Your Golden Goose
Do you think your most valuable asset is a possession? Your home, your car, your stereo or your savings? No, none of these things are your most valuable asset.
Even if you have millions of dollars. Your money is not your most valuable asset. In fact, it might become a liability if you get obsessed about keeping it and protecting it. Your life can become controlled by your cash.
No, the most valuable financial asset you own is not a possession, but your personal golden goose.
The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
The Greek slave Aesop told this story 2500 years ago. A man and his wife owned a goose that laid a golden egg every day. They decided they were not getting rich fast enough. They believed the bird must be full of gold and so decided to kill it.
When they cut open their golden goose, they found it was just like any other goose. They not only failed to get rich all at once as they had hoped, they no longer enjoyed the daily golden eggs.
Because you have probably heard this story, you would never think of cutting a goose that laid golden eggs for you. You would take special care of that goose. You would buy it the best goose feed, build it the most comfortable goose nest and give it the nicest goose pond available, right?
The truth is, you own a golden goose.
Conditions of Success
"The conditions of success are few and easily stated.
"The ability to hold a job depends, in the main, upon ability.
"One's intelligence is directly related to his ability. There is no such thing as being too smart. But there is such a thing as being too stupid." -- L. Ron Hubbard from The Problems of Work
Your ability to work and produce something valuable is the goose that lays golden eggs for you. The more ability you have, the more golden eggs you can earn.
The Best Investment in the World
Professional investors are constantly searching for investments (golden geese) with three qualities:
1. The investment must be safe and secure.
2. It must produce above-average income.
3. Opportunities to buy the investment must be everywhere.
Your ability to make money, fits all three qualities.
1. Your ability to earn money is safe. Some idiot might try to kill your goose with criticism, attacks or backstabbing. Yet once you bounce back, your skills start to produce golden eggs again. Your skills do not easily disappear.
2. By investing in your golden goose, you can earn a huge income.
For example, a doctor spends $90,000 on education and then earns $180,000 per year. He or she earns twice the education cost every year. How many other types of investments can do that?
As another example, you decide to take a sales class. You pay $5,000 for the class and travel costs. You come back to your business and increase your sales by $1,000 per month or $12,000 per year. By investing $5,000, you get back $12,000 the first year. This is a return of 240% which any investor will tell you is an incredible return.
You can expect an excellent return on your investment by obtaining any skill: people skills, computer skills, speaking skills and so on. Even better is improving your personal power base -- your ability to deal with difficult situations, to make correct decisions, to work harder, to accomplish more, to do tough jobs.
3. Skill-enhancement opportunities are all around you. Professional investors spend most of their time looking for golden geese. They are happy if 60% of their investments make money. By investing in your personal abilities, you can expect 90-100% of these investments will help you succeed. Because you get some improvement from everything you learn, you have no real risk.
Recommendations
1. Make a list of all the abilities you have that make you money. For example, "My ability to handle customer's complaints." "My ability to lead great workshops." "My ability to build garages."
2. Next to each item on your list, write down how you can improve each of these abilities. For example, "As well has handle complaints, I'd like to know how to make people happy." "As well as leading great workshops, I'd like to give them business consulting." "As well as building garages, I'd like to learn how to build houses."
3. Next to each of these new abilities, write down what you can do to obtain them. Examples: "Read every book I can find on helping people." "Take classes in my spare time on business consulting." "Find a successful construction company owner who is willing to train me."
4. Take action. Invest all your spare time into yourself.
If you do one thing every day, to improve your golden goose, you will soon have all the golden eggs you need! |
