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The Best Investment Possible
“What’s the best investment out there?” asks the young kid with fire in his heart, trying to make it big in the world.
Well, there’s a lot of talk about how investing in stocks at a young age is a good thing to do – and it is. But what’s actually more important, is to start investing in yourself from a young age.
Investing in yourself is without a doubt the best investment in existence. It will improve literally every aspect of your life, from your finances, to your sex life, to your happiness, to your body.
We can all start investing in ourselves, today, even if we have very little money. I often see people buying the latest pair of Nikes for $230, but when asked to shell out just $15 for a book that could completely change the way they view things, they say “Nah, man – I can’t afford it.”
Yes, you can afford it – it’s just a matter of spending your money wisely.
How to Invest in Yourself
The first thing that you have to do, before you even invest in yourself, is figure out your strengths and weaknesses. This will allow you to prioritize which ways you invest in yourself.
Are you already super jacked, but you’re one of those “gym loners,” who doesn’t have a social life? Believe me, I’ve been there. You need to start getting in touch with your emotional, social, creative right brain.
What if you’re very intelligent, and have a great social circle, but you’re morbidly obese? Chances are you should start investing in your body. For you, the best investment would be towards getting shredded and losing body fat.
Generally speaking, there are four categories of self-investment:
- Mind
- Body
- Emotions
- Spirituality
Because your mind controls literally everything, it’s probably the best investment out there (in my opinion). There’s some people who say that your body is the best investment, however, because without it, your mind won’t even exist. There’s definitely some credence to that.
Others say that the best investment possible would be your emotions, because without being happy, there’s no point to life. As somebody who’s struggled with overcoming depression, I can definitely relate to this.
And then, you have spiritual gurus who say that the best investment is of a spiritual nature, for without this, you’re simply a “trousered ape,” in the words of C.S. Lewis. You’re just a monkey with no sense of humanity, ethics, or purpose.
All of these are valid points, however I’ll let you decide which to invest in:
The Best Investment: All 4 Spheres of Self
Personally, I think that the best investment would be to focus on all four areas of yourself: mind, body, emotions, and spirit.
Your mind has to do with how well you process information – and this isn’t just logical information. It can be visual stimulus, auditory stimulus, or any type of information. As Dr. Robert Anton Wilson discussed in his book Prometheus Rising, there are many different ways to interpret the same information.
Your body has to do with not only your muscular development, but your health. Do you have high cholesterol? Or maybe you don’t eat well, so your organs aren’t running efficiently. Maybe you’re scrawny, and want to start working out.
Your emotions have to do with how emotionally in touch you are with yourself, and with others. Your social circle is often a reflection of this – if you don’t have good relationships with others, chances are you need to develop them, or your emotional health will plummet.
Spirituality has to do with how fulfilled you are. Do you feel like you’re making a difference in the world? Do you feel like you’re becoming the best version of yourself, charging down your very own path?
Chances are that you need to improve at least one of these, if not all of them. In fact, I’m going to share a few tips that will help you improve multiple aspects of yourself at once…but let’s start with the basics first.
The Basics
Invest in Your Mind
Read
Reading great books, in my opinion, is the best investment out there. There’s no way around it. Personally, I read a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Try reading before you go to bed as a way to wind down.
Reading allows you to gain knowledge from others’ experience. It lets you understand how people like Shakespeare, Sigmund Freud, and Lao Tzu saw the world. Reading gives you a broader understanding of reality and is probably the single most important habit that any man could have.
Listen to Podcasts and Audiobooks
Listening to educational podcasts and audiobooks is a great way to learn while you’re driving. I have at least 100 hours worth of downloaded YouTube videos and podcasts on my iPod – that way when I’m travelling or driving somewhere, I can learn valuable lessons from other peoples’ lives.
Here are some good podcasts to listen to:
You can also download audiobooks from Audible, which is great. You can get a free trial, too if you have Amazon Prime and click on the link (it comes with two free eBooks).
Take Nootropics
Your brain needs certain chemicals and nutrients to work properly, and if it doesn’t have them, your cognition won’t be as good. You won’t remember things as clearly, you won’t process information as quickly, and consequently, your life won’t be as great as it could be. As far as supplements go, nootropics are the best investment out there.
Personally, I’ve tried dozens of nootropics (chemicals/nutrients that improve your brain’s performance). Here are a few that I’ve had good experience with:
- Modafinil (or brand name Provigil) – this one is prescription, but if you can get your hands on it, holy hell is it powerful. Executives in Silicon Valley are actually using it to stay super focused for long periods of time.
- Alpha Brain by Onnit – there was actually a clinical, double-blind study done that showed Alpha Brain helps memory, processing speed, and focus. You can read it here.
- L-Theanine – this is great taken with coffee. It’s been shown to increase alertness, and due to its relaxation effect, you can take more coffee without getting the jitters/anxiety effect. As a general rule, 1/4th tsp per cup of coffee is a good dose.
- Red Coffee – speaking of which, coffee is one of the oldest nootropics in the world. It’s no secret that coffee makes you focused and alert.
- Gingko Biloba – this herbal extract has been shown to improve memory.
A good place to start if you’re new to brain hacking would be the Nootropics Subreddit. They have all kinds of information on tons of different brain-enhancing supplements.
Again, in my opinion, nootropics are the best investment out there when it comes to pills and powders. Why? Because a better brain leads to a bigger bank account.
Invest In Your Body
Work Out
This one is pretty obvious – you need to work out if you want to have a good body.
If you’re looking to maximize time and still get amazing results, I recommend trying out Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. It’s based off of compound lifts, so it hits nearly every muscle in your body, and it only takes a couple hours a week.
In terms of a workout routine, Starting Strength is the best investment of your time. There’s literally no excuse to not go to the gym when your workout only takes like 45 minutes.
Eat Healthy
Eating healthy foods is a staple of having a good body. You will not look lean and muscular if you’re eating junk food. Period.
Choosing to purchase healthy, high quality food is probably the best investment out there when it comes to your health. I recommend following the bulletproof diet if you’re trying to lose weight and the traditional bodybuilder’s diet if you’re trying to bulk up (aka high carbs).
Relax!
Half of having a healthy body is “yang,” or aggressive – but the other half is “yin,” or regenerative. The aggressive half is working out and tearing down your body. The regenerative half is where the growth happens.
Go in the hot tub or the sauna – sweat out those toxins! Relax your muscles. Get weekly massages (if you can afford them). Local colleges often have massage therapists in training, where you can get massages for super cheap (I get mine for $50/hour).
If that’s not an option, learn to do self-myofascial release. This is the scientific term for releasing knots in your muscles.
To do myofascial release, you’ll need two things:
Basically, all that you do, is lie down on the lacrosse ball or foam roller (depending on the body part) and push your sore muscle up against it. It’ll hurt like hell at first, but breathe through the pain, and your muscle will slowly relax. Push your muscle further into the lacrosse ball/foam roller until the pain subsides.
You can also take Epsom salt baths to alleviate muscular tightness.
Invest In Your Emotions
Learn Game (To Fuck More Girls)
Most of the men in our generation (post baby-boomers) weren’t taught how to interact with women properly. Some lucky folks were, but most of us bumble around hoping to “get lucky.”
All of this changes when you learn game. Now you can actually tell when a woman is interested, what to do, and how to end up sleeping with her. It’s like you start to pull the curtain of reality up, and see the glorious truth that lies behind it.
In terms of your emotional health, learning game is the best investment of your time. Nothing does wonders for your confidence, empathy, and social life like learning game.
Cultivate Male Relationships
It’s just as important to have good relationships with men as it is to have them with women. In fact, I’d argue that having strong masculine relationships is even more important than having sexual relationships with women.
Your buddies will set you straight when you fuck something up (granted they’re good friends). They’ll tell it to you how it is, and bring you down a notch if your head gets too high up in the sky.
Don’t be afraid to spend money going out to bars with them, going bowling, traveling, fishing, hunting, or whatever it is that you guys enjoy doing. Developing a male camaraderie is priceless.
Develop True Confidence
“True confidence,” as opposed to just “confidence,” is backed up by years of conquering goals and self-improvement. Most men don’t have it.
Most men have what I like to call pseudo-confidence. It’s fake. It’s phony. If you take them outside of their comfort zone, which is probably quite small, they’d be reduced to a crying little boy.
There are a few ways to develop true confidence:
- Conquer your goals
- Have firm boundaries
- Know what you stand for
- Be on your path in life
- Develop a healthy ego
All of these take time, and this won’t happen overnight – but it will be worth it, trust me.
Invest in Your Spirituality
This is one of those things that is very tricky to define. It’s something that’s quite abstract, but really, it comes down to one thing: do you feel like you’re making a difference?
If you don’t, chances are you’re not in touch with your spirituality. If you do, chances are that you are.
Spirituality is also, however, recognizing yourself in others – it’s seeing that you are the other person. It’s transcending artificial barriers and realizing that all is one, and one is all. Spirituality is understanding your place in the world. It’s understanding why you were put here, and what you’re meant to do.
If this all sounds retarded to you, chances are you need to invest in your spirituality. Here’s a list of books on spirituality that I recommend.
Self-Improvement Hacks
There’s a few things that you can do that will actually improve not just one of the categories, but multiple at the same time. Here are some examples:
1. Learn to Play the Guitar and Perform
Picking up the guitar will greatly improve your mind – it will develop a better hand/mind connection, improve your finger dexterity, and exercise the right side of your brain. Learning any new skill is a great way to improve your mind.
But, it will also improve your emotional side – not only will playing the guitar and singing songs serve as a functional outlet for repressed emotions, but it will also allow you to connect with others.
There is literally no better way to get hot girls than to play at your local venues. Trust me, I play the guitar and sing – I can personally testify to its effectiveness at getting hot chicks into the bedroom.
I would recommend starting with an acoustic guitar, such as the Jasmine S35. Not only is it cheap (only $80), but it’s also a great sounding guitar for the price. My friend had one of these, and we used to play together when we were first starting out. In fact, it’s how he got his first serious girlfriend (we were both in high school at the time).
You don’t need to get that good to perform. Just learn some basic chords from YouTube, that’s how I got started. If you learn how to play G-D-Em-C and you’ll literally be able to play 75% of pop songs.
2. Join a Yoga Club
Joining a yoga club is actually one of the few things that can potentially improve all four aspects of yourself.
First, it will improve your mind by relaxing you. A lot of yoga is very relaxing and incorporates different meditation breathing patterns.
Second, it will improve your body. You’ll not only get in a decent workout, but you’ll develop flexibility, functional strength, and mobility.
Third, you’ll meet a ton of gorgeous women. So many sexy girls do yoga, so taking up a yoga class near you is a great way to meet some girls.
Fourth, you’ll get in touch with your spirituality. A lot of yoga classes incorporate different readings from spiritual teachers, or have some sort of washed down Hindu vibe.
The key is to find a good one, however – the good yoga clubs are never a part of a commercial gym, and some of the really good ones aren’t even publicized. You can only get in through being connected to someone in the group.
3. Meditation
Meditation is quite possibly one of the best habits that a man could have. It teaches you to focus (enhancing your mind), it activates your parasympathetic nervous system (relaxing your body), it releases repressed emotions (improving your emotional health), and it helps you to develop a sense of “oneness with being,” which will develop your spiritual connection to reality.
To start, I’d recommend reading my Guide to Meditation.
Beyond this, you can use Life Flow (think meditation on steroids) which is an audiotrack that incorporates binaural beats. In other words, it puts different frequencies into each ear, which causes your brain to enter into a certain frequency more easily.
What this means, is that it’s easier for your brain to enter into, say, a “Delta-wave frequency,” which literally takes Buddhist monks a whole lifetime to accomplish.
Life Flow will literally give you 30 years worth of meditation practice in just 1-2 years. It’s that powerful. I’ve been using it for a few months now, and I highly recommend it – but start withe “Life Flow 10,” because if you jump too low too fast, your mind can have a hard time accepting it and you’ll actually experience upheaval.
Summary
In conclusion, investing in yourself is literally the best investment possible, for a number of reasons.
When you invest in yourself, you improve your intelligence, enhance your body, develop better social skills, and become more aligned with your purpose. This will all, in turn, make your life way better, which will make it easier to invest even more into yourself.
In other words, once you start investing in yourself, you get into a positive self-amplifying feedback loop. One action leads to another, which leads to another, and so on and so forth. And because all of the actions are positive, they feed off one another improving you even more and more.
But the key is to start. If you don’t start improving yourself, you’ll never get to where you want to be.
Invest in yourself – you’re worth it. Even if it’s only $15 a month on a new book, everybody has to start somewhere.
Until Next Time,
-Jon
About the Author Jon Anthony
After learning to successfully trade the market, build a six pack, start a social circle from scratch, and increase his IQ by 15 points, Jon Anthony has decided to teach others how they can, too. He plans to move to Las Vegas next year to invest in real estate and live it up.
