Your #1 Asset

by Ryan M. Healy

in Business, Productivity, Success

He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” -Job 1:21

It’s no secret that you enter the world with nothing, and when you leave the world, you can’t take anything with you.

So how is wealth created?

It’s created by your labor… your time… your energy. Basically, it is God who has given you the ability to create wealth (Deut. 8:18).

This is your #1 asset.

And it makes sense to protect it.

Unfortunately, most people disrespect their time and labor — the only assets in your possession that you don’t have to pay for, yet can freely convert to wealth.

In what ways are you squandering your #1 asset? What could you change to respect your #1 asset? How could you stop wasting what you’ve been freely given and create something worthwhile?

Confession: I recently realized that I had once again let technology get between me and my goals. So I had to make some changes. I’ll share those changes with you in the next post.

-Ryan M. Healy




{ 13 comments }

2 Darrel Hawes July 31, 2009 at 8:55 am

Hi Ryan,

Great post!

The “stuff between our ears” really is our greatest asset… but only if we put it into action!

I think a key that most of us miss is… asking: how can I SERVE others best… given my unique talents and abilities?

(Another lesson from that great book… but I digress.)

Rather than seeking a new “system”, “tricks”, or “secrets”… a far simpler approach is to get inside the mind of the prospect and figure out what brings THEM the most value. And then delivering it.

However, as any good copywriter knows… just because exercising empathy is “simple” doesn’t make it “easy”.

- Darrel

3 Ryan M. Healy July 31, 2009 at 9:06 am

Hey Darrel!

I was on a call with Molly Gordon yesterday, and she was talking about how to find your niche and “thrive in the sweet spot.”

Something she said stuck with me. She said, “The ’sweet spot’ is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

I might say, “where your deep talent and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

This is just another way to think about our unique skills/abilities and how we can serve others.

Ryan

4 Greg Nemer July 31, 2009 at 9:30 am

Hi Ryan,
Your are definitely right about God giving us the ability to create wealth and protecting our greatest asset.

I just like to add that we sometimes feel as if our greatest assets can be measured in monetary value or “How much money and possessions one has”.

Here’s some great assests-
Relationships-spouse, family, friends
Our gifts or abilities and using them to benefit others, not just ourselves
Our time- we all have 24 hours in a day but we can profit from using it wisely
And I really like this one- Our Health, If we’re sick it’s hard to enjoy even the greatest financial wealth.

Finally, We are not robots-We posses the power to make quality decisions.
That’s a great asset
I look forward to seeing how your goals have changed in your next blog post.

5 Ryan M. Healy July 31, 2009 at 9:41 am

Thanks for contributing, Greg!

As the saying goes, “When we are young, we spend our health to get wealth. Then, when we are old, we spend our wealth to try to get our health back.”

Ironic, isn’t it?

Ryan

6 Jason Moffatt July 31, 2009 at 10:05 am

PFFFT. Dude, I’m taking my Xbox with me when I croak.

7 Perry July 31, 2009 at 10:22 am

Ryan,

Molly is such a sweet and smart lady. I attended a live workshop she also attended. She hit the nail on the head.

And Jason, you crack me up. How are you going to work the controller if your hands don’t work? :)

Not wasting time is probably the biggest battle I face. When I really focus, I can get a ton of stuff done in a short time.

When I allow myself to get distracted, I waste incredible amounts of time.

Keeping in mind the scriptures you’ve quoted above, can help everyone, even they don’t have a religious or spiritual bone in their body.

And getting those goals written down and posted where you can read them helps.

8 Ryan M. Healy July 31, 2009 at 10:46 am

@Jason – Make sure you take your Halo. ;-)

@Perry – We’re all the same in that regard — it’s very difficult to stay consistently focused and not waste time.

9 Cheryl Godsey July 31, 2009 at 10:59 am

Ryan,
I can’t wait to see what you post next. I wanted to read what you are up to next but you left me in suspense. Good choice. I’ll read you next week. :) Being continually focused is difficult and one of my greatest challenges. You inspire me to stay on track with the important work.

10 Ryan M. Healy July 31, 2009 at 11:05 am

@Cheryl – I’m glad my little “cliffhanger” worked. :-)

The post is already written, actually. I wrote it this morning immediately after writing this one. And then I wrote another one after that — three in a row.

The next post is scheduled for Monday morning. :-)

Ryan

11 Becki Maxson July 31, 2009 at 11:39 am

I appreciate the reminder, Ryan, about “stewarding” our time, energy, priorities, etc.

I was just editing a transcript from a client who’s one of the top chiropractors in San Diego, and he was talking about how biz is not fun unless he’s putting great fun into the rest of his life — in his case it was surfing (natch!)

Being “full” of what makes us “be” our best is so multi-dimensional, and it not only reflects in our work, but it draws the kind of people we want to work with, helps us draw the right boundaries, and maintain time for what’s more important than work.

Look forward to the follow-up post!

Becki

12 Ryan M. Healy July 31, 2009 at 11:52 am

@Becki – Great insights. Funny you mention surfing… I was doing back flips on the trampoline last night for the neighborhood kids. :-)

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