Self-investment

I’m crazy about few things in my life. One of them is self-investment. Something what I do entirely for myself, because I am convinced that it will be beneficial to me, eventually.

At the beginning of my IT journey, I sacrificed a lot of time. There were whole weekends with computer as well as late nights during a week. I wasn’t aware that this could have been an actual investment, that I was working towards bettering my future. Because at the time, it was nothing but pure fun.

A few years later, the rumour spread (as it usually does, in a small town) about a computer whiz-kid who could fix computers. I was getting stopped by acquaintances, with questions type of ‘Could you please bring my computer back to life?’ There was no way I could say no to such question.

Soon enough I’ve noticed a need in it, that there were more and more people with computers who couldn’t actually maintain them. Therefore, I have started charging clients for my time. Because I could.

But, apart from the money aspect there has been something more valuable – knowledge and experience. Any opportunity and any spare time I had I dedicated to widen IT wisdom. Because I wanted to know everything about it. Be the IT Kung-Fu Karate Master, who could answer and resolve people’s issues with computers.

Do you know what’s the difference between an amateur and a professional? The professional pays a great deal to every single detail, and can understand and explain why things happen in certain way. While the amateur is playing hide-and-seek when things don’t work.

We all want to be the best in our professions. But this often has a price, which must be paid to see the benefits in the future. No guarantee, though.