“An investment in yourself will pay dividends for the rest of your life. It won’t depreciate, it will appreciate. It will never be devalued or stolen. Clearly, your inner portfolio is the best investment you can make.”

We spend a good deal of time and money on the outside of our bodies. We pay for haircuts and styles, we buy cosmetics, lotions and colognes. We purchase expensive clothes. We spend many minutes each day primping, combing, washing, feeding and, hopefully, exercising our bodies. Most of this activity is devoted to adorning or nurturing the outside of our bodies.

But what about the inside? Doesn’t it make sense to spend as much money and effort caring for our emotional, spiritual and mental side as we do on our exteriors? You might find it easy to agree with this notion, but I’ll bet you’d be hard-pressed to find many people who spend as much on inner work as outer work.

With the exception of a formal education, most people have no budget for the inside job of success.

What about you? What investment have you made in your attitude? How are you improving it? What new skills and knowledge have you acquired? What do you do to insure fresh, stimulating ideas for yourself and your company? What are you doing on a daily basis to be your best?

Everything you do to improve yourself will last the rest of your life. How many material acquisitions will last that long? Think of personal development not as putting something on top of what you are, but rather developing more of who you already are. Like the development of a picture from its negative, real self-development just exposes more of what already lies hidden.

Take a hard look at exactly what you’re doing and what you’re spending on developing your mental, spiritual and emotional stock. Are you reading books that feed your mind? Are you listening to tapes that educate, inspire and stimulate you? What are you doing to enhance your emotional well-being?

It doesn’t matter where you begin as long as you start. Pick an area you’d like to improve upon and have at it. It can be fun as well as rewarding.

The other day I was browsing through channels on the TV and decided that I would watch the Dr. Phil show as it seemed his topic totally pertained to me.  After the show I logged on to his website and into the Dr. Phil advice section as I wanted to learn more about his series on making relationships work.

I learned all about the keys to a happy relationship and I fell for the first time in my life that there was light at the end of the tunnel.  I wanted to be one of those people who were just happy about everything in their life and not as miserable as I had been for the past few years.

I decided that I was going to go to the bookstore and buy a relationship book written by Dr. Phil as he seems to be more knowledgeable on the subject and it seemed to me that he understood exactly how I felt.  I wanted to become like the success stories that he talks about in his books and I knew that it started with the changes in me.

As much as I love to look at flyers that are in the mail, I try not to.  Usually, they are just full of junk and stuff I don’t need.  By avoiding them, I tend to keep more money in my pocket.  But, today in the mail, I did find a flyer that was interesting and I just couldn’t resist a peek.

You see, the flyer in question was from a store that specialized in bathroom suites.  You see, they had some nice shower baths pictured on the front page and that got me thinking that my bathroom was ugly.  In fact, I don’t know if I have ever changed it since I moved here years ago.

Looking inside the flyer, I found what I have wanted for many years now: whirlpool baths.  It would be like sitting in a hot tub for one - and after a hard day at work, it would be the perfect remedy to my daily aches and pains.  I was surprised at how inexpensive they were and that they even fell within my budget.

Thanks to the flyer, I think it is time to seriously consider renovating the bathroom.  Besides, a new bath never hurt anyone, right?

I have been going to my local chapter of Toastmasters for the past year.  I joined in the first place because of my fear of public speaking - and over the past year, my fear has decreased.

This month we have been given the assignment to create wedding toasts and speeches.  Now, most of you are probably familiar with these types of speeches, if you have ever attended a wedding.

In fact, I was recently asked to be the Maid of Honor in my best friends wedding.  So I had been working on my Maid of Honor toast for awhile.  It has been coming along nicely, but I figure it needs some tweaks.

That is why tonight when I go to my Toastmaster meeting, I will be participating when others read wedding toasts.  This way I can get some feedback about my own toast, and learn about how I can improve it.

Now this may seem to be a silly topic but I urge you to read on.  You see, as children, we are read many stories.  This not only helps us to learn how to read, but it also helps us learn.  It is a great way to help build your creative side of the brain and it can also inspire us to grow as people.

I try to read stories about successful business owners each week.  Not only does this keep me motivated, but I usually learn something from the story.  Whether it is a different way to look at a problem, or a new way to make money in my business, it is definitely worth my time.

This week I decided to read about successful people in the real estate industry.  I had many options to choose from with some of the more famous people being Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki.  I decided to go away from the more popular people and find some lesser known gems.

I came across a story about Ian Slot from Seeff Properties.  Originally a lawyer, he became frustrated with the legal system and decided to turn to property instead.  He founded a financing company called Seeff Homeloans in 2000.  He prides himself that his company is able to help people invest in real estate - putting the customer first has paid off for his business immensely.

Another good success story comes from one of the largest independent real estate companies in South Africa.  Pam Golding started out her real estate career while she was a housewife and now her company has grown to over 250 offices and 2000 staff. 

I find that I like to learn about the beginning and read about the journey of successful people as it helps me stay motivated and gives me some reassurance that I am not the only one that has had challenges while building a business.  So, next time you are feeling a little down, or need some inspiration, read the success story of a successful person - you might just get inspired.