A professor once told me that school is a bike. You could walk your way to the knowledge and growth you seek (do it yourself), or you could fast-track it on wheels (get the support of an education program). That analogy stuck with me, and it guides how I think about self-investment today.
“I don’t have time” or “I can’t afford that” are less common thoughts for me now—not just because I’m in a more successful place in my life, but because I’ve changed how I look at development opportunities. Instead, I sidestep the habit of fixating on upfront cost and time, and instead ask myself this question: “What is the likely return on this investment?” I start from the end result.
To figure that out, I take a holistic approach and make a list of potential financial, emotional, psychological, and skillset outcomes. Then I assess if that combined value exceeds the upfront cost and time investment. Generally, I’m looking for 3x the return.
For example, when I determined whether to hire a business coach, I thought:
💡 Financial: How much new business would I need to close (as a direct result of this work) to exceed my costs? Does that seem possible?
💡 Emotional: What’s the value of having a dedicated, experienced thought partner rather than working on this on my own?
💡 Psychological: What’s the potential impact of the increase in clarity and confidence I’m likely to gain? How will that change how I show up?
💡 Skills: What new skills will I build, and what will that enable for me, immediately and long-term?
Once I did this broad assessment, it was a no-brainer that the value would far exceed the (high) cost. But, even more important than this value-based assessment is my starting mindset: I'M WORTH INVESTING IN. It all begins there. If I don't believe I'm worth the gamble, who will?
If you’re on the fence about whether to make a personal or professional investment in yourself, I hope this post nudges you to choose the thought, “I AM WORTH IT”, too. You'll get so much further, faster.
