Introduction

Our society has been built on the premise that money is all-important, but if we look closely at our lives and our own experiences with money, do we find that this premise is true? Or do we find that money is actually just an illusion? 

Many people mistakenly believe that if they work hard now, their lives will improve when they retire. But what if there were another way? What if the best years of our lives weren't in retirement, but right now? What if we could make changes in our relationships, health, and daily activities right now so that they would be better now? 

That's what this blog is all about: investing in yourself first. It will teach you how to identify where your priorities lie so that you can start living life as it should be. 

First, Let's Look at The Three Bucket Asset Allocations

1) Security Bucket: This is where you put your money when it's not being used for anything else - like savings accounts, bonds (both corporate and government issued), treasury bills, and other fixed-income investments that pay out a set percentage every year or month. 

The philosophy behind this bucket according to specialists trusted by many expats in financial advisory and investments in Dubai is that they are less risky with low rates on returns, making it a safe place for your money to grow slowly and steadily over time. The problem with this approach is that it grows slowly, and you don't touch it for years. Most of us want something that grows faster so that you can achieve your goals faster. That's where the growth bucket comes in. 

2) Growth Bucket: The philosophy behind this bucket is that investing in growth assets has historically been profitable. This is where you put money that you have earmarked for future use, like stocks, mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds (ETF). But they also have the potential to grow at a faster pace than other types of assets. 

Growth assets are investments that typically have higher rates of return but are riskier. They include stocks, real estate and art - assets that can be difficult to liquidate when needed (e.g., if there's a sudden need for cash). Network with verified industry experts in Dubai to find the best asset investments you can find in the UAE. 

3) Dream Bucket: All passion, optimism, hope and excitement are harbored in this bucket. The present moment is embraced in this space and the future is envisioned with a positive outlook. A place of release where we innovate and create solutions to bring us joy and peace from the daily grind and hustle of today's life. 

There's something exhilarating about dreaming up ideas and wishing for the best in your future. The dream bucket is a great way to spend some time thinking about how you want to live your life, and where you want to be headed as a person. For some expats in Dubai, this bucket ends up being the only plan they have for retirement - but it can also serve as a jumping off point for a more comprehensive plan.  

Steve Job’s Perspective on Investing on Yourself First

Steve Jobs was famous for his inspirational and motivational speeches. We've heard his speeches where he offers the audience his most famous pieces of advice: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." He was a protagonist purporting that if you work hard enough on something you're passionate about, success will follow naturally.  

Jobs' words ring true as ever in our modern world of consistently chasing money, wealth and assets, everything at face value and losing sight of why we're working towards certain goals in the first place. In order to make sure we're doing things that are truly meaningful to us, here are his 3 master pieces that will help to reflect on what to care about – the importance of keeping those reminders in mind from time to time. 

1. Connecting The Dots

Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco and adopted by a working class couple who offered his biological mother the promise of one day going to college. After 17 years, he went back to college. His parents had spent their entire life savings on his tuition bills - but after only 6 months in school, he began questioning whether it was worth it and what exactly the point of being there was. He didn't know why he'd decided to go or what he wanted out of it from that moment. 

When Steve did fall out of college, he later found himself fascinated by calligraphy. He learned from his mentor how to handcraft beautiful typefaces and how the subtlety of spacing between different letter combinations could make for a beautiful typography. Years later, when he was designing the Macintosh computer at Apple, he used what he had learned in that class as inspiration to create multiple typefaces and proportionally spaced fonts on the computer. 

In his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, attested that dropping out of college proved to be the connective tissue between his seemingly random interests as a teen and his future successes as an adult. From this story you learn that trusting your gut will eventually turn out to be the best decision of your life, believing that the dots will connect will give you confidence to walk on your path.

2. Love and Loss

We all have our own stories of failure and loss, but few can match the trajectory of Steve Jobs' life. Whether you're a fan of Apple or not, it's hard to deny the incredible impact Jobs had on technology and culture. From his early days at Apple to his later successes with Pixar and NeXT Computer, Jobs' passion for innovation was clear from the earliest days of his career. 

And despite being fired from the company he started in 1985, Jobs returned to lead Apple to new heights - and became one of the richest people in the world in the process. He was ousted from Apple by its Board of Directors in 1985, which he almost saw as a betrayal. In his own words, he felt like he let the previous generation of tech down that he loved so much. 

But through all the hard times, Jobs never gave up on the future. He moved on and started the  NeXT  computer company with the help of friend Bill Gates. When  NeXT failed, Jobs founded Pixar Animation Studios, where he became CEO and had creative control over their movies. 

Pixar grew into the most successful animation studios in the world and they created some of the most beloved animated movies of all time like Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo. When Apple bought NeXT Inc., Steve Jobs returned to Apple where he restated his position as CEO in 1996 and continued to lead them to success with his innovative ideas like the iPod or iPhone. 

Steve Jobs was no stranger to failure. He developed an appreciation for failure's ability to teach us about ourselves and our weaknesses if we let it. 

3. Death

When you're in your 20s or 30s, it is easy to make excuses for not doing what you really want to do in life. Jobs touched on a few common fallacies that may hold you back from accomplishing your goals and having a fulfilling life. 

Most people will find that the expectations others have placed on them are usually more important than the expectations they've placed on themselves. Because there's no way to meet all those expectations, we often feel like we're constantly falling short of our own standards and of other people's standards as well. 

Jobs goes on to explain that when you know that death is around the corner, you don't have anything left to lose because you already know there will be no more chances. This perspective will give you the courage and motivation to follow your heart with less fear of failure hanging over your head. 

Expert Advice on Investing in Yourself First

Experts in certified coaching in Dubai urge you that you set aside a few minutes at the beginning of each day to detach and focus on what's most important. Before any distractions or responsibilities start popping up, decide how you want to feel that day and set your mind on that goal. 

The Time to Invest in Yourself is NOW!

If you keep on living your life today as if it were the last day, would that be a satisfying way to live? When the answer is consistently no, then you need to reevaluate your life. Master asset allocation and the power of compounding for they are the secrets to investing. Without those, the actual "investment" part can be a drag because if you don't make yourself into a worthwhile investment, then no one else will. The key to wealth is to invest in yourself, first.

Listen to Steve Jobs in episode 16 and be inspired to invest in YOU.