The one thing you should very consciously measure is the return on investment of everything you do because it will fundamentally change the way you approach things. Take marketing, for example. Most people treat marketing as an expense when in reality is a capital investment. All those leads you’re generating… are your asset. And the yield from that asset compounds over time. There are no “bad” leads. There are only leads that haven’t “matured” yet.
Here’s another example: The communities you’re a member of. You know, all the masterminds, coaching programs, memberships, and so on. Most people treat those like a day trader. They try one thing the first year and another thing the next year. A little bit of this, a little bit of that… never really trying to maximize the returns of anything. However, when you become a “buy and hold” investor in communities that create value, the yield will compounds over your entire lifetime.
Most people treat marketing as an expense when in reality is a capital investment.
I’ve been a member of Strategic Coach for over ten years now, and during this time, I’ve invested somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 into it. But I see those investments as a multiplier. Because in return, this community has yielded me literally millions of dollars so far.
My Breakthrough Blueprint events started out from a conversation I had with Dan Sullivan (the founder of Strategic Coach). The 90 Minute Book is a business that was completely inspired by, thought up, and finalized within the Strategic Coach environment.
And the same is true for being a part of Genius Network with Joe Polish, Abundance 360, and James Schramko’s SuperFast Business. Yes, you do have to carefully pick the winners, the communities that create value. But once you’ve found them, and you become a lifetime sustaining member, the ROI you get more than pays for it.
But here’s the thing
I never expect that the person running the community I’m joining is going to spoon-feed the ROI to me. I drive my own ROI. I’m an eager participant. I question. I’m open-minded. I do everything. I seek out opportunities to drive the ROI. And when I find them, I make sure I acknowledge them.
The truth is, to get the most out of any community you’re in, you have to become a “buy and hold” investor. Because when you do that, you’ll get to a point where you start reinvesting the profits and the membership to that community pays for itself, and much more.
Over on the podcast, James Schramko and I talk at length about communities. Go have a listen.
