R.O.I.
October 11th, 2011 by dannym
The greatest investment in life is yourself. Invest nothing; experience nothing. Invest a lot; experience a lot.
Simple enough, isn’t it?
There’s a curiosity that exists in the investment world where numerous investment products circulate, touting themselves as the next huge success. This curiosity focuses on one question – one very important question: ‘What is the R.O.I.?‘
Financial Definition: Return on Investment – A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment, or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments.
R.O.I. = (Gain from investment – Cost of investment)/Cost of investment
Layman’s Definition: R.O.I.- + positive R.O.I. - keep it and develop it
+ negative R.O.I. - ditch it, you can do better.
If something has a more positive R.O.I. relative to another thing, go for the more positive!
Now, this blog is not intended to teach financial knowledge. Rather, my purpose is to give you insight into mastering your personal development. Hence, let’s apply the R.O.I. concept to the greatest investment in your life; you.
In life, every situation and endeavor we find ourselves into has an R.O.I. While it’s impossible to physically ‘measure’ these situations on a numerical scale, we as humans possess a universal scale of measurement – the logical scale, or common-sense scale; truly one of man’s greatest possessions, even though it appears to be broken in many an individual.
A slight digress:
How to tell if your common-sense scale is broken:
- Did you ever do something that turned out negatively for you?
- Did you do the same exact thing again and experience the same results?
Then you need to take a look at your common-sense scale. If it were working well, you wouldn’t be wasting your time attempting unsuccessful endeavours in exactly the same way you did before! 
As I mentioned, in life there is a R.O.I. on everything; positive or negative. Using your common-sense scale as your guide, invest more in positive experiences and you shall experience net positive gains. Do the opposite and the trend reverses.
Nothing astounding about that, right? Then why are so many people struggling in their lives? Again, it’s that common-sense scale, I tell you; it needs re-calibrating in many of us. I certainly gave mine a good tune-up in the past, so you’re definitely not alone if you believe yours to be ‘off’.
Now, once you’ve successfully differentiated between those aspects of your life that produce a positive R.O.I., focus intensely on them. Tend to them as an expert farmer tends to his land; constantly monitor them, water them, prune them, and eventually fruit will bear… fruit will bear, in its respective season. Life is like that; we are similar to a growing fruit tree or a developing business. Be diligent with tending, pruning, and watering and eventually, you will experience a harvest.
Focus not on the return, but on the amount of your investment relative to the importance of the endeavor. You are the single most important investment, but you are also composed of countless other ‘sub-investments’. Using your re-aligned common-sense measure of R.O.I., focus your energies on investing and developing those sub-investments that reward you the most. Discipline, attitude, personal-interaction, integrity, and consistency are but a few of those important sub investment areas.
And, heed this extremely important point: Reinvest to experience larger gains. Just as the expert business man does not spend all of his profits, but instead reinvests a portion back into his business, refocus your personal gains back in your life, and use them to reinvest heavily in yourself. It also goes without saying that, after experiencing success, you have a duty to reinvest in others and help them develop their own success, but reinvesting back in oneself is a key many fail to implement.
You are your life’s greatest investment:
- Perfect your common-sense scale
- Invest in positive life endeavors
- Monitor your life investments like a diligent farmer
- Focus not on the returns, but on the amount of your investment relative to the importance of the endeavor
- Reinvest, Reinvest, Reinvest
