I wanted to extend my theme from the other day about investing in one's own self. The one I wrote about previously was one of those short-term investment type things. It was good advice for curing the short term blahs life sends your way. Sometimes you have to even out the road a bit.

Today I thought I'd mention a longer term kind of investing in your own self. This is the kind of investment that pays dividends not only at the time of investment, but also for days and weeks and even years to come. I'm talking about volunteering.

We all have something we're good at. Most of us have multiple things we're better than average at. And face it, we all have at least some time we could spend doing a little good for someone else.

If you've never volunteered your time for a good cause make it a point to do it soon. Yeah I know, it's hard to imagine anyone not having done this; but I'm sure it happens. Do it. You'll feel good about yourself.

More importantly however, other people you meet will feel good about you. Hey, there's a benefit maybe you didn't think about, eh? By volunteering your time and expertise you're going to meet people you don't know today. That's networking. By virtue of you're being there these others will know you're one of the good sort who gives back. That's the kind of people people like to have around and to work with.

You're going to get a different perspective on the work you do. You might have the best skills on the planet in your particular area; but applying then in new ways to solve different kinds of problems from those you see every day will round you out. That makes you more marketable.

Maybe the most important get-back you'll receive from giving back is insight to your passion.

I admire people who do non-profit work on a volunteer basis. Those people are doing the hard work they do, for free. They're so passionate about what they do, they believe in it so much, they'll do it for free. I see this and it amazes me time and again. Do you love what you do so much you'd do it for free?

I don't. That's why they have to pay me.

When I volunteer my time. I look for ways to engage where I think I'll enjoy it most. I write. I consult. Yes, I even do some of the manual chores. But I'm always on the lookout for those things which really stoke my fires, the things I'm passionate about. Those are the things I might just do for free. They're also the things I'd gladly do full time, week in and week out, on a for-fee basis.