Do you go through life with a saving mentality or a growth mentality?
So many of us get our start in life having been given advice that may (or may not) have worked in past generations, but is of no use to us in THIS generation.
Many of us are children of parents who had to navigate the Great Depression.
These same parents were raised by parents who were heavily influenced by the Industrial Revolution where emphasis was on getting a job and saving money – the government was there to fund you in your retirement.
Oh how things have changed haven’t they?
- The industrial revolution has given way to the information/knowledge revolution – suddenly what you know and how quickly you can apply it matters far more than punching a 9-5 clock with the same employer for 30-years. Now YOU and your skills and knowledge matter more than any single job
- Saving is rather irrelevant in an era where there is low inflation and even lower savings rates – we are in (and will be for many years) an era where investing for growth is the MAJOR theme of the day, not saving – at least in the traditional sense of putting money away for a rainy day
- The technology revolution has put the tools, platforms and knowledge at the tip of our fingers enabling us to grow as fast as we want to…there has never been a better era to grow your own brand, skills and invest in your future
WHAT DOES AN INVESTMENT MINDSET LOOK LIKE?
When I talk about investing rather than just saving, I am talking not only about financial investing, but also investing across your life.
Investing In Your Skills, Knowledge and Experiences
Most of us go to school, get a job and then look at training as a something that we only really do if we are forced into it or if it will lead to a small increase in salary – but certainly not as a lifetime commitment
What if we instead view ourselves as the CAREER, you are your own company and you can take your life as high or as wide as you want it if you invest in your skills, abilities and experiences
Top achievers in life realize that the way to live the best life they can is to start by learning, then connecting and finally experiencing.
First, you learn in the key areas of your life: relationships, health, finances, business, marketing, personal development…
Next, you make key connections in each area of your life that can help you learn faster and get farther – learn to network and work as part of a group who each help one another to reach higher levels in life
Finally, you see the value in quickly applying what you learn from your constant training and connecting so that you quickly learn from experience (not just theory)
You will find out this formula of LEARN, CONNECT and EXPERIENCE inherently makes you a more attractive, more influential and more desired brand in your life and marketplace
Financial Investments
To most of you when I talk of “investing” versus saving you will think in terms of fixed or equity investments and yes, that can certainly be part of the thinking around investing versus just putting money away in a low-interest bank account.
I am also talking about becoming a student of financial investment so that you know about the fringe low-risk, higher return investments out there, real estate options, investing in a small business so you can create an unlimited income potential AND write off many of the expenses on the way to achieving this higher income
There is much more to having an investment mentality around finances than just putting your money into stocks or mutual funds.
It starts with the realization that you must get out of the JOB mentality and realize that you have skills, abilities, knowledge, contacts and experiences that you can bundle into products, services and other entrepreneurial ventures – an investment in your future versus just playing it safe in the same job that may disappear tomorrow.
Investing In “Leverage” To Grow Faster
I work with many entrepreneurs inside InfoMarketer’sZone – many of them are consultants, health practitioners, speakers, trainers, and coaches who run their own businesses BUT do not understand or use leverage instead caught in an artificial web of trading time for money.
What we do is show them ways they can take the knowledge, experience and methods they use in higher leveraged ways so they can stop trading time for money, build their business beyond their existing location and free up some time to grow rather than having to constantly deliver and operate their business at the same time.
Higher leverage in your life means:
- Developing products that take one-time effort to create and that you can sell over-and-over again after
- Leverage the market contacts and presence of those above you to build your own profile and experience
- Connecting with people ABOVE you so you can let them help you get where you want to go that much faster
- Make sure you are spending more time DOING than you are studying – leverage comes with experience more than it does with theoretical learning
- Think through the medium and long-term then work in the short-term to multiply the impact months and years from now. Building a strong social media following will take a few months work with very little return at first, but once you have it, you can rely on it for years to come
After reading this, can you say you have more of a SAVING mindset or an INVESTING mindset? Leave your answer in the comments.
