When asked about your most valuable financial assets, it’s common to consider the worth of your business, real estate properties and investment portfolio. However, you would be overlooking the most crucial asset for entrepreneurial success: your earning ability.
As Brian Tracy says, “your ability to earn money is the most precious and perishable asset you have.” That’s because if you were to lose all the financial assets you originally considered (property, cars, bank accounts, etc.), your earning ability would allow you to get back in the marketplace and earn it all back again.
Is Your Earning Ability an Appreciating or Depreciating Asset?
Unfortunately, your earning ability is an intangible asset that’s hard to measure. Developed over the course of your entire career, it’s a combination of knowledge, skills, experience, education, background, personality, character, thought patterns and behavioural qualities. It’s what drives your entrepreneurial success each and every day – or it may be what’s been holding you back.
Your earning ability can be an appreciating or depreciating asset depending on how you nurture it. In other words, it can increase or decrease in value over time.
For example, we’ve all known a friend or colleague who was once a highly sought-after expert in his or her field, but who failed to remain current with emerging technologies and became obsolete (aka his/her earning ability depreciated).
Luckily, you have complete control over whether your most valuable asset continues to grow – or not.
Are You Developing Your Most Valuable Asset?
Many professionals believe their earning ability will continue to develop simply because of their day-to-day exposures. While it may be true to a degree, this strategy significantly reduces your chances of achieving your full potential for entrepreneurial success. The reason? We operate in patterns. Our thoughts, behaviours and views of the world generally remain in the same sphere of comfort. Maximizing your earning ability means embracing innovative solutions, adopting more effective practices and learning new skills – all of which require conscious steps outside of your comfort zone.
For more information on how you can increase your value as an entrepreneur, read our post: The Top 5 Benefits of Entrepreneurial Development.
Explore Strategies for Achieving Entrepreneurial Success
At FocalPoint Canada, we guide our clients in overcoming challenges and leveraging opportunities with proven processes and methodologies that have been used by thousands of successful businesses over the past two decades. Our FocalPoint business coaches use their expertise to teach our time-tested methods through individual coaching, group sessions, or trainings and workshops.
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