May Busch says the things you should never skimp on are the costs of training, development and experiences that will advance your career.
How do you make decisions about the things you spend money on versus the things you skimp on?
So often, we don’t make these decisions consciously.
In fact, even when we’re making them consciously, we’re not thinking about them in quite the right way.
My daughter, who has sensitive skin, came across a line of skin care that would be perfect for her.
Then she saw the $100 price tag she said: “No way am I going to spend that on skin care.”
So, she stuck with her usual regimen, but her skin wasn’t reacting well.
She thought about what change she could make to get the results she wanted and had the realisation that: “This is my skin. This is my face.
“This is about something I use every single day and it could make a big difference in my life.”
So, she bought that $100 set and tried the new products.
It’s turned out to be amazing for her. Her skin’s reacted really well and she feels so much better.
Her shift from thinking “no way” to “yes, this is something really worth it” was important.
How and why did she make that shift?
It really comes down to this: Originally she was thinking about this $100 product — or skin care in general — as solely an expenditure item without also considering its value.
Her mind-shift occurred when she started to see the skin care item as an investment in something that was going to pay benefits forward, and not just an expense.
Think about all the things that you do or don’t skimp on in your own life.
Investments aren’t just about money.
Investments are also made with our time, our energy, and our attention; all of which are finite resources and, arguably, even more important than money.
Looking back on my career, I now see that I made mistakes over and over again when it came to investing in my own personal and professional development.
I had all kinds of awesome excuses, like: “Oh, I don’t have time to attend that leadership event. I’m too busy doing my job.”
Or: “I’m not going to pay whatever amount to have that experience, or that training, or that coaching. I will only go if my employer pays for it.”
Then, even if they did, I’d run into the issue of having no time. Time was a precious resource but so was I.
What I didn’t appreciate back then was that what you focus on will grow.
If I didn’t take the time to focus on my growth, how could I expect to advance in my career?
I now can see that my career progress would’ve been so much faster, easier and more fun had I sought out, invested in and made the most of development opportunities.
Thankfully, I’ve learned from my mistakes.
I now set aside a budget — an amount of money, time, energy, and attention — to invest in my development because it’s worthwhile.
The same goes for you — you are worth the investment.
Setting aside money, time, energy, and attention to invest in your development is worthwhile.
What you focus on will grow.
Currently, I have four different courses and mastermind groups that I belong to.
Each of these is helping me substantially grow my business.
You just can’t do those things all on your own without investing in yourself.
I’m not saying to go and spend at will, but I am saying invest in yourself.
How about you?
What will you skimp on? What won’t you skimp on? How are you going to invest in yourself and in your career in the coming 12 months?
*May Busch’s helps leaders and their organisations achieve their potential by working with entrepreneurs and managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared on May’s blogsite
