When we think about investing and investing in the future, stock options, IRAs, 401Ks and diversification strategies come to mind. But expert advice on how to build a bright future might look a little different. “By far the best investment you can make is in yourself,” said Warren Buffett in his 2019 interview with Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer.
While having money for our retirement years is important, there are many things we can do now and along the way that will pay dividends for the rest of our lives.
Here are three ways to start investing in yourself for the future.
1. Make Learning a Lifelong Endeavor
I know we are all happy to have school in our rearview mirror. Tests and papers are a drag. And school is a huge time commitment. But there are so many other ways of learning and continuing to exercise your brain. There really is no excuse to miss out on enhancing your thinking, your writing and your communication skills. This will not only make you a better conversation partner and more capable of making choices based on useful information, it will land you better jobs, forge useful connections, and help fend off dementias and other age-related disorders.
2. Hang with the Right Crowd
Another way to improve yourself and your life is by surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you, further along the success path, and who engage in healthy habits, to encourage you to do the same. You have a better chance of success if you have successful friends. This is because you will be the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If your friends are heavy partiers, it makes it difficult to find enough time for hikes, reading and self-care. Peer pressure is not just for teens. It comes in all shapes and sizes.
Are your friends “working” friends or “non-working” friends, as health coaches like to say?
3. Review and Edit Yourself Regularly
Do a yearly, maybe even bi-annual review of yourself. It may not be fun, but it can be highly rewarding to have an accurate assessment of where you are in your life’s journey toward achieving your goals. Are you eating right, training enough, in the best career for you, improving your relationships, giving back like you thought you would? If not, the best place to start is by acknowledging these short-comings and figuring out where you might like start.
There is no time like the present to begin a good investment strategy. So invest now and in yourself.