In life, there is an investment that yields a great return, and that is investing in yourself. A friend of mine applied for a job as a junior graphic designer, and he was denied after the interview because he did not have much skills in some graphic designing softwares that they required. Instead of him to sulk over the situation, he took out time, energy, and resources and invested into gathering more skills. He even went beyond just graphic design, and included front end development and some programming skills. After about 1 year, the same company saw some of his works which he hosted, and called him for re-negotiation. That time, it was in his terms. In fact he chose his own salary, and was employed in his own terms. He invested in himself and it paid off. This is just to let you know that self investment is a very powerful and fundamental investment that anyone can do.
Self investment can cut across many aspects. It can be improving on your knowledge, sharpening your skills, developing your mindset to think positively, building worthy relationships, etc. Whichever it is, most time, the value you get from this will far outweigh the cost you have invested in it. If you think that the price you will spend to invest in yourself is much, then think of the value you will get from it subsequently. This is why you will see people spending heavily to pursue after a degree programme in school and invest their time to learning, because of the value they will get from it. You cannot become a barrister for example, until you have invested in going to law school. You cannot become a licenced pilot until you have invested in attending a flying school. Self investment is like a seed you sow, which is the only thing that will guarantee a harvest.
Investing in yourself starts with having the knowledge that you are your own greatest and valuable asset. A lot of the things that you achieve in life are subsets of who you are. If you develop yourself, you will be opened up to more opportunities. Have you ever asked yourself why, in a football team, even though everyone may play for the same team, but each of the players will have different price tags. In the same team that will buy a player for £60m, it may also get another player on loan for £5m. The reason is value. When the player works to improve their skills, they will become more valuable, and will be priced higher. In the same way in other aspects of life, the more you invest and improve on yourself, the more valuable you become.
The cost that you pay to improve on yourself can come in lots of ways - it can be monetary, through efforts, discipline, energy, denying yourself comfort, or going an extra mile. I remember what I once read about Christiano Ronaldo during his time with Real Madrid. He would be the first to arrive for training, and will be training long before others will arrive. After the regular training, he would still remain on the pitch to continue with his own personal one even after others would have gone. It became a routine for him. He put in extensive hard work to develop his skills. No wonder the amazing things he has achieved in his footballing career. He has long left Real Madrid, yet his records are still speaking. Even at this point, he has become the face of football in the Arab league he plays for. No investment you make in yourself is without returns.
It is worthy to note that the real value of the investment that you make on yourself is not just about what you gain but who you become. When you see someone who is investing in themself, they will be more confident because they know that they are improving on who they are. The idea is not just to be you, but to be the best version of you. When you train yourself, you become ready and prepared for challenges, and turn them to opportunities. One of the reasons why some people crack under challenges is because they are not prepared, which can also mean that they have not invested in themselves to the point that they will live ready.
One of the things that you need to understand is that for you to move from where you are to where you want to be, sacrifices must be made. Some of these sacrifices will demand you investing in yourself. You may not see the result immediately, but in the long run, it will begin to show. Always remember that there is nothing you spend to gain value that is too much.
Thanks for reading
