What are You Investing In?

In the course of my work, I have been privileged to work with leaders from different spheres of life. I like that I get to learn from their years of experience. Recently at a Mastermind Group session, the coach asked a question that got me thinking. She asked, “What are you investing in?” The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word investments is Money. Investing your money is important no doubt. The leaders in the room talked about the different ways they had been investing and it was amazing – another learning point for me.

As they talked I realized my greatest investment in my 20’s has not been money. I am building my investment portfolio bit by bit through the simple avenues available to me such as Saccos and M-Akiba – story for another day. But my greatest resource currently is time – actually time and energy. So to answer the question “What are you investing in? “ I would talk about how I have been investing my time and energy in a way that will give me the greatest returns. In my view, here are the three most valuable ways to invest your time and energy at whatever stage in life but very key especially in your 20’s:

1. Investing in growing yourself.

Physical growth is automatic but personal growth is not. Personal growth is about putting effort to become a better version of yourself and to reach your full potential. You cannot grow yourself unless you know yourself. So who are you? What are your values? What makes you different from everyone else?

Beyond academic learning I believe we should continuously and intentionally grow ourselves. I would suggest that in whatever season of life you find yourself in, choose two areas to work on:

· A discipline – for example, read more, keep time, increase my savings, learn to relate to my boss better, learn to remain calm etc

· A skill – for example, how to cook, driving lessons, dancing, editing videos, a new language etc

2. Investing in creating meaningful relationships

There are three kinds of friends that every person should have in their life and that will require time & energy. These are:

· Someone you look up to – mentors.

· Someone to hold you accountable – peers.

· Someone you are helping – be a mentor or volunteer.

3. Investing in knowing God

It is said that there is a God-shaped hole in each one of us. No amount of money, fame, fun, power or whatever we desire can fill up that space in our hearts. Your parents might have exposed you to one religion or another but you need to explore spirituality for yourself. What would it look like to have a relationship with your creator?

So what are you investing in today to give you the best returns in one, five or twenty years to come?

Remember you only live once but if you live it right, then once is all you need.