The case for investing in your own career before anything else

Michael Ellsberg and Bryan Franklin think you’ve been fed a lie: that if you save for decades and invest in 401(k)s, IRAs, and a home, these investments will grow steadily over decades, allowing twenty to thirty years of secure, peaceful retirement.

This might have been true at some point in the last century, but it is not true any longer. If you want to get ahead and enjoy a life of prosperity, the authors argue that you must invest in the most powerful source of wealth you’ll ever know: your own earning power.

Ellsberg and Franklin reveal how investing in yourself in various ways can guarantee a return much higher than the stock market or real estate. Boosting your skills, leadership, persuasion ability, and your network enriches the quality and meaning of your life at the same time that it enriches your wallet. Why wouldn’t you bet on yourself?