(Source)
In a world where bank corruption is now accepted as fact (Toronto Star: Banks fined over $5 Million for Rigging Global Currency Markets)...
And in a world where the threat of interest rate hikes by "mid-2015" are now looking like a huge bluff (Globe and Mail: U.S. Fed officials see June rate hike as unlikely)...
In a world where Canadians can get 5-year fixed mortgages at 2.6%...
And in a world where earning even $100K means you don't have enough extra cash to save anything (Financial Post: The 'debt' crisis in Canada? If your paycheque is $100,000 plus that means you)...
... The most important asset in your life may not be your RRSP, your rental properties or even your own home.
It's easy to forget this but the most important asset in your life is YOU.
You are the person responsible for taking care of yourself.
You are the person responsible for taking care of your family.
You are the ATM that is responsible to pump out dollars - day in and day out.
There's a lot riding on your shoulders.
So let us ask you something...
Something big.
How well are you taking care of yourself these days?
How well are you treating yourself?
How well are you feeding your body?
How well are you feeding your mind?
What environment are you putting yourself into every day?
Are you putting yourself in a position of your highest use?
It is so easy to get caught up in the rat race that we often neglect to focus on the single most important thing in our own lives: ourselves.
If you owned a prized racehorse, you'd likely:
Feed it the very best food.
Ensure it got a good nights sleep - every night.
Have dedicated and regular practice times.
You'd make sure it was put into a great environment to promote its growth and development. This may involve beautiful stables, coaches, trainers and groomers.
You would spare no expense.
Even if you couldn't exactly afford it, it would be obvious that all of these things would be necessary to achieve the horse's highest success.
Well, you are your own prized racehorse.
If you haven't spent the time to take care of yourself, it may be time to book an appointment with yourself to just sit down and think.
How much time in any month are you spending improving your skills?
How much time in any given week are you scheduling as quiet time to just let your mind wander and think about your life?
How much time are you spending learning about how your unique body is reacting to the food you are eating?
How much time are you spending feeding your mind useful, inspiring and motivational information?
How much money are you spending on yourself for coaching and training?
Some of our friends laugh at how much time we've spent travelling to conferences to learn from various real estate experts, marketing experts, motivation experts, etc.
Nick just got back from a 3-day trip to Napa Valley that cost us thousands of dollars to have him attend.
But the changes in our thinking that we get from these things can change the course of our entire lives.
What's the value of that?
Approximately sixteen years ago, I personally spent five thousand dollars for a box of tapes on real estate investing from a "guru."
$5,000 for a box of tapes!
Do you know what I learned about real estate from those tapes?
Almost nothing.
Turned out that I knew a whole bunch of what was being shared.
Do you know what I did learn?
I learned a ton about how to speak to people, how to present to groups and how to construct training classes.
Out of the 150 tapes, there were about 6 that discussed that stuff and it was life-changing.
A couple of months later, I used what I learned to do a talk in front of 350 salespeople at Oracle Corporation and it worked out brilliantly.
My ability to speak in front of a group got me noticed, lead to promotions and ultimately got me into a really juicy sales role within the company.
So a box of $5,000 tapes on real estate investing somehow resulted in propelling me into a sales job that tripled my salary.
Interestingly, some of the same people who laughed at us years ago are the same ones who are asking for our help today. Crazy right?
The road to your own success may not be a straight line but if you don't continue to give yourself every advantage to succeed, you're cheating yourself.
Just since 2007, Nick and I have spent over $250,000 on our own continued education... Easily over $300,000, I think. If you add up plane tickets, hotels and meals it's even higher than that.
We're not sharing this to brag or show off or anything.
We're positive there are many people who have spent much more than us over the last few years.
We're only sharing this to perhaps change your thinking a little.
If you've ever doubted the value of investing in yourself, allow us to be the ones to tell you to DO IT.
There is no better return on investment you can make.
You can start by just booking some quiet time with yourself once a week. Twenty minutes with no phone, no email... Just time to think, maybe write down a few goals for the next five years of your life.
We've found that you'll never get everything sorted out in your life all at once but you can create an environment for yourself that will help your progress.
And once you make progress in one area of your life, you'll find it spills over into other areas.
We're definitely facing uncertain financial times ahead, in Canada, globally and even right in our own backyards.
But there's one thing we are very certain about. By working on yourself, you'll be in a position to succeed with whatever is thrown your way.
Book some time to focus on and take care of your #1 right now.
It's commonly accepted that it's wise to take 10% of your income and invest it.
Are you taking 10% of your time, your life, and investing it back into yourself?
Do it! Start today.
Until next time ... Your Life! Your Terms!
