Consider a scenario where, I decide that it is high time I got a promotion. What should be my first investment? I buy a couple of new expensive dresses. Do I need to look professional at work? Off course, yes. Should this have been my first investment? Off course not.
Or suppose you have just started a business and have started making small profits which you instantly decide to spend on a CRM, much more complex than you may possibly need. What do you and I in these cases have in common? We both believe that we have made an investment in your business, whereas you haven’t.
Mediocre performers first invest in luxuries, while the outstanding performers first invest in learnings. The learnings and skills are foundational; however the luxuries are merely optional for your growth. The skills may be difficult to acquire and the luxuries, easy but even the best luxuries may not help you but skills are sure to help you. The skills need your time and effort but their payoff in the long term is considerably higher than the investment you make in the short term. The luxuries you buy give you a false sense of progress Luxuries, while the skills and learning give you a true sense of progress and fulfilment.
We often hear everyone say: “Invest in yourself”, but we either do not understand it completely or go wrong with its real meaning. The real meaning that lies behind this phrase is invest in your skillset first, the luxuries will make their way to you later, on their own.