Investment For Your Best Future by:Don Burnham

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What comes in to your mind when you mention the word investing

? Do you think of putting your money in insurance, mutual funds, the stock market or even high-yield investments? Does it make you think you need to learn how to invest in stocks or real estate?

The word invest is defined by Webster as 1 : to commit (money) in order to earn a financial return 2 : to make use of (anything) for future benefits or advantages.

Some people think about financial investing only when they are about to retire and they have nothing for retirement, or when they are about to die and they havent left anything for their children.

Others shudder when they hear the word invest, claiming that they have no money to invest or they feel that is too complicated a subject to even think about, and they are sure they will suffer financial loss.

Many people invest heavily in health supplements, personal trainers and beauticians to make themselves live longer, healthier lives or even to look younger. Just look at the advertising budget for beauty aids and even plastic surgeons!

All these are legitimate concerns when it comes to investing, but I am talking about the most important investment a person can make in his lifetime

Invest in Yourself. The most important and No.1 rule is Invest in Yourself if you dont, who else will?

Your parents will invest in your education only until you leave college. and that does not teach you important lessons about financial education.

Think about this: would you depend on colleges or universities to teach you how to make money? Most colleges only teach you skills so you can earn money working for other people. How about business school? Honestly, if business lecturers are such experts at business, why are they still lecturing there instead of making a fortune in business ventures?

Would your boss teach you how to succeed in business so that one day, you will be in his position? You, and only you, have to be proactive enough to take that responsibility. No, he knows that the easiest way for him to make money is to keep you where you are.

You see, when you invest in yourself, it means taking on the importance of educating yourself. Education not in the academic or technical sense, though those are necessary skills to be developed in life. But your education doesnt stop at college.

For most working adults, their education enters retardation stage as soon as they leave college. They stop learning and therefore they stop growing. They only grow sideways from eating too much pizzas or take-out during their busy lunch breaks.

We know that IQ is important, right? But why arent the most intelligent people in the world the richest people in the world? There are many accountants and financial planners rushing to their cars every evening trying to beat the after work traffic congestions! They are not rich! They may be well off, but they are not rich!

How about EQ or Emotional quotient? Do working hard, having a great attitude and a positive mindset solve our financial situation? These are important when running a business, but let me illustrate:

If you are driving from Miami to New York using the wrong road map, you wont get to your destination no matter how fast you drive your car (working hard)! You can work harder, but you would only get to the wrong destination faster! You may have the best attitude in the world or the most positive mindset, but you still wont get to New York (although the journey wouldnt bother you since you are feeling positive about it)

You must FIRST invest in your Financial IQ. Having good a financial IQ is not about saving tons of money or dumping it into mutual funds based on some free financial advice. That is less than beginner investing. It is developing a healthy relationship with money and building a wealth of assets that will generate money for you in the future.

What does it take to develop your financial IQ? Delayed gratification is one of the most important aspects to developing your financial IQ.

Take this as a hypothetical example. Would you rather pay for, a pint of milk or a cow? If you buy milk, it is consumed and it is over. You will have to buy milk over and over again when it is finished. Even if the milk costs less than a cow, in the long run, you will still be buying milk again and again.

Now, if a cow were to cost 50 times more than milk, you might pay through the nose when you purchase the cow. But after consuming 50 pints worth of milk from the cow, you would break even on your investment and save more money in the future. In fact, the cow might give birth to 2 or more calves and you could sell one of them for profit!

Get the idea? EVERYONE is capable of creating wealth. When you take a beat up old car and give it an overhaul, paint it with a new coat of paint, and change a few more parts to make it start running again, you could sell that car for more money than when it was just a beat up old car. You would have created wealth in the process!

How about a farm? If you turn a farm into a country home getaway resort, wouldnt the value of the farm land increase many times?

It is the same principle for chefs, computer programmers and craftsmen. The sum of the whole is greater than the parts. We are all capable of creating wealth even out of thin air and that is the first step to getting our creative juices flowing.

The value of anything is defined by supply and demand. You dont need to be an economics major to understand this. Money is just an idea. The true measurement of money is not the cents or dollars it represents. It is the value that money can be exchanged for.

If you have developed a product that people want, would they pay more to you than to some one else? Would you apply your skills in creating good assets if you knew that people would see the value in you, that the asset is you plus the asset?

The bottom line is this: Invest in assets that bring long term value. Anything that brings you more income is an asset. Dont invest too much in liabilities like cars or boats. Thats not investing, thats spending.

Even houses are not considered assets until they are fully paid off (If you lost your job tomorrow and you cant pay for your house, is your house an asset or liability?)

Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and pay the price for financial education or ignore the signs of the times and expect your boss (who may fire you) the government and the bank to take care of you financially for the rest of your life, living below your potential, and never taking risks to better your familys future? You are the only one who can answer that.

About the author

Don Burnham is an entrepreneur, author, real estate investor, teacher and speaker. He is CEO of the International Association of Seminar Professionals (IASP) and CEO and co-founder of the Wealth Restoration Institute, LLC, at http://www.weknowthewayback.com

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