2 Surprising Money Lessons I Learned Attending a $2000 Writing Retreat
Don’t be afraid to splurge on things you truly enjoy.
Last year, I attended a writing retreat in Bali.
It was everything an aspiring writer like me dreamt of — and more. By day, I attended well-planned writers' workshops. By night, we gathered around the communal campfire to drink beer, to tell stories, and to listen to them being told, as our ancestors did, many forgotten moons ago.
The most surprising thing to me, however, is that the retreat not only imparted to me the art of creative writing. It also taught me a great deal about money. Specifically, how best to invest and spend your hard-earned green Benjamins.
Without further ado, here are two surprising money lessons I learned from attending a two-grand writing retreat.
An Investment In Yourself Pays The Best Interest
Warren Buffet said it best,
“The most important investment you can make is in yourself.”
So many people argue about what's the best investment vehicle. Is it stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies, or property? Or is it a mix of all the above?
The correct answer…is none of the above. The best, sure-fire asset to invest in is and always will be yourself.
Of course, all the above investment options are great. Like I wrote in a well-received article, savvy investing is absolutely critical to accumulate wealth. But paradoxically, what is equally vital but far more often overlooked is the act of investing in one’s own personal growth.
Mediocre people believe that a person’s education ends upon graduation. This school of thought is the most destructive form of laziness and self-deception, and it will steal your entire life away.
In my native mandarin, we have a saying that literally translates to “live until you’re old, learn until you’re old.”
The most successful people I know are all relentless learning machines.
These are the kind of people you could leave alone for a couple of months, then sit down with them only to find that they are a new and improved version of themselves. Far from being intimidated by what they do not know, they actively seek out discomfort in their never-ending quest for knowledge.
These relentless learners inspire me to no end, and I strive to incorporate these practices in my day to day life.
I chose to learn when I flew to Bali. I stepped out of my comfort zone when I wrote and recited my first poem in front of utter strangers. I chose to invest in myself when I paid two grand for writing retreat, and in doing so, I gained so much more than cold-hard cash.
I learned to write properly, and months later, I made my first $100 through my writing.
I made dozens of new friends from places are far-flung as Denmark, Texas, and England, friends I still keep in contact with to this day.
And most importantly, I became a different person after the retreat. The experience imbued me with a writer’s casual confidence. I now view the world in a different, more creative lens, safe in the knowledge that I am able to contribute and stand my own with the professionals.
That is the power of actively investing in yourself. It confers you fresh new perspectives and skills that you can use when needed. Remember, it is most commendable to invest in external assets, but don’t forget to continually upgrade yourself.
You are the best investment portfolio you can own.
Don’t Be Afraid To Splurge On Things You Truly Enjoy
“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” — Henry David Thoreau
Now, this might sound counterintuitive but hear me out.
What I’m trying to convey is that money isn’t a resource meant to be hoarded — it’s a tool meant to be enjoyed.
Money, in a capitalistic society like the one we live in, is meant to be spent. The key then is to spend it on things that provide us with maximum pleasure, or on activities that we derive the greatest meaning from.
Following the success of my event business and subsequently using my entrepreneurial portfolio to land a gig as a marketing manager, I have found myself in the unique position of having more financial freedom than I am used to. And for the first couple of months, I used this freedom to engage in activities that were supposed to be fun.
I brought girls out on expensive dates. I bought the latest iPhone. I spent many weekends in bars drinking with my friends. And you know what? None of these things truly fulfilled me.
Like Jack Ma said,
“Spending money is much more difficult than making money.”
It’s easy to get lost in society’s definition of cool, in what the advertisements tell you is the hottest product to purchase this month. And on the flip side, it’s is equally as easy to go too far off the deep end and become a fearful, penny-pinching miser.
The tricky thing about money is there are no hard rules. Money is a deeply personal topic, and it means different things to different people. Therefore, to know how to best spend your money, you must first know yourself.
So ask yourself candidly — what are the things you enjoy? Not what your friends are telling you is cool, and definitely not what society is pushing down your throat. Deep down in the most secret recess of your heart, what do you truly enjoy spending your time and money on?
I enjoyed spending two grand on a week-long writing retreat, and if given the choice, I would do it all over again. But what is my idea of heaven is another man’s idea of hell. Another man might be perfectly happy to spend it on fast cars, strong booze, and beautiful women, much in the same way I am content to be working on my craft.
An oft-quoted truism by Will Rogers rings true: “Too many people spend money they earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.”
Don’t be like one of those people. Remember, money is meant to be spent, true, but your hard-earned money goes the furthest when you spend it on things you genuinely enjoy. Know thyself, know thy dollar.
That’s how you make every cent count.
Your Takeaway
I am a big believer in learning a myriad of different things from a singular experience.
It’s how I was able to take the lessons from my years in martial arts and apply them to my writing. It’s also how I was able to, upon reflection, learn these crucial money lessons by attending a writing retreat. Like Musashi wrote,
“From one thing, learn 10,000 things.”
The first lesson is to adopt the mindset of a perennial learner and invest in upgrading yourself. That is the surest path to success.
The second lesson is that money is a psychological game rife with personal whims and fancies. Therefore to make the best of your money, you must first know what you like, and then use money as a tool to indulge those fancies — within reason, of course!
Remember, life is meant to be lived and money is meant to be spent.
Not the other way round.
Thanks for reading my story (: