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We’ve talked in previous posts about how you – your time, talent, skills and experience – are your most valuable asset. It’s not your financial accounts, nor your home or other “tangible” assets. It’s you and your ability to earn income. Many of us spend a lot of time on investments, or in renovating our homes to maintain its value. All good things, however, do you focus enough on building yourself?

We often think of developing ourselves as attending training or going to conferences. Again, good things to do. There are more ways to invest in yourself and continue to learn and grow.

Five of these include:

1. Read /Listen to podcasts

While focusing on topics specific to your industry is always valuable, I suggest you read or listen to topics beyond your core industry. Different industries often face very similar challenges that you face in your industry. But shifting your perspective by looking at it within a different industry builds your ability to view challenges more broadly. A fresh perspective often leads to a breakthrough idea or a different approach you can use in your role. I read a lot of history, leadership and technology history.

For example, a book I read several years ago, “How We Got to Now”, six innovations that Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson was really interesting. There are all sorts of books that take you outside your world that engages your mind and helps you think differently. Don’t just stay in your industry trade journals!

2. Join a study group

Many members of the Aspyre Wealth Partners team participate in study groups. These are often industry focused, where you can learn best practices and new approaches that you may be able to apply to your role. It’s always good to hear how others are addressing certain situations.

3. Find a mentor and/or hire a coach

Mentors often come from your work environment and can help you very specifically to navigate your company’s culture.  Coaches provide an outside and unbiased perspective. Once again, helping you to shift your perspective and view things differently to hopefully adopt new approaches to be more successful at work.

4. Build an advisory board

Get people from inside and outside your industry, different functions so that they provide dissimilar perspectives. See a theme here? It’s about getting outside how you traditionally think to expand your problem solving and decision making in new and advance ways.

5. Learn a new or relearn a skill that isn’t directly related to your job.

This may sound off the wall, and I probably can’t link it to you doing better at your job. However, I believe that tapping into your creative or athletic side can help with stress, expand your mind, and build your confidence. It also may stimulate your creative juices.

In this information age, we can all find answers by googling things – it’s the folks who are innovative that will win. Artificial Intelligence may be able to replace some of our analytical and logical thinking processes but has difficulty with creativity, so keep building your creative skills. I have clients who are learning new languages and learning or re-learning a musical instrument. I myself started taking piano lessons again, playing the piano more regularly for the first time in 20 years.

Don’t let 2019 get away from you without investing in new ways in yourself! And it can be fun as well!

Joni Lindquist, MBA, CFP®, is a Principal at Aspyre Wealth Partners, specializing in Financial Planning and Executive/Career Coaching. For help with your specific situation contact Joni Lindquist at jlindquist@AspyreWealth.com, (913) 345-1881 or visit our website at AspyreWealth.com. We help successful people Master What’s Next® – whatever phase of life they are in.

Photo by Jonny McLaren on Unsplash