Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors in history.
Other investors follow him closely, watching his portfolio allocations, looking for trends, and soaking up any tidbits of knowledge he divulges.
Buffett is regularly interviewed for his investment advice, and he’s very open about his strategies. However, there’s one investment that he says is, hands down, the best investment he’s ever made.
Invest in yourself.
“Investing in yourself is the most important investment you’ll ever make in your life. There’s no financial investment that will ever match it, because if you develop more skill, more ability, more insight, more capacity, that’s what’s going to really provide economic freedom… It’s those skill sets that really make the happen.”
Buffett followed up on that advice by saying, “Investing in yourself means tackling areas you aren’t good at and learning new skills,” says Buffett. “Address whatever you feel your weaknesses are, and do it now.”1
For Buffett, this investment was a Dale Carnegie public speaking course, which he took at the young age of 20. Before that, he would vomit any time he had to speak in front of people.
After completing the course, Buffett immediately sought a teaching position at the University of Omaha so that he could continue practicing his new skill. He didn’t want to regress and end up with stage fright all over again.
How to Invest in Yourself
Many people misinterpret the advice of investing in oneself as merely gaining knowledge, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle.
Jim Rohn, entrepreneur, investor, and Tony Robbins’s coach, perhaps expressed it best when he said, “If you let your learning lead to knowledge, you become a fool. If you let your learning lead to action, you become wealthy.”
Derek Sivers, a regular on the TED Talks stage, says it even more colorfully. “If information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.”
The moral of the story is to invest in yourself by gaining knowledge or learning a skill, AND take action on it. As the saying goes, “knowledge is power, but without action is useless.”
Looking for a place to start investing in yourself?
- Jim Rohn has some fantastic financial mastery courses available online starting at just $47. His teachings not only impart knowledge, but they also guide you in taking action.
- You can also hire a mentor or coach. Whether it’s to keep you accountable or teach you a skill, engaging in one-on-one or small group interactions has the potential to help you grow.
- Networking groups like BNI, SCORE, and Rotary Club offer opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals and boost each other’s businesses and skills. And, of course, you could also attract new clients if you own or work for a service-based business.
- If you go the education route, like going back to school, reading books, listening to podcasts, attending a conference, or buying an online course on Udemy, make sure you have a goal in mind. For example, “After gaining this knowledge, I will be able to (fill in the blank with what you hope to achieve after learning).”
When you invest in yourself, you become the best version of yourself, financially, as well as physically and emotionally.
Whether it’s learning a new skill that improves your worth in the workplace or in your business, or it’s taking a class to gain financial freedom, you’ll see the highest ROI when you’re doing it for you.
