Playing The Bigger Game - PART 7 & Final Step

Step 7: Invest Even When It Seems Scary, (Especially When It Seems Scary)

I once worked at a place that was cutting back and micromanaging things, cutting the sales force and scouring phone logs to catch people making 50 cent long distance calls. One experienced worker shook her head and said “If the company’s having trouble, they should spend more on the sales force, not less. My last company did that, and it saved them.”
This company didn’t. 6 months later, *poof*, they were gone (I got out of there well before then, though).

The point is, it’s scary to invest time or money when you don’t have enough of either. But you have to if you want to play a bigger game. And no, I’m not trying to sell you something today. (Though I make no promises to what the future holds). Ask anyone who has made a major leap in their life or business and you’ll find that they either invested a sizable amount of time or money in growing.

Let’s talk about time first, because that’s essentially what I’m urging you to do right now so you can play a bigger game. I want you to start the PLAN and write it down.

You have tons and tons of time to invest in yourself, but you’re just not doing it. Seriously, I wasn’t kidding when I told you to put LOST on your TiVo instead of watching it live. You have pockets of time you’re not leveraging everywhere – TV, web surfing, lunch, 30 minutes before bed / before work … if you were committed, you’d make the time happen.

Time, when invested regularly, changes your game. If you’re harried and overworked, you’re harried and overworked. That’s how you see yourself. But if you spend 30 minutes every Tuesday at lunch improving your game, then you’re not harried anymore. You’re seeing yourself as a player who is going places – and perception becomes reality. One 30 minute appointment with yourself can transform your life. Don’t believe me? Ask the people one level above you and they’ll agree with me.

Time lets you leverage assets you already have. Yeah, you’ve got books / tapes / programs / whatever. But are you using them? No, because you’ve fooled yourself into the idea you don’t have time. You have it, you’re just not committed to using it. Make that sliver of time, keep that appointment with yourself and start using the resources you already have.

I’m not going to lie to you – I want you to make time for your Investment. Hey, I’m going to continue with my Investment, making sure I’m playing the biggest game I can. If you’re not going to invest in yourself, then you’ll never play a bigger game. Start by investing time so you’ll have a container to put new training in as you acquire it.

30 minutes at lunch, one day a week. If you won’t do that, what will you do? Remember, “Nothing works until you do.”

Now I get to the sticky part – the part where I talk about spending money (No, I’m not selling you something today. Easy, tiger). I’m going to be very specific about how you need to consider spending money when you’re moving to the next level.

Your money, like your time, is a resource. You must invest (not spend, invest) it incredibly wisely. Scared money, don't make money!!!

Here’s my advice to you.
Only invest when you can see a return that makes sense for your business. Just because some type of training or product exists does not mean it makes sense to buy. Whatever it promises may not apply to your business, even if it’s touted as having made other people money. Look at the thing you’re about to buy and say “Can I see myself making a solid return on this investment in 30 days or 3 months or 6 months or whatever?” If you can’t, then it’s likely not the thing you need to invest in.

Protect yourself by investing when there are guarantees. My first big-ticket purchase was a $1,000 training course with a 60 day guarantee. I bought it with the express intent that if I didn’t make my money back (and more) in 60 days, I’d return it. I made my money quickly, and kept the product. But if it hadn’t been able to deliver, I would have been safe knowing I could return it.

Take cues from those who are playing a bigger game. Those people you’re networking upwards with? Find out what they’re doing. Find out what they’re buying. Find out what they approve of. Don’t just take other people’s word for things – model the people who are getting the results you want to get. This gives you the highest chance of getting relevant training that will apply to your situation.

Don’t think about price – think about value. Would you trade a dime for a dollar? That’s a no brainer question. Would you trade $1,000 for $10,000? You think you would, but then you balk at training that costs that much. Don’t feel bad, we all do it and it takes time to get out of that mindset. But all that matters is return on investment. If you’re getting 5 times or 10 times what you invested back, what you paid for was free.

Value is the biggest take-away I want you to think about here. When you see these public relations agents charging $20,000 a year or these consultants charging $100,000 for working for a client, you bet your ass it’s because they’re helping the other person get 5 or 10 times that amount in return. They only buy when it’s going to end up free in the long run.

Warren Buffett said “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Never forget that when you’re on your quest to play a bigger game.

Yeah, that’s a direct quote from the second richest person on this planet. I think he’s playing a pretty big game.

If you missed any of the steps, you can search on The Future. Please follow me on Twitter.com/LilMogul.

Thanks for your time. I hope you found it valuable.

Lil Mogul