Why return on investment (ROI) matters in life and business

Before you spend that money, let me ask you this:

Is it going to feed your ego or your bank account?

This, in a nutshell, is the principle of ROI or, Return On Investment.

If you’re looking to create wealth in your life or your business, an understanding of how your energy, or in this case money, is working for you is critical. An investment of energy only has a return if it generates something. If it creates more of itself.

Scarcity cannot create abundance.

It can be tempting to spend our energy (time, money, emotions, attention) on the things that promise a quick fix, instant gratification, or short term relief from whatever resistance we are facing: fear, doubt, indecision. After all, we live in a world that has an “app for everything.”

But if you are not recognizing revenue, not creating income, or not generating energy in your life or business, I encourage you to hit pause before you make an investment. Take a step back.

Start by understanding where you’re coming from.

Start by understanding the foundation that you are standing on before taking the step, or the leap, forward.

In the practical sense, know your numbers.

Do the math and know what your burn rate is: in other words, what does it cost you at minimum to live every month? If you own a business, what does it cost you at a minimum to run your business every month?

Only after we know the baseline of energy with which we’re starting, we start to build more energy, more money.

Lack cannot create wealth.

When we are in the business of and practice of generating energy that meets our foundational requirements (in other words, monthly costs), our next priority is to pay ourselves.

If the feeling of being overwhelmed is crippling your ability to keep up in your life or business, outsourcing should definitely be considered. But before you make that investment, consider what spending your energy on externally would provide in return. In other words, if you spent ‘x’ amount of energy, would it generate 2x in your life? Or 5x in your business?

And let the energy flow - let the energy you put in and the energy you get out come from the sources that are most important to you.

Remember: money is energy.

So is your contribution in the world, your work, your impact. Time is energy too. So are your emotions and what you put your attention on.

Sometimes putting one type of energy in, might yield a different type of energy out.

As long as the energy out exceeds what you put in, then there is a return on your investment.

Life (and business) is all one big experiment; as a result, take this lightly. Remember that you create your own economy; have agency over your life and your energy. If you want more energy, more wealth, more money, continue to make it work for you.

Know the return, make the investment, and see your life and business flourish.

Kirsten Schmidtke is a professional coach, creator, and lover of lake life. She works with leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to help them up-level their careers, businesses, and lives. Are you ready to explore what’s possible for you? Contact Kirsten to start the conversation!