How to Start Investing in Yourself for Guaranteed ROI

Start investing in yourself for guaranteed ROI or return of investment? Sounds tricky, huh ? I never knew I would consider myself as one good investment let alone one with guaranteed ROI until I changed my mindset from lack to that of abundance and thus realized that the best high yielding venture I can ever have is to invest in my skills, talents, knowledge, wisdom, personality, character, passion, experience --- in other words my whole being.

Now, just how do we start working around this concept? Indulge me for a moment and work with me on some personal criteria for a good investment.

1. It must be an area where you have expertise and make a superior investment with minimal time and effort and energy. This lowers risk, magnifies returns, and saves time and effort.
2. Expect to get healthy cash on cash return, conservatively 15%, aggressively 30% - 40% or higher annual rate of return of money.
3. Belief in the investment and its ability to increase or create value overtime.
4. Feeling good about the investment and the good it can give to the world
5. Earn an equity founder stake in addition to money equity stake

It may all sound too technical but if you translate all the items and put them in the context of YOU being THE INVESTMENT I’m sure you will agree that you are the best investment you can ever find. To make this hub more interesting I will share with you my experience with some of the talents I have had the pleasure of working with. You will see them in the video performing in a poetry play we did recently at the Cebu Kerygma Conference. Their respective experiences go well with my topic. Besides, the poetry play we did  highlights one key factor that you must have to effectively invest in yourself.  You are encouraged to watch it for it speaks much of the plight of an individual trying to make good in this world.

Your value increases with every experience you get out of any activity you are involved in whether in school, in the office, at home or anywhere you find yourself. Some new knowledge, information, insight, idea, skill, ability, or tool is acquired, gained, attained, achieved, and accepted by you. These contribute to your value appreciating. No one person ever depreciates. Every individual increases in value and all we have to do it see this truth, believe in this truth and go about life grateful about this truth.

Take Michelle “Ripplemaker” Simtoco for example. She’s a dentist turned educator. Did she stop there? No, she went on to become part of a music ministry while contributing articles to a local daily and a magazine circulated in Europe among Filipino communities.

On the year we first met she accepted my offer to try her hand at playing the good witch of the north in our school’s rendition of “The Wiz” wearing the ‘70’s hot pants attire and blonde wig while singing and dancing! This alone is a big step for one terrified performing on stage. Oh, and did I mention she played production manager of that event too? The discovery of her healing gift followed by her ability to do healing chants came next. In a year’s time, she achieved much and added much to her value.

The second year, I presented her the challenge to become production manager and performer of Siddhartha the musical and then became my co-trainer in behavioral workshops and co-speaker in motivational talks. Eventually we put up own our Loving Abundance website. Thus, adding more to her knowledge and skills in another year’s time.

More recently, she played lead in the hit novelty act we did for the conference to introduce a talk called Believe in Yourself Even When Others Don’t which officially made her an effective comical performer. The video does not only show you why but also is proof that any shy, terrified, reluctant individual can be transformed to a confident, brave and effective performer whether on stage or off stage in this arena called life. Invest in yourself for guaranteed ROI.

Johannah Lavajo and Crystal Cajes, the two other ladies in the video both work at different call centers. Everyday they face the challenge of dealing with angry, dissatisfied, complaining, irritable customers and sometimes well-mannered and pleasant ones. Their sleeping hours are ridiculous, their work shifts are unpredictable but they go about life with a smile doing what they can to earn a decent living. What is this thing that keeps them smiling? It is their love for the performing arts, of course.

They kept their jobs but still found time to join the Siddhartha production even when we had to go to Taiwan for the musical’s road tour. They made time to do other gigs and other projects that would need their respective expertise. Over and above the additional skills, knowledge and wisdom they gained from their experience they too received additional income from other areas.

Johannah started out as chorus in Siddhartha but eventually earned the role of Siddhartha’s wife, Princess Yasodhara for the Taiwan tour because of her dedication to the project and the craft. She is currently training to become a part time tourist guide and is giving back to community by holding special singing classes to underprivileged children. This definitely goes beyond a healthy cash return. Invest in yourself for guaranteed ROI.

Benjie Layos, the tenor-boy-next-door- hunk and Edison “Jingle” Saynes, the bearded hunk with army buzz hairstyle, are two interesting and intense performers. Benjie played Siddhartha while Edison played prophet Assita and attendant in the musical. For the novelty act they played various roles.

They come from different backgrounds. Benjie was a physical therapy student then doing singing gigs in the city while Jingle was an AB Linguistic and Literature student and an “idealistic” theater artist. When you watch them act and sing in the video, they look confident, assured, strong, determined, appealing and cool. They weren’t always like that. Benjie may have that star quality in him but since he didn’t have any background in musical theater he always felt insecure about his ability to carry out the role of Siddhartha let alone having to dance in some scenes. Jingle, on the other hand, was confident about his theater background but not too secure about his voice and his dancing skills.

However, because of the intense passion they both had toward the performing arts they allowed themselves to develop in all areas tackled in the preparation of the production including building of character and personalities. They increased their confidence by playing their roles to the hilt and developed better singing and dancing styles thereby making their being more self-assured. The process allowed them to believe in their value not just as performers on stage but as individuals in society.

Benjie has received several invitations to perform in various functions including one that brought him to perform with Manila artists and directed by Kuh Ledesma, a formidable singer-producer-director from Manila, in a concert called Believe. Jingle, being serious with his craft, allows himself to be more vulnerable with his aura becoming more charming. He has handled several events together with Johanna and has joined the family business in travel tours. Oh and with his ideals and passion, I'm eyeing him to be one of Cebu's dynamic directors. How do they create added value? The people they meet and work with benefit from what they give. They give their best and not settle for less. They impart life lessons, performing techniques, encouragement, support and care to those they work with and they do so with joy and a silly grin in what has now become known as the “Jingle pose”. Invest in yourself for guaranteed ROI.

Marc Bolongon (a nurse) and Clark Jolbot (a Human Resource Development student) are admirable beings. Marc is the guy playing Michelle’s love interest in the video and Clark is the big voice at the start of the song.

You may ask, “What the heck is a nurse and human resource development student doing in performing arts?” I say, that’s how most artists in the Philippines deal with their passion for the arts. They take up courses that their parents think can earn a living. They finish the course, find a job then go for their passion on the side, investing time and effort in training and exposure. These two people are perfect examples of what most artists do in our country – adapt and conquer the world with their profession and their passion.

Can artists in that scenario benefit the world? I believe the answer to that is quite obvious. Not only can these two people help in the health and welfare of humankind they also contribute to uplifting the spirit of a people through the message they send in a theatrical performance. They entertain, educate, inform, motivate, inspire and entice people into action. Yes, artists like Marc and Clark benefit those they will encounter in their respective jobs and their audience at any given performance. Invest in yourself for guaranteed ROI.

There you are, seven individuals learning and earning through multiple income streams in cash and in intangible forms. They are going about increasing their own value everyday while adding value to their respective audience and benefiting all of life.

At this point it may be good to note that because of such artists present in our city, an organization has already pledged 50 million to build a structure of our dreams. All we need to do now is raise another 50 million to bring this dream into fruition.

If you want to be part of this dream, invest in yourself and invest in us for guaranteed ROI. <''>

Daisy Ba-ad