Invest Now. Reap Later.

The Pain of Discipline is far less than the pain of regret.

-Sarah Bombell

I am reading an amazing book right now by Author Meg Jay titled, “The Defining Decade”. She pours her life’s work in helping 20 somethings figure out their life direction while helping them answer their deepest questions. It is an amazing read.

Since reading her book I have been thinking a lot about my 20’s. You may not be in that decade in your life but nonetheless, this post is for you.

I see far too many people (especially in their 20’s) who do not know how to fully invest and the power of reaping their investments later in life.

For example, I run for thirty minutes almost everyday. Yes I do love running but do you think I love running every single time I go for a run? Absolutely not. Some days my legs feel sluggish, I feel drowsy or I feel like a truck has hit me. However, I know that the investment in my health now by having a strong cardiovascular system later in life far outweighs me wanting to sleep an extra thirty minutes in the morning.

I am investing in my health now, to reap good health benefits later in life.

In fact, my journal says “Be Invested” on the front as I want to remind myself each day how important it is to be investing in myself, my health and my legacy.

In business this happens all to often as well. Many businesses grow their business with the goal of selling but sell too soon. They take the 2 million dollar buyout now instead of the 6 million dollar buyout in just a few more years on investing the hours needed to take the business to another level. Some businesses don’t even cross the chasm from no profit to full profit and never have a chance to reap the benefits of all their work because they quit too soon.

Most entrepreneurs fail their first few ventures and some back away from the instability of the entrepreneur lifestyle. To put it short, they fully invest in one idea but not in themselves as an entrepreneur. That lack of self investment reaps little benefits later.

The same is obvious for investments. After spending time with many Financial Advisers over the past couple of years I began to notice a trend with many people in that they tend to underinvest, shoot for average goals yet wonder why their money is not working harder for them. Or, even worse; they invest too much too soon without thinking four decades down the road. They pull their money out too soon and end up only moving forward one financial step instead of a quantum leap four decades down the road.

I am no broker but I have to ask, how many of you reading this post right now have life insurance? I have said it before that the best investment you can make is in yourself and the second-best investment you can make is in others.

Life insurance checks both of those boxes.

One thing is for sure in an ever-changing world. We will all pass away. What investment now can your loved ones reap later?

My encouragement for you today is this. Whatever you decide to do with your hobbies, your health or your profession, invest wholeheartedly. Dive in and don’t look back. Think bigger than those around you. As Robin Sharma once said, “If people are not laughing at your goals, they are not big enough”. Put pen to paper, put your money in a position to work for you and build a life of responsible investments in each area of your life which you can reap over time.

The best way to do this is to break your life down into different areas. These areas can be unique to you but I would recommend areas such as financial, health, relationships, spiritual, professional and most importantly, your personal investment area. In each area, ask yourself if you are investing enough in that particular area. If the answer is yes, begin thinking and visualizing what you will reap later in life due to your investment. If your answer is no, I challenge you to reach out to a mentor, friend or family member who can help push you to become more invested in that particular area. If this scares you, think about it like this. Choosing a hard conversation now will propel you much further than investing very little now.

What you reap in your future depends on it.

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This post was previously published on Medium.

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