Play a Bigger Game

Chapter 16 Invest in yourself

If you don't believe in you, how can you expect others to believe in you?

If you ask people what is the biggest investment they ever made, most would probably respond with the item they had spent the most money on — their house or car, a diamond ring or a trip around the world. While these are without doubt big commitments, I believe they are nowhere near the most important investment.

The most important investment you will ever make is in yourself.

Your parents start investing in your growth and development at an early age, sending you off to preschool, primary school and later high school and perhaps university. Throw in the music and dance lessons, sporting pursuits, driving lessons and a host of other expenditures and their investment in you adds up to a fairly large amount.

The most important investment you will ever make is in yourself.

For some reason, though, once our parents stop investing in us or we have our own children to invest in, we cease investing in ourselves. At that stage most of us spend more money on our lawn — fertiliser, weeding, watering, mowing — than we do on ourselves. It's no wonder we hit a plateau and, in many cases, start to go backwards. Here are some simple, low-cost ways for you to continue to invest in your most important asset — you!

You could start by spending time with success-minded people. If you don't live ...