I’ve always had the mentality that investing for growth is far more important than just saving to live.
My parents have a different perspective, but then they grew up in an era where 1) Out of the Great Depression you started with next to nothing – where scarcity was built into your DNA and 2) Where the 1970’s inflation bubble meant you saw returns of 14% + on your money, and even though this was largely an illusion because everything around you was going through double-digit price increases, at least it APPEARED as though you could just save and watch your money grow in your bank account.
Fast-forward to today though and how things have changed!Â
- You get next to NOTHING for saving your money – banks will give you less than 2% and investing in the stock market or real estate is nearly as risky as Vegas these days…even if you win you are really trying to just eek out a measly 5-6% which basically keeps you on-par with inflation
- We are in an age where technology is rapidly changing the job market – to where you need to become a freelancer and learn to market yourself to be successful and where you have terrific opportunities outside of your current employer to truly run your own business or at least explore alternative opportunities outside of your current position along the way
What all of this means is that you want to change your mindset to:
- Think 10X bigger than you are currently thinking. Â When you are thrown into running your own show, you want to start by thinking big
- You want to invest in yourself and in your own future. Â That means improving your own skills starting with your confidence right out to your ability to your social and communication skills. Â That also means having goals – BIG goals – and then pursuing those goals with every ounce of your being knowing that (perhaps for the first time in your life) you are working on behalf of YOU and not your employer which gives you added motivation and energy. Â Finally, it means you want to hone up on your knowledge – go to the source and learn everything you can as fast as you can – then apply that in serving your market
In order to think bigger, improve yourself bigger and then take BIGGER action – that needs to become a good portion of your investment in your future. Â Forget putting money in the bank (other than having enough for a basic safety net), instead invest in yourself and your growth so that you can produce bigger, better results for you and your family in the future.
For some, that may seem risky…to me putting money in the bank (a losing proposition today) is the ultimate risk.
