新一年你该在自己身上投资1000美元

如果你足够幸运，在2015年底获得一笔奖金，或者收到一笔退税款，你可能正在思考把钱放在什么地方合适。对于新一年的投资对象，你也许有许多考虑，但为什么不把自己也看做是投资对象呢？

在你自己身上、你的收入潜力和幸福感上投资至少1000美元，这会有多很多好处。

首先是增加投资的多元化。作家布莱恩•富兰克林表示：“投资一些你自己可以控制的事情，总是更安全的。”是的，想想看，你也许很难改变新兴市场上一只交易基金的绩效，但对于你能否能够得到加薪，你却可以施加巨大的影响力。

其次，回报是巨大的。富兰克林称：“如果你给自己投资，努力提高你对其他人、社区和家庭的价值，你就可以切实改变你的未来或者人生处境。”

那么，怎么投资才能带来最大的潜在回报呢？以下这些值得考虑：

投资超级技能。日常工作技能很重要，但你每天已经对这些技能进行了大量的练习。而某些超级技能，却可以给你带来不同等级的价值。如果一位优秀的律师具备出色的演讲能力，那么他给一家律师事务所带来的价值，将远远超过同样优秀但不具备这种能力的律师。同样，富兰克林表示，在任何情况下，以书面方式表达想法的能力都非常有用，因为这些锦绣文章可以让你变成思想领袖。

有些技能之间的联系可能并不明显。富兰克林表示：“如果你的工作或者工作环境鼓励创造力，可以去上艺术课——当然不是去学如何画画，而是学习如何挖掘自身的创造力，这是培养创造性超级技能的一个例子。”

所以，了解你的行业最重视什么（提示：最有可能的是销售、领导力和人际关系），然后投资对你有益的辅导或课程。

投资对你所敬佩的人最有价值的事情。如果你有一位商业导师，你可以在她最热心参与的公益事业中担任志愿者（并且进行捐助）。这样你便有更多时间与她相处，进而巩固彼此的关系——仅仅去找她寻求建议，是无法培养起这种关系的。或者，如果一位你特别看重的职场熟人正在解决一个重要的问题，你可以组织一个小型聚会，集思广益帮他寻找解决方案。人际关系会带来许多好处，但与任何其他投资一样，想要获取回报，你必须有所投入。

投资聚会。人脉异常宝贵，增强人脉关系，可以提高他们对你的价值。如果你介绍两个决定一起共事的人互相认识，他们未来都会乐意帮助你。此外，作为主人或发起人，你很有机会成为这个圈子的领袖。富兰克林说道：“作为领导者，你身后的其他领导者会联合起来，帮助你获得胜利。”

所以，开派对吧。或者组织一个策划小组。召集一群有趣的人在你的家中开派对，出钱给他们购买零食和饮料。如果这笔投入能够帮你找到一位新客户，那么它带来的收益将远远超过股市。

投资薄弱环节。富兰克林认为，首先投资于你最薄弱的环节，永远是明智的选择。他建议问这样一个问题：“什么样的投资有助于增加我已经进行的其他投资的价值？”

如果你的谈判技能已经大有长进，正在建立一个卓越的人脉网络，但你却有长期的睡眠障碍，那么你将来就没有足够的精力去摘取胜利果实。所以不妨买一台睡眠跟踪器，白噪声播放器，或者对卧室进行隔音处理，隔绝邻家宠物狗的叫声。一身好的行头，可以让人们更加严肃地对待你的想法，所以聘请一位造型师帮你看起来更聪明。或者，如果你所在领域的精英都会双语交流，而你却不会，解决办法就是聘用一位外语家庭教师。

以金钱换取时间和专注。富兰克林表示：“不受干扰的专注，是最强大的资源之一。”他补充道，如果你能保持精力集中，“你的工作效率将大幅提升。”如果每周将儿童托管的时间额外延长一到两个小时，可以帮助你在工作时更加放松，这也是一笔不错的投资。将家务事外包也是如此，因为这些杂事是消极情绪的主要来源。

投资良好的健康也可以增加活力，因此做做按摩或享用健康的饮食，都是不错的选择。但富兰克林表示，要注意：“如果你没有跑步的决心，买一双跑鞋没什么用。”

是的，如果你打算让生活发生一些改变，1000美元的确可以带来巨大的帮助。（财富中文网）

译者: 刘进龙/汪皓

审校：任文科

If you were lucky enough to get a bonus at the end of 2015, or if you’ve got a tax refund coming, you may be hunting around for the right place to put your cash. Fortune’s got plenty of tips on where to invest in 2016, but why not throw yourself into the mix?

Committing to investing at least $1000 in yourself, your earning potential, and your happiness has several upsides. First, there’s diversification. “It’s always safer to have something under your control,” says Bryan Franklin, co-author with Michael Ellsberg of the new book, The Last Safe Investment: Spending Now to Increase Your True Wealth Forever. You can’t do much to alter the performance of an emerging market ETF, but you can have a lot of impact on whether you score a raise.

Second, the returns can be vast. “If you invest in yourself and in your value to other people and your community and your tribe, you can actually change your possibility or position in life,” says Franklin.

Here are some investment approaches with the biggest potential returns.

Invest in developing super-skills. Everyday job skills are great, but you get plenty of practice at those already. Certain super-skills, on the other hand, launch you into a different level of value. A great lawyer who can speak well in public offers disproportionately more value to a firm than an equally great lawyer who can’t. Likewise, being able to convey ideas in writing is useful in any context, Franklin says, as published articles turn you into a thought leader.

The connection doesn’t have to be obvious. “If you’re in a job or work environment where creativity is rewarded, taking an art class—not to learn how to paint but to learn how to access your own creativity—would be an example of a creative super-skill,” says Franklin.

So see what’s most valued in your industry (hint: sales, leadership, and connecting are high in most) and invest in coaching or courses to help.

Invest in what’s valuable to people you admire. If you’ve got a business mentor, volunteer with (and donate to) the non-profit she cares most passionately about. You’ll spend time with her and cement the relationship in a way that’s not just about you pestering her for advice. Or if a valued professional acquaintance is grappling with an important issue, organize a small retreat to brainstorm solutions. Relationships pay off in many ways, but like any other investment, you have to put in capital to get returns.

Invest in gathering people together. Networks are valuable, and tightening these ties raises their value to you. When you introduce two people who decide to work together, they both want to help you in the future. Also, being a host or convener can help you be seen as a leader in your community. “Other leaders align behind leaders to help them win,” Franklin says.

So throw parties. Or organize a mastermind group. If buying snacks and drinks for a group of interesting people you convene at your home leads to you landing a new client, that would massively trump the yield on the S&P.

Invest in shoring up weak spots. It’s always wise to focus first on investing in areas where you’re weakest, Franklin says. He suggests asking, “Which investment is going to enhance the value of all the other investments I’m already making?”

If you’ve polished your negotiating skills, and you’re building a great network, but you’re chronically sleep deprived, you’ll have limited energy for seizing on victories. So buy the sleep tracker, the white noise machine, or soundproof your bedroom to block out your neighbor’s dog. A great wardrobe could make people take your great ideas more seriously, so hire a stylist to help you look smart. Or if the fastest rising people in your field are all bilingual and you’re not, a language tutor is the way to go.

Invest in buying time and focus. “One of the most powerful resources we have is our free attention,” says Franklin. When you can focus, he adds, “the quality of what you can bring to the things you do goes way up.” If an extra hour or two of childcare per week would help you feel more relaxed at work, that would be a good investment. So would outsourcing household chores or errands that have become major sources of negativity.

Investing in good health can likewise increase your energy, which makes massages or healthy meals good options too. Just be careful: “It does no good to buy a pair of running shoes without the accompanying commitment to running,” Franklin says.

But, if you commit to making changes in your life, $1,000 can go a long way.