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Invest In Assets

When I say assets I don’t necessarily mean the things that are traditionally meant as assets. I don’t think a house is an asset, nor a car, nor a college degree. And as a matter of fact would caution one from getting involved in any of the three until you are making far above six figures each year and can afford to make some money decisions that aren’t always the best. No to me an asset is not something that you pay into every month as it’s value depreciates nor is an asset wasting four years spending ungodly sums of money on something that is completely worthless.

No I have a much different definition of asset. To me an asset is something that is going to bring you money back and that makes you money. That is my definition of an asset and the one that I will be using for this article. When you put away money after paying off what you have to pay off it should be put towards things that are going to make you more money and make your life easier down the road. Things that grow in value. Like a tree that you nurture and feed everyday because it will provide with shelter, food, or something else that you desire. Assets should give you a good ROI, return on investment. They shouldn’t be a waste like the things that are commonly called assets.

Your Greatest Asset

Alright so I have said before that your greatest asset is time. Well you can’t really invest in more of that. But what you can do is make sure that you are making the most out of every moment of your time. That you are using your time to accomplish productive things. That you are using your time to take action or to learn more. Use your time to read books, make deals, try new things, and do good work. That is what your time should be used for. So make sure you aren’t wasting your most valuable and non-renewable asset first and foremost. Because if you don’t take care of this asset you aren’t going to take care of the rest.

Your second asset is your mind or education. Meaning what you know and what you know how to do. This isn’t something that you get from school. But rather something that you get from experience and more importantly the experience and knowledge of others. Taking every wrong turn until you stumble upon the right one isn’t the best way to go through life, it’s better to get the map from the guy that’s already been there. Invest in your mind with knowledge, it’s always a good investment and one with an incredibly high ROI.

Things That Make You Money

You’ve probably heard the saying “It takes skills to pay the bills” and it rings true. If you want to make big money then you have to have big skills. Sales, marketing, copywriting, speaking, networking, rapport building, and so on and so forth. So anything that contributes to these skills can be considered investing in an asset, your skill base. Without skills you won’t get far. You can have all the drive but without the skills to back it up it just isn’t going to matter. Invest in your skills and skill sets. Take classes, attend seminars, read books, do whatever you have to do to develop your skill set to above and beyond what it needs to be.

Alright now for things outside of yourself. Things that make you money. Here are just some that I can think of a service that you provide to others say copywriting or marketing service. Investing in your business and especially in your business’s marketing and advertising is investing in an asset because they are going to make you more money. Investing in a book cover for your kindle book is also investing in an asset. It’s investing in an asset because that kindle book is going to go out and make you money for as long as you keep it up, which makes it an asset. If something makes you money then it’s an asset.

Beware Traps

Beware putting your money in things that don’t have a good ROI or that aren’t going to make you money. A prime example of this is a college diploma. In all likelihood a college diploma is going to cost more then you’ll ever make for it. Even at best there are always better things you can do with your money (not to mention your time). Forgoing a college education and instead investing that in learning sales and building your business pretty much guarantees that you’ll get a higher ROI from the money spent. Even if you have a scholarship you’d be better off spending that time working on your networking or business skills.

Be careful to throw your money into retirement accounts, mortgages, the stock market, or anything else that could tie it up. My money goes towards things that I know have a definite ROI. Things like books for my continuing education, seminars for networking, and business expenses so I can continue growing my business and making more and more money from it. I control these assets and therefore can control a large part of how they perform and what they do for me. Invest in things that appreciate in value over time.

Summary

Alright so my definition of asset is probably different from the official one but it’s one that works for me. You can never go wrong investing in yourself and your real education (not what you get in college or forced schooling). Things that are going to make you money. Your mind you will always have access to and is always a good investment. Your skills as well. Your business while not quite as good as the first too is also a good bet as well as anything else that makes you money be they kindle books or works or marketing programs. Invest in things where you’re going to get more money out then you put in. Simply but watch how few actually follow it.

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it.

-Charles Sledge

Charles Sledge

2 Comments

  1. Right on point Sledge, College in the 21 century has become a scam. Most degrees out there are absolutely useless and a waste of money. for those who decides to attend to college, it’s very important to be picky in choosing your majors.

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