Looking for ROI? The Best Investment Might Be: You
“Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.” ―Brian Tracy
9–10%.
That’s the historical annual return on investment from the stock market.
Not bad.
If you invest $10,000, at the end of five years, you’ll have over $16,000.
But what if there’s an even better investment?
I’m going to argue that there is: you.
While investing in yourself isn’t always a better option, it is in certain situations.
When to invest in yourself
“In this world you’re either growing or you’re dying, so get in motion and grow.” ―Lou Holtz
It’s wise to invest in yourself — over the stock market — for building certain skills and habits.
Which ones?
The ones that are broad and positively impact many areas of your life. These same skills or habits also lead to higher income either directly or indirectly.
Here are some key life skills and habits that will increase both your life satisfaction and earning potential, thus making them good investments:
- Productivity
- Public speaking
- Communication skills
- Social skills
- Fitness
- Healthy eating
- Sleep
- Meditation
- Learning how to learn
- Organization
- Assertiveness
- Marketing
- Sales
- Negotiation
The return on your self-investment
“Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.” ―Morihei Ueshiba
If you take that $10,000 in yourself, you only need to make back $16,000 over the next 5 years.
How would you make it back?
Imagine using a coach and increasing your productivity 10% more than you would have on your own. Over five years, you would get 50%+ more done than you would have on your own. That sort of increased output is will be rewarded with a higher income, whether through a salary or a business you run.
Imagine increasing your social skills and sales skills. Over five years, how many times would you create a relationship, deliver a successful pitch, or close a sale that the less-improved you would not have? Can you see how that could lead you to recoup $16,000 over a five-year period. (Every extra relationship or sale can have exponential impact over years with referrals, additional purchases, and so on.)
You could run this same scenario on every skill listed above. Fitness leads to more energy and a better mood, both of which will positively impact your productivity and work relationships. And so on.
Also, in the equations above, I assumed that the personal satisfaction you’ll get from improving one of those key skills is worth $0.
In reality, there is value to that and it should be factored into the comparison between the investment in the stock market and the investment in yourself.
Conclusion
“Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.” ―John C. Maxwell
When considering your investment portfolio, I urge you to include yourself in it.
As the leadership expert and author Robin Sharma said, “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.”
Call To Action
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