How To Invest In Your Personal Growth When You Are Broke

Anonymous writes: “I want to improve myself, but I don’t have any money to invest in programs.”

Even though you may not have a lot of money right now, you have to invest as much as you possibly can in your personal and professional development. In fact, if you don’t have money now, you should invest so much that it is uncomfortable for you. It’s the fastest way to change your financial situation—forever.

But let’s look at what you can do with little to no money.

You are the primary asset you have with which to generate all of the results in your life. And, happily, you own that asset free and clear. But the asset that is “you” isn’t worth what it could be, and this true no matter who you are and no matter what your present value is now. You are like a large plot of land; you aren’t as valuable as you might be until you start making improvements.

So where to begin when you don’t have much to invest? Not to worry. You only need to invest your time and your energy.

First, the Internet is the greatest, free personal and professional development resource in the known Universe. Maybe you want to improve your sales skills. Maybe you want to learn to be a better sales manager. Maybe you want to learn how to build a community. Maybe you want to improve your mindset. Maybe you need to be more resourceful, more creative. Maybe you want greater business acumen. It’s all here, and it’s all free.

You can also download eBooks on virtually anything that interests you. Some smart people post PDFs and PowerPoint presentations you can download and study.

Second, let’s say you can scrape together $90. That’ll buy you about four books. Or you could buy a Kindle from Amazon.com and reduce the cost of almost every book you read from that point forward to about $9.99. More still, your reader will let you highlight passages, take notes right in the book, and it will create Kindle page where you can store them for future reference. For less than $10 and 6 hours of your life, you can learn something from someone who spent the better part of their life studying, learning, and writing about their chosen subject.

Maybe you want to listen to people speak about some subject that might enhance your overall knowledge of how the world works. You can find a master class on creativity, gamification, drive, market segmentation, or leadership. All of this and more is only a few mouse clicks away.

Of all of the investments you can make, none will produce a greater return. The time you spend developing yourself personally and professionally will increase your earnings and the quality of your life for the rest of your life. And even if you have a college education, there is no reason to stop learning, to stop developing, and to stop growing.

Invest in yourself.