{"id":2529,"date":"2016-10-16T12:07:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-16T12:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/jannah\/?page_id=2529"},"modified":"2016-11-01T16:18:57","modified_gmt":"2016-11-01T16:18:57","slug":"content-index","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/content-index\/","title":{"rendered":"Content Index"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\n

How To Invest In Yourself.<\/h3>\n

BY JON<\/strong> WESTENBERG<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scroll down to see the index<\/span>\nMy framework for getting places, accomplishing things and living in a way that makes me happy.<\/em><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a bullshit, head in the clouds, you can do it if you just *believe*<\/em>post. There\u2019s plenty of those out there. I\u2019m not going to write another one.<\/p>\n

This post is about how to actually, practically invest in yourself in a way that is going to pay real dividends.<\/p>\n

How to take the steps today that will enable you to be a better person, a better creative, a better developer or a better business owner tomorrow.<\/p>\n

And how to do awesome things with your life.<\/p>\n

It involves 4 steps. They aren\u2019t even complicated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is my framework for investing in myself. I follow it every day, and I tell anyone who asks for my advice that they should follow it, too.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a difficult system at all, but it can have a huge impact.<\/p>\n

I created this because I know too many people who live their lives without direction. They finish school, get a job and then spend 60 or 70 years falling with style.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

They take on new skills as they come to them.<\/p>\n

They go through whenever learning happens to them and they slowly develop into whatever person their life has made them.<\/p>\n

Sure, it\u2019s fun to live life as it comes. Structure isn\u2019t everything, achievements aren\u2019t everything.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a lot of people, trying to follow any kind of guidelines like the ones in this post will be a disaster. It just won\u2019t work for them, and that\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n

And then there are people like me. The people who need that structure or we freeze.<\/p>\n

We fail. We struggle. We lose direction. If you\u2019re in that boat, this post is for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s What You\u2019ll Need:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • A note taking app or notebook<\/li>\n
  • A spreadsheet app (Airtable is amazing)<\/li>\n
  • A browser for research<\/li>\n
  • A calendar or calendar app<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
    \n
    \n
    \n<\/div>\n
    \n\n\t\t
    <\/div>\n\t\n
    \n
    \n
    \n

    1. Write A List Of 100\u00a0Things.<\/h3>\n

    Define where you want to get to, no matter where that is.<\/em><\/p>\n

    I have a list of 100 things I\u2019m going to do in my life. It\u2019s not a bucket list, it\u2019s not things I wish I could do \u2013 it\u2019s things I really am going to do.<\/p>\n

    It took me 3 hours to put that list together, and it covers everything I\u2019ve wanted to accomplish or experience since I can remember.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s part of my list:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Publish a novel<\/li>\n
    2. Publish a comic<\/li>\n
    3. Publish a business book<\/li>\n
    4. Consult on business<\/li>\n
    5. Have a podcast<\/li>\n
    6. Maintain a high level of fitness<\/li>\n
    7. Teach an online course<\/li>\n
    8. Create a non-profit\u00a0.org<\/li>\n
    9. Write for Forbes<\/li>\n
    10. Write for the Wallstreet Journal<\/li>\n
    11. Appear on a panel<\/li>\n
    12. Write for TechCrunch<\/li>\n
    13. Go to SXSW<\/li>\n
    14. Write a film<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u2026and a whole lot more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Now if I can only accomplish 4 of those things per year, in 25 years\u2019 time I will have worked my way through the entire list.<\/p>\n

      I will have lived a life that I will be proud of. I will have lived a life with a strong, clearly defined direction.<\/p>\n

      So make a list. Don\u2019t copy mine \u2013 it can be full of anything. Ever wanted to build a mobile app on your own?<\/p>\n

      Participate in a skateboarding competition? Own a ranch? Learn to make your Grandmother\u2019s chocolate mud cake?<\/p>\n

      Put them on the list.<\/p>\n

      Divide the list into these 3 categories:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Things that I need skills for<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Things that I can do immediately<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Things that I need time for<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Now you have to live with it. You have to keep it with you for the next 2 weeks. Add to it, cut it down, analyse it.<\/p>\n

        Start to hate it, start to love it more.<\/p>\n

        Just slowly become accustomed to it and work out if it really is a reflection of who you are and what you want.<\/p>\n

        Ask someone close to you if they\u2019ll read it.<\/p>\n

        When you have a list that you\u2019re happy with, you can jump onto the second step.<\/p>\n

        It\u2019s what drives and motivates me throughout my day. Reading it constantly means I can never forget anything from it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

        \n
        \n
        \n<\/div>\n
        \n\n\t\t
        <\/div>\n\t\n
        \n
        \n
        \n

        2. Create a skill\u00a0chart.<\/h3>\n

        This is how you\u2019ll level up and track your experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

        If you want to get through a list of 100 things that you\u2019re going to do in your life, you need to level up.<\/p>\n

        You need to work through the Skills category on your master list. Go through it and assign the skills you\u2019ll need to each item.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Be realistic, don\u2019t kid yourself. You have to honestly put down exactly what skills you are lacking or currently possess but are weak.<\/p>\n

        These are the skills you\u2019ll need to learn in order to accomplish this part of your list.<\/p>\n

        Take those skills and build a spreadsheet. It doesn\u2019t matter what it looks like, so don\u2019t waste your time on the design.<\/p>\n

        All you need is 4 columns.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. A column that lists the skills you have to learn<\/strong><\/li>\n
        2. A column for Research<\/strong><\/li>\n
        3. A column for Action<\/strong><\/li>\n
        4. A column for Progress<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          In the Action column, you\u2019re going to be listing every step you can think of towards learning that skill. Think of it as the pre-requisites.<\/p>\n

          Finding a course, signing up for it, taking on small projects, reading books \u2013 whatever it takes. Research this. It doesn\u2019t have to be hard to put it together.<\/p>\n

          For almost anything you want to learn there will be a hundred step by step guides online somewhere.<\/p>\n

          In the progress column, put down an estimate of how near you are to completing each of those steps. Again, be brutally honest. I won\u2019t know if you\u2019re kidding yourself, but sooner or later \u2013 you will.<\/p>\n

          This spreadsheet is now your guide to gaining those skills. Read it every week. Decide which steps to work on every week. Work on them. Update your progress. Repeat. It\u2019s that simple.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

          \n
          \n
          \n<\/div>\n
          \n
          \n

          \n\t\t

          <\/div>\n\t\n

          3. Take immediate action.<\/h3>\n

          By ticking off a few things from the list immediately, you\u2019ll store rocket fuel for later.<\/em><\/p>\n

          We\u2019re in the \u201cthings you can do immediately\u201d category now from your master list. These are the things that you could actually do right now.<\/p>\n

          There\u2019s nothing stopping you, but for some reason you\u2019ve never actually done them.<\/p>\n

          You need to make a plan. There\u2019s no spreadsheet for this part.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Just grab a sheet of paper or a text file or an Evernote and write down which of those immediate things you\u2019re going to accomplish over the next month.<\/p>\n

          Remember, they might be small. They might not take much effort at all.<\/p>\n

          Some of the immediate tasks from my list include \u201cstart reading The Infinite Jest\u201d and \u201cget a tattoo.\u201d Extremely manageable, highly doable.<\/p>\n

          Why do you want to have some instant actions? Because it\u2019s going to motivate you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          It will enable you to tick some things off your master list right away, and doing that is going to make the whole project a lot less intimidating. That\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

          Once you\u2019ve mapped out your immediate tasks, set some dates. Put them in your calendar. Get them happening. You\u2019ll be able to mark them off your calendar and make room for more items from the other categories on your master list.<\/p>\n

          Over time, your immediate action list and calendar is going to turn into your project forecasting and scheduling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

          \n
          \n
          \n<\/div>\n
          \n
          \n

          \n\t\t

          <\/div>\n\t\n

          4. The things you need time\u00a0for.<\/h3>\n

          Deciding that the things you want to do are worth your seconds, minutes and hours.<\/em><\/p>\n

          For me, that includes finishing a novel. Doing a podcast.<\/p>\n

          Those things that I absolutely have the skills and the abilities and the resources to do \u2013 but I just haven\u2019t got around to yet.<\/p>\n

          If you didn\u2019t accomplish anything on your list, and you looked back on your life, these are the things you\u2019d feel the worst about.<\/p>\n

          Because they were so possible! They were within your grasp!<\/p>\n

          \u2026And then you watched cat videos instead.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Putting aside time isn\u2019t an easy thing to do anymore. We all have so much shit going on that it feels damn near impossible to squeeze a little more time out of our days.<\/p>\n

          But I promise you, it\u2019s possible. If you were pretty ruthless, you\u2019d be able to find things you\u2019re doing every day that are wasting the time you could use to do something incredible.<\/p>\n

          I realised a few weeks ago that my morning routine was spending 30\u201345 minutes on my iPhone before getting in the shower. Just reading random crap online.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          I turned that into my book time. Now I spend roughly half an hour every morning working on my books before I start the day.<\/p>\n

          It\u2019s awesome.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          The best way to work out where you\u2019re wasting time doing things you don\u2019t even enjoy is to spend a day taking detailed notes about what you\u2019re doing. Put these in your notebook or app, for an entire week of days. Examine what stands out and what you could be swapping for better ways to spend your time.<\/p>\n

          Once a month, do it again. Take stock of your habits and the way you spend your time. Notice if anything is changing, and why. This is your evolving time log.<\/p>\n

          Note \u2013 I\u2019m not saying you have to be productive all day every day. I watch Netflix and read comic books and play Fallout 4 as much as anyone else.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          What I am saying is that everyone does some pretty pointless crap that they don\u2019t even enjoy but has turned into a habit.<\/p>\n

          They do it regularly. And if they cut it out, they\u2019d have time to do something they really give a shit about.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

          \n
          \n
          \n<\/div>\n
          \n
          \n

          So you have your master list, the 100 things that you\u2019re going to do. You have four categories. You have a spreadsheet that lays out all the skills you need and how you\u2019ll learn them. You have a guide to the way you\u2019re spending your time, in detail. And you have a calendar full of things that you\u2019re about to do, immediately.<\/p>\n

          This is where we get to my favourite part of the system.<\/p>\n

          Turn it all into your daily routine. Start every morning by reading through your master list. Reading your skills chart and working out whether or not you\u2019ve progressed. Evaluating whether you\u2019ve marked your immediate tasks from your calendar. Checking your time log.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          I read my list every morning over breakfast. This is how I get things done.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          When you make it a part of your morning routine, you\u2019ll never lose sight of anything. You won\u2019t let your master list fall by the way side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

          \n
          \n
          \n<\/div>\n
          \n
          \n

          \n\t\t

          <\/div>\n\t\n

          A final word.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          This framework has been great for me. I\u2019m mindful, more so now than ever before. I\u2019m focused, I\u2019m driven and I know where I\u2019m going.<\/p>\n

          That works incredibly well for me. I know what my life is like when I don\u2019t take the time to invest in myself. I lost track of everything and I fall into depression. That\u2019s the way it goes.<\/p>\n

          When you want to accomplish anything, the best way to do it is to stop dreaming. To focus and treat it like a project you\u2019re being paid to do. A project that your job depends on. A project for the biggest asshole you\u2019ll ever work for\u200a\u2014\u200ayourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

          Treat this framework like an open source document. Modify it, change it, re-use it in whatever way you want. Publish it yourself, re-write it. It doesn\u2019t matter to me, just reach out and let me know.<\/p>\n

          If you have any experience following it, I\u2019d love to hear from you!<\/p>\n

          Other than that\u200a\u2014\u200aplease take 10\u201315 seconds of your time to recommend this article and share it with just *one* other person. That would be incredible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

          \n
          \n
          \n<\/div>\n
          \n
          \n

          Thanks for reading\u200a\u2014\u200aI\u2019m Jon Westenberg. I\u2019m a writer, critic, creative & digital evangelist. Since 2012, I\u2019ve been helping people make things and find an audience. You can hire me to write content and consult for your startup or blog, invite me to speak at your event, or set up a conversation on your podcast. I\u2019m excited to hear from you!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          How To Invest In Yourself. BY JON WESTENBERG Scroll down to see the index My framework for getting places, accomplishing things and living in a way that makes me happy. This isn\u2019t a bullshit, head in the clouds, you can do it if you just *believe*post. There\u2019s plenty of those out there. I\u2019m not going …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2529","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2529\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jannah.tielabs.com\/demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}