring value to others. You become an expert in your tribe.
3. It helps your career.
When you invest in yourself it helps your career in two significant ways. It increases your value to your employer because your skill set grows. Maybe more importantly, it increases your earning potential over your peers, who only receive the company-funded training. This translates into you becoming a more valuable asset and deserving of increased responsibility, resulting in increases in job titles and compensation.
4. It helps your business.
Should you choose, or be forced, to become an entrepreneur, the asset that is your talent is transferable. When you invest in yourself, your understanding of your corporate business environment improves. You are better positioned to run your own business. You not only know what you know, but more important, you know more of what you don’t know and will have the mind-set to hire people to help you, rather than try to carry the entire load yourself. You will see hiring help as an investment, not an expense. Your breadth of knowledge will help you develop new ideas for your business and will increase your chances of financial success.
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Learning doesn’t stop with your formal education. Investing in yourself is the best investment you can make. Continue to read, take classes, attend industry conferences and events and invest in your talents. Remember: Your talent is your best asset. It’s portable, it can’t be taxed and it can’t be taken away from you.