TRAPPSTR

How I’d spend $1000 at age 23 (pt 1)

Posted on 25. Aug, 2009 by Brett in Leadership, Wrk

I wrote last week about your 20’s being all about personal development. I’m 27, so my 20s are winding down. But if someone handed me $1000 after I graduated at the age of 23, and they told me I had to use it to invest in myself, here’s how I’d spend it:

• $300 – 32 gb Ipod Touch – Most people already have an ipod/iphone, but it’s probably not big enough. And playing music on an ipod is like driving a ferrari in 2nd gear. That’s well and good, but there’s so much more! I’m amazed that most people have no idea about podcasts, short, FREE radio-like shows about different topics. You can find podcasts on ANYTHING and the content is great. I listen to podcasts about business, marketing, entrepreneurship, and God. What makes podcasts great is that you can listen to them while you drive, run, etc. These people become your own personal mentors, and you learn a ton. It’s like an MBA for lazy people. (Sidenote: itunes now has tons of audio books as well)
• $300 – Learning lunch with 3 Christian business leaders. I’ll write later about the art of the learning lunch but it’s basically when you take someone out to lunch to learn as much from them as possible. John Maxwell made this idea famous in his book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” As a young leader he would identify leaders he wanted to know, call them, and then offer to pay them $100 to eat lunch with him. Usually they’d do it, many times for free because they were so impressed (and flattered) by his initiative. You’ll learn a lot by asking great questions, and you might find a mentor in the process. And that’s the real goal.
• $75 – Three 5k run registrations – Within one year of graduating, my once fiery metabolism froze in a catatonic sludge. I gained 30 pounds and looked like I was wearing a pool noodle for a belt. I haven’t lost all that weight, but I’m getting there. Getting started running has been huge. Most decent-sized cities have 5ks all the time (check out www.active.com). Pick out three and register for them all. Bam. You’re committed now so you can’t back out. Fitness is part of development.
• $100 – Energy/protein/snack bars - This one is random, I know. But this will complement your running well. I’m not exactly the healthiest eater in the world (okay, I eat brownies for breakfast, there, I said it…). I’m a relentless snacker and transitioning to healthy sweet stuff has helped. Energy/protein/snack bars used to taste like chocolate-dipped treebark but they’re a lot better nowadays. I’d go buy a ton of em and build that habit into my life right now. My two favorites are Larabar and the Snickers Marathon series.
• $25 – A couple of magazine subscriptions – I know, print is dying, but I still like magazines. I recommend Fast Company and Inc. Both very engaging and packed full of good information. They’re like Christmas morning for the entrepreneur.
• TOTAL – $800 (To read about the last $200, click HERE)

What have I missed? What would you spend your 1k on?