Investing in Yourself # 3

The last post encouraged all of us to develop the habit of reading daily. The next question is " what should I read? " My answer would be to read books or articles on areas of your life hat you wish to grow in. For instance, if you are struggling financially then start reading financial books. If relationships are a struggle then begin here. One thing that I find rally helpful is to go to Amazon and use the reviews to help with my decision. 

For example, I wish to improve my finances by saving more and then investing. I really have no idea what to read so I go to Amazon.

I type in "personal finance" and the top two choices are,

I then start reading the reviews, and see what other people say about the book. I then download or purchase the book I feel had the best reviews. I have found this to be very helpful.

I then start reading this book during my daily reading time.

Again, start in the area of your life you wish to enhance first, and start learning something new.

Investing in Yourself/Develop a Reading Habit

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the gifts of life is the written word. In my life I have read several books that have changed my life. One book was "The Tightwad Gazette". My first child had just been born, and we wanted my wife to stay home. At the time we thought it would be impossible to live on one salary. The book inspired us to start living frugally, and my wife left her job, and we actually saved more money on one salary.
A first step in "Investing in Yourself" is to make daily reading of educational,positive, and motivating books a daily habit. For the last twenty years I have the habit of reading for fifteen minutes right before going to bed. Jack Canfield in his book "The Success Principles" recommends reading each morning.
Hal Elrod in his highly successful book " The Mircle Morning" has a daily time of reading a part of his morning ritual.

Action Step: Commit to a time each day in which you will read for at least 15 minutes a educational,self help, or uplifting book.

Tomorrow I will give a short list of recommended books.

Make "Investing in Yourself " a Habit

Why do people invest? People invest in order to make their money grow. A good investment can double or even triple your money. A bad investment can wipe out your savings. This will be lesson one of thirty lessons on investing in yourself. Why invest in yourself? To make your life grow. The growth can be in the area of relationships,health,finances, and occupation. The best way to invest in yourself is to make it a habit. A positive habit, repeated consistently, can make a huge positive impact on someones life. 

For the last two years I have listened to a podcast called EOFire while I run. On the podcast successful entrepreneurs are interviewed. After listening to over 500 shows I see a pattern. Each of his successful entrepreneur invest in themselves. They may get up early and have an hour of power, or pay to go to workshops, maybe they have a mentor, or even commit to listening to positive messages while driving instead of the radio. Bottom line, they understand how important it is to grow as a person.

During the next thirty lessons I will provide resources, tips, and stories that will help you invest in yourself.