In this series, we are talking about how we achieve a good rate of return on our investments beyond our money.

The reality is that where our money goes isn’t really the best indicator of what our future is going to look like.

Our priorities and choices in every part of our lives are a factor.

What is in common across everything is that before we can have a return, we must invest.

You may be saying, Of course! I knew that. But in fact, the three areas we are going to explore together are, in many cases, not giving us the highest possible return because we are NOT really strategically investing in them.

We may be experiencing them, but that is not the same as investing in them.

In part 2, we’re talking about ROL or Return on LEARNING.

Are you a strategic learner? You can be curious, even a committed lifelong learner, but again, while that is admirable (and important!), if we want a measurable return, we have to have a clear intention AND investment.

It is in our learning strategy that we set our path for growth more than anywhere else. Here are five guidelines to help you as you create your own learning plan:

• Understand the difference between knowledge and skill and develop both.  Gaining knowledge on a subject to deepen expertise has a different priority than learning how to do something. Make sure that you know what success looks like once you have gained knowledge or developed a skill. What should you be able to do once you’ve achieved it?
• Devote at least 30 minutes daily to expanding your knowledge in your area of expertise and influence. As experts, remember that our role is also to act as a curator or distiller of a vast bank of growing knowledge and create continued value. Make certain that you are including both established experts/mentors and emerging voices in your area of expertise in your study.
• Include personal skill-building and development in your learning plan. This area is what I’ve come to think of as life harmony. When we say life balance, it implies some kind of equality in how we distribute resources, and that doesn’t prove realistic for me. But harmony is something I can (and do) embrace. Harmony means we are making space for all the threads in our lives. And when they are in sync, we make music! What interests you as a person? Italian cooking? A particular art medium? If time and money were not a factor, what would you want to learn? Make a way to learn that! If you care about something, study it and practice it.
• Learn alone and in groups. Being able to discuss what we are learning can be invaluable for identifying innovative ways to apply the newly acquired knowledge. If taking a class with others doesn’t appeal to you, consider joining a mastermind where you can gain new insights and learn from other business leaders in the group. Taking advantage of today’s global technologies and joining learning communities online is another approach. It has been my experience that group settings are often the best place for me to learn outside my primary work. They become a social community as well because our shared interest generates an immediate bond.
• Have a learning vision log.  Have you ever wanted to find time to learn something but could never seem to do so?  Getting those areas of interest committed to a learning vision log gives you a place to refer to when creating your learning plan calendar. The time you allocate to learning can then be prioritized based on what you want to know vs. whatever comes across your path. Not sure where to start? Here are three ideas:
  • What skills or knowledge do you respect and admire in others?
  • What do you hire others to do for you today that you find interesting?
  • If you could only learn three new things in the next year, what would you choose?

Being strategic about our personal and professional growth can and should be fun as well as immensely rewarding!

REMINDER: Achieving a RETURN begins with making an INVESTMENT. And STRATEGY simply means beginning with the end in mind.

What do you want to know? What do you want to master?

What will help you create your best self and the life you want to live?

Start there.

The post The many returns of the day, Part 2 What is your ROL? appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

In our businesses, we talk about achieving a good return on investment (ROI).

We want to know that where we are investing our resources is providing us with an adequate, even above-average return.

We consider risk and reward as a part of this and most likely will not invest where the potential ROI (reward) doesn’t align with what we want to achieve.

It is about our priorities and choices.

All too often, we limit these expectations (and conscious decisions) to where we are investing our money. We equate the idea of investment with what we spend and what we earn in terms of money. This extends into our personal lives as well.

The reality is that for most of us, where our money is spent is not, in fact, the best place to focus on to determine whether we are getting our highest returns. There are at least three other areas of investment where, when handled strategically and with a clear intention, we can grow ourselves and our businesses exponentially.

As we enter this new calendar year, it is the perfect time to integrate this into our planning for how we will measure our results overall.

The top three areas we typically need to adjust in setting expectations are learning, relationships, and energy.

Do you have an investment plan covering these areas, both personally and professionally? If not, I would encourage you to step back and consider that, as Charlie “Tremendous” Jones taught, where we will be one year or five years from now will be the result of our learning and relationships. In his teaching, it was “the books you read and people you meet”. Fast-forwarding to how we operate today, it is how we take in information and evolve our philosophies (learning) and our personal network (relationships).

The inclusion of energy stems from the fact that it is one of the three primary resources we need to do anything (time, money, energy). While time and money are important, energy is often overlooked. Even when we have the time and money, we are simply out of steam (energy) to do what we truly want to do. In reality, the overall return on energy becomes the return we see from our life’s ultimate investment in what we care about and how we achieve it.

Join me over the course of this series of posts to learn more about how you can be strategic and achieve much higher returns on your investments for learning, relationships, and energy!

The post The Many Returns of the Day: What Investments Do You Measure? appeared first on Kathi Laughman.

Welcome back to our series on RESOLVE, where we are examining how we can best ensure we honor who we’re becoming and serve the purpose that’s calling to us now.

Every season of growth begins with two things: what we learn and what we value. Learning shapes how we rise. Values shape where we’re headed.
 
When these two forces meet, our resolve doesn’t just strengthen, it takes root. It becomes something living, something steady, something we can grow from.
 
That’s why in this next segment in the RESOLVE series, we’re turning our attention to Learning and Values — the inner architecture of every promise we make and every commitment we keep.
 
If structure and ownership built the bridge from “I can” to “I will,” then learning and values are what make that bridge worth crossing.

LEARNING — The Engine that Powers Resolve

Learning has always been the driving force behind every chapter of my life.

It’s the reason resilience feels possible.
It’s why I don’t fear change.
It’s why I believe in next steps, even when I can’t see the entire path.
 
Years ago, I began teaching the concept of ROL — Return on Learning.

We often talk about ROI (Return on Investment) from a monetary standpoint, but learning pays dividends that actually shape our future.
 
Because when we learn:  

• We grow capacity
• We expand possibilities
• We refine judgment
• We build resilience
• We strengthen self-trust

Learning is the root system beneath resolve. It’s what lets us say:
 
“I trust myself to figure this out.”
 
Not because we’ve mastered everything, but because we’ve mastered the art of learning.
 
Resilience isn’t about standing firm. It’s about knowing you can adjust.
 
When resolve falters, learning restores it.
When resolve hesitates, learning strengthens it.
When resolve is challenged, learning becomes its lifeline.
 
This is why I anchor so much of my personal philosophy in three verbs:
 
Learn.
Live.
Lead.
 
You cannot live differently until you learn differently.
You cannot lead differently until you live differently.

Learning is the first hinge, the point where insight becomes action.
It’s also the invitation.
 
It’s what strengthens us, steadies us, and prepares us. We don’t rely on resolve because we already know everything. We rely on resolve because we trust our ability to learn whatever is needed for what comes next.

VALUES — The Truth That Steadies Resolve

If learning is what adapts our resolve, values are what anchor it.

This is where so many value frameworks fall short: their neat boxes, their lists, the words we’re asked to circle, as if identity is a vocabulary exercise.

Values aren’t boxes.
Values aren’t lists.
Values aren’t slogans.
Values are lived truths.

They are the non-negotiable boundaries that shape the way we move through the world.

I wrote a series of articles on Substack that broke down the word FACTOR as it related to POSSIBILITY. The second article dealt with our FOUNDATION, which is where we find our values. You can access the full article via the link to learn more about not only values but also other aspects of our FOUNDATION. 

The key thing to remember about values is that they are the architecture of identity.

When aligned with our values, resolve becomes powerful, joyful, and sustainable. When misaligned, resolve becomes resistance, heavy, forced, obligated.

Values guide:

• What we pursue
• What we release
• Where we invest our energy
• How we define success

They tell us what matters most and what doesn’t matter at all.

They bring resolve back home to meaning and to the reasons that make the work worthwhile.

They ask: 

• “Is this who you really are and want to be?”
• “Is this aligned with what you believe?”
• “Is this worthy of your effort?”

They bring resolve back home to meaning.

Reflections

Reflections on Learning

• What have I learned that strengthened my resolve?
• Where has learning revealed a better path?
• What do I need to learn now to move from “I can” to “I will”?

Reflections on Values

• Which value has shaped my choices most?
• Where is my resolve misaligned with what I truly value?
• What matters so deeply to me that it deserves my follow-through?

The Bridge Continues

Every new chapter asks something different of us, but learning and values make sure we never show up empty-handed.

Learning keeps resolve flexible.
Values keep resolve true.

Together, they ensure that the promises we make are promises worth keeping — and that our resolve evolves with us, rather than against us.
 
Because resolve is not about rigidity, it’s about a relationship.
A living agreement between who we are…and who we are becoming.
 
In our next segment, we’ll move into the final piece of the RESOLVE framework: Embodiment.
 
We will be talking about what happens when resolve becomes not just something we choose but something we live, and how it becomes an incredible framework for following Emily Dickinson’s example of dwelling in possibility.

An Invitation

If you’re navigating your own moment of recalibration as you are exploring who you’re becoming next, this is the work I help founders, solopreneurs, and possibility-seekers do every day.

Let’s explore what you’re building now to take you into your next.

The post Learning & Values: What Holds Us Steady When Life Shifts appeared first on Kathi Laughman.