Can Emotional Intelligence Make You Rich?

I attended a liberal arts college and never imagined I would be writing a post about money.

However, as someone who prioritizes happiness and living our best emotional lives, I can't deny that financial security is important. If we want to feel emotionally secure, we need to feel financially secure too. Without it, we risk falling into endless cycles of neediness and victimhood.

So, how do we achieve financial security? The standard answer is investing.

Options like insurance, stocks, and real estate are commonly considered. I'm no financial expert, but I believe these are sound choices.

Yet there is an often overlooked investment - our own skills.

Consider the S&P500, for instance. Historically, it yields an annual return of about 10%. Thus, for any other investment to make sense, it needs to offer a higher return.

I propose that investing in ourselves, our skills, is the vehicle that can achieve this. Skills can offer returns far higher than the S&P500. Alex Hormozi aptly calls it the S&Me 500.

This concept isn't new. It's the very reason people take out loans to go to college.

The problem lies in our current college system, which often fails to offer financially rewarding outcomes, with a few exceptions like degrees in medicine.

So, what skills provide the highest return on investment in today's economy? If you examine the job market, these would include coding, sales and marketing, and content creation.

These skills are not necessarily more lucrative because they're challenging, but rather because they offer substantial leverage - the difference between the input and the output.

Yet, I believe the most powerful form of leverage is emotional intelligence. After all, money in and of itself doesn't bring happiness. But emotional intelligence can.

So, I ask you this: have you invested in improving your mind? I've personally spent over $12k each year on my growth, and that's not including the cost of my PhD. I believe this is not only beneficial for my mental health, but also a wise financial decision. The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding, once I graduate and start a career.

If you find the idea of investing in your mind compelling, have you acted on it? Have you allocated funds towards therapy, coaching, or personal development courses? I'm not selling anything, but I do urge you to consider emotional intelligence as an asset that is spiritually and financially beneficial.

I'm keen to know your thoughts on these topics. Do you feel both emotionally and financially secure? Are the two interlinked in your view, or are they separate entities? Do you view money as a negative force or perhaps a necessary evil? Do you harbor resentment towards the wealthy, or do you envision yourself among their ranks? Money often stirs up a complex range of emotions - what does it evoke for you?