Garrett B. Gunderson
Have you ever had a conversation with someone and, after you were done talking, realized that you would never look at life the same again? If not, this will be a first. If you have, then you already know what you are in for because this is one of those life-altering conversations around money, investing and happiness.
Traditionally, when most people hear the word investing, they immediately think of stocks, bonds, real estate or some type of commodity like gold or oil. It's no mystery why when we have been skillfully trained by society, salespeople, and the media to have that exact reaction.
Now, I've got some bad news and some good news. The bad news is according to statistics, what you've been taught about investing doesn't work more than 90% of the time. The good news is that I'm about to show you a completely new way to think of investing so you don't have to be lucky in order to come out on top.
This new way of investing is by treating yourself as the greatest asset, only investing where you have influence and purpose, therefore investing in yourself. Surprised?
Think of it This Way
Investments like stocks, bonds or real estate are promoted as "tools" for growing your wealth. However, just like any other set of tools, they are only useful in the hands of a craftsman who understands how to yield wield them. When it comes to your personal finances, you are the craftsman so you will ultimately decide the outcome of your financial status.
Now you've maybe heard the phrase "invest in yourself," but let's go deeper and see what investing in you really means. Many doctors even think that because they have bought a marketing program or have been to a seminar that they have already invested in themselves, but it goes beyond just a program. It is a philosophy and way of being.
First, it is essential to recognize there is no such thing as a "risky" investment, only risky investors. Without a good craftsman (you), even the best tools (investments) are worthless and yield unacceptable results. In other words, if you don't develop yourself, your knowledge and your relationships around money, your chances of success are very low.
Let me start by giving some examples of investing in yourself and we'll use something simple like graduating from college. When you went to college, you spent a lot of time, money and resources to learn. As a result, you came out of school with permission to be a doctor and more prepared with new skills. As a result, you had a higher income potential than people who hadn't "invested in themselves."
An Example of Success
College is an easy example, and a great start, but you're probably wondering how investing in yourself rather than traditional investments look after school and over the course of a career, right? To explain this, let me give you an example of a very successful chiropractor in my program named Dr. Steve Windwer.
Dr. Windwer went to chiropractic school, opened his own office and became successful. Over time, he made enough money that he had to decide on how to invest those funds, and he split them in two directions: the stock market and himself and his business.
As time went on, Dr. Windwer saw the differences of what was happening with his investments. With the money going into the stock market he had concerns. He wasn't sure when or why his investments would perform or lose, plus it was costing him $20,000 a year in management fees, and there was no certainty or control of what may happen with the market in the future. All he could do what was hope that things would work out somewhere down the line. This lack of understanding, control and the high expenses not only consumed money, but also occupied space in Dr. Windwer's mind.
On the other hand, the money he invested into himself and his purpose driven business continued to pay dividends. By investing in the three key P's: People, Processes and Procedures. Through training, equipment, software and education for himself and his team, his office grew so he was able to open other offices. In fact, over slightly more than a decade, he went from a single office to eight chiropractic offices and 27 physical therapy locations.
To make this huge amount of progress, Dr. Windwer had to invest in systems for his company and, most importantly, in the best partners and team members possible. This allowed him to have leverage that would never be possible outside of his focused area of expertise, and the results were a testament to that truth. If he would have been taking the majority of his money to invest in programs and plans outside of his expertise, the funds to hire the best talent would not have been available.
Dr. Windwer also saw that just as he was his own best investment, other people such as partners, team members and outside relationships were also a great investment. He built systems to help the other assets (people) become more empowered, and everyone benefited from those investments. With this understanding of "relationship capital," he continued to grow his network and friendships leading to an even higher quality of opportunity and fulfillment in his life. He realized that working with and serving people who shared his common values and premise about life was rewarding, and he saw that these quality relationships were a benefit that he'd never receive from his stock market investments.
By investing in his businesses and his team, Dr. Windwer felt like he had control of what was happening. Even more importantly, Steve was clear about the purpose behind growing his businesses - helping people get healthy - and as a result, the fulfillment he felt about his "investment's" growth was worth as much as the financial results.
This clarity also allowed him to focus intensely around what he was passionate about and stay charged up where others may have burned out. His belief in what he was doing took precedent over trying to diversify into other, less important areas, and empowered him to become the best at what he set out to achieve.
[pb]The natural result of this laser focus was mastery around how to effectively serve his chiropractic patients and support his team in their roles. This type of mastery is hard to achieve if you're being pulled in many directions, but because he was clear about investing in himself and what he knew to be important, the distractions were never able to take hold.
Instead, more opportunities related to his passions showed up and he was able to continue to create even more value for those that he served. For example, as a result of the growth of his businesses, Steve had to build interconnecting software that enabled his many offices to communicate and share information about their clients with one another. This is an example of processes and procedures that lead to efficiency and less reliance on human labor. At the time, he had invested $300,000 in the system and didn't realize that this would one day become another opportunity to help others succeed from his work - he just knew it would benefit his team and his patients.
However, as technology became the standard, and even encouraged by the government in the form of tax incentives, Dr. Windwer was able to take the valuable system he had created to the world in the form of an inexpensive electronic health record system. This type of investment has the possibility of becoming a completely separate form of income, while still staying in his control and supporting his ultimate goal - to help people be healthier. So there is no reason to be in the stock market and have that type of concern around if it is going up or down, wondering what the expenses are, and losing control over money. Steve can use those funds to market or build something he has say in and influence over. Something that matters.
The biggest benefits Dr. Windwer has seen through investing in himself and his business isn't even just the financial reward. Through his multiple locations, the new software and other avenues - he knows that his money is supporting and furthering what he believes in rather than funding a nameless, faceless and meaningless stock portfolio. He is in charge of his lifestyle and his investments so he can be certain that he'll be able to support and spend time with his family as he chooses. Hey, he even went to the Great Barrier Reef, then came home and coached a woman's basketball team in a tournament and only made it to the office once in 60 days, but had the highest collections since his company began (building people, process, and procedures). He's been able to create his life the way that he chose, rather than being a slave to the markets or unknown future results.
Investing in Yourself
One of the greatest aspects of investing in yourself and keeping your money close to home (where you have say and it is in alignment with your purpose and vision) is that you build relationships that you would have otherwise never had known. See, wealth is built through conversation. While other people are complaining about their retirement plans or the market, Dr. Windwer is looking for people he can partner with to bring his software to the chiropractic profession. He is meeting new people each week that have expertise in areas that add new dimensions and opportunities. I call this Relationship Capital. When you meet people that you can play the value creation game with - what do I know or who do I know that can assist you in solving a problem or serving at a greater capacity - then you can accelerate your wealth and enhance the enjoyment of your life.
Some of the greatest relationships I have developed and that work with my firm are key influencers in the profession: Dr. Patrick Gentempo, Dr. David Jackson, Dr. Steve Hoffman, Dr. Michael Gandolfi, Dr. Jeff Spencer, Dr. Russ Rosen, Dr. Ted Morter, and the list goes on. The great thing is that the health of my family has drastically improved due to these connections (I learn from them). I have had some of the best trips with these individuals and we happen to get some business done along the way. On the contrary, I have never had a good time with a "fund manager" or CEO of some Fortune 500 company because I own their stock in my retirement plan. But I have built lifelong relationships serving great people through my passion and purpose leading to more prosperity for all those involved. This is a game changer and allows you to live wealthier today rather than waiting for 30 years or some long haul hoping that the markets will cooperate with you.
This story is not an isolated incident either. Dr. Michael Heinzlmeir chose to invest in himself and his business over the stock market and built a membership that is simple and affordable for his patients. It integrates meal planning, grocery lists, recipes and health education. It also includes exercise videos and is delivered online at [url=http://www.xlr40.com]http://www.xlr40.com[/url]. This is key with new client acquisition, retention, and increased profitability/lifetime value of a patient. This is turning purpose into profitability.
If you want financial freedom, get freedom from investments that you don't understand, that impact your mood based upon fluctuations you have little to no control over and that have nothing to do with your purpose. When the stock market goes up or down, we don't worry. We invest in our businesses, our purpose.
As you can see from these case studies, investing in yourself can take many forms, but the returns can also pay in multiple ways, too. The traditional method of handing money over to a "financial expert" will, at most, create a financial return. However, by investing in yourself you are able to experience fulfillment in alignment with your beliefs, being in charge of your assets, the ability to recover if something goes wrong (because you've learned the skills to make money, not just save it), and many other rewards in addition to financial success.
These "extra" rewards are the richness of life and when aligned with your life's soul purpose, they create true wealth. Because of the high degree of success Dr. Windwer experienced, it would be nearly impossible to calculate the rate of return that he and others like him have seen by investing in themselves, but it's safe to say that anyone who can see the results of such decisions would call them a success!
