Yearn……Then Learn to Earn
In creating wealth, education is the starting point. Robert Kiyosaki succinctly expressed this thought in his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. It was what he learnt that enabled him to be where he is now, financially. Funny enough we always think it’s the capital. That’s Money / Business Myth 101. Robert G. Allen says that education (financial intelligence) is the shortest distance between poverty and wealth and that wealth creation is achieved by processing your thoughts not things. Infact Peter Lynch, the famous manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund, who grew the fund from $18 million to $14 billion (yes from the “m” to the “b” between 1977 to 1990), has a whole book that goes by the title “Learn To Earn”. That shows you how important this subject is.
Don’t confuse wealth and the appearance of wealth. Wealth is not status symbol. For the fact that a man drives whatsoever doesn’t necessarily mean he’s wealthy. He might have been given, stolen or bought it with a loan. There are many ways to look at it. It could be his also. Don’t think much about it.
The first step to do this is to read and read and bury yourself in study. I took a piece of advice from Dr Mike Murdock, who said that reading the biography and autobiography of people who have succeeded financially will put you ahead in your quest for wealth. I began on that journey and I am still on it. I started with Donald Trump’s “Art of A Deal”, Lee Iaccoca's “Iaccoca” and also a number of Kiyosaki’s books. To get the local Nigerian context, I read Rev Sam Adeyemi’s “Parable of the Dollar” and Hauwa Audu’s “Every Nigerian Could Be A Millionaire”. Today on Twitter and various social media platforms, they are folks giving financial information and advice for free. Follow them and learn at their feet. Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu, Frank Nnaji, Yomi Jemibewon, Stephanie Obi etc., have all penciled books that can be of immense help.
Chances favour the prepared. Wisdom is the principal thing. In all your getting, grab understanding. When you do this, the processes open up to you unusual insights on the subject matter.
Imagine you run into some big money (inherited, won, bonus etc), what will you do with it? You will….buy this, buy that….consumables (toys of the affluent, status symbol, appearance of wealth). What next? Invest you’ll say. Invest in what? Stocks, properties, set up a business etc. Then I’ll ask again, which one? That’s the beginning of the trouble. Most people don’t know what they want. They just wish they had “enough” money. Dear, if you are not financially literate and investment-conscious, you’ll never be wealthy. It follows in that order. I’m not talking about subsistence wealth. I mean creating value to create wealth that can be expanded and sustained.
I talked with a friend who I knew was given some jumbo pay. I asked him what he did with the dough. He happily told me “I gave it to my broker”. I inquired further “To do what with it?”. He giggly answered,“Invest, of course”. I probed the more “Invest in what?”. “I don’t know” he replied. “That’s why he’s my broker. He knows what to do”. Ever heard the saying that a fool and his money are soon parted? This was the quintessence of it. As you already know, it did not end well.
You mean you don’t know where your money is and what it is doing. This is ridiculous. Sorry to say, quite a number of the folks that work (finance, education, hospitals etc) are just folks on the job, hoping for the next pay cheque. They know little about what they are doing. “It’s just a job for them, my dear”. I am not trying to run anyone down but it is what it is.
When you meet a real financial planner/adviser, you will know. But the quality of the questions that you ask will determine the depth of answers you will get. That means that you need to know what you want before you proceed.
Another dimension of wealth creation is to be able to replicate it anywhere, any day and anytime. That’s why you need to be involved in the process and be committed to the learning. I’m sure if you bring Strive Masiyiwa to Nigeria, he’ll find his way and make money (actually he has been here, done that and moved on). The reason is simple, he can recognise an opportunity and provide a solution and most definitely extract value from you and me while providing that solution. Na so e just be.
If you want to buy a stock, what determines your choice of that stock over the kazillions of stocks available in the world? Warren Buffet said he would never buy a stock he would not be able to explain the operation of the company to his mother. Peter Lynch said he would not pick a stock in which he could not explain it with a crayon to a child what business the company does. As you can see, it’s as simple as it gets. People will always drink Coke and Pepsi, corporations and individuals keep their money in banks, families will always eat Indomie, people will always make calls, wouldn’t you brush your teeth, bathe and freshen up? Buildings are springing up every day. I’m sure by now you can see the trend.
Listen to the news with a slant and different perspective. What you just heard, how will it impact on nuclear weapons, oil price, lending rates, the market economy, national politics, building industry etc. Iran builds nuclear weapons and oil price sky rockets, oil prices goes down and many Nigerian banks book impairments, Sharia law comes into effect and breweries lose out of the market up north, CBN governor makes a statement and banks flood the market with IPOs. Are these events connected or are the stand-alone effects….just time and chance happening? I can tell you they are connected. Iran is a major oil producer and any action of theirs will spike oil price, Banks took a bet on the oil companies and low oil prices led to inability to meet up with commitments, Sharia law does not permit alcohol and so breweries lose customers up north, CBN announces recapitalization and banks seek funds. Now, you can see what I’m seeing.
In secondary school then we were told to choose between being a science or art student. We were made to understand that the world stood on this divide. This is the greatest lie of secondary school. Now I know better. Yes, there’s art and there’s science but they are closely knitted. They are like the left eye and right eye of human existence. Science impacts on arts and vice versa. When countries are at war, it simply means that diplomatic means fail and the science of destruction would be brought to play. Where does economics end and where does politics start? Reverse the scenario and see if you have an answer. All in all activities in the world are closely related. Nothing stands alone.
So, I’ll give you some quick steps on this issue. First and foremost, you should determine why you are doing what you are doing. Be it investing in stocks or starting a business or going into real estate. What do you hope to accomplish? 90% of most businesses die within the first five years. Many reasons abound — greedy profit, uninformed investor, incompetent operator etc. Most times, the people involved did not do their homework. They heard that you could buy it for 5 naira and sell at 20. Sounds nice and they jumped in without thinking and asking questions. Remember the days when everyone you knew owned a cybercafé and was into “pure water” business? Where are they today? Bill Gates wanted everyone to be able to use the PC and do their jobs and task efficiently, he never started out to be the wealthiest man on earth. He had a compelling reason to do what he was doing. This enabled him to survive the odd days. “Always begin with the end in mind” Steven Covey advices.
Now that you know what you want to do and why you want to do it. So what are the resources available to you? Financial and non-financial resources. Believe it or not, the non-financials matter most. They include time, the right people, integrity, trust, knowledge, soft and people skills, communication, guts, informed instincts etc. How much of them do you have and how can you pool them together to obtain the required result?
After this, it’s time to determine how you will go about what you have decided. What strategies have you thought out to execute the task at hand? Get down to specifics. What alternatives are available to you? Imagine every scenario possible and draw up a battle plan for it. See how you could come out of it, just in case. This is still in the learning process.
Talk to people who have done what you want to venture into and ask for their advice. Always remember, you’ll never be able to do it all by yourself. I talk to some friends at least thrice in a week. Why? These are people who understand trends and have done what I’m venturing into. Their analysis and advice have saved me from tons of mistakes.
Above all, do what you really want to do. I’ve seen people who talk, talk and talk and have no dime of theirs in the stock market. They are scared. Fear sits in their minds. Paralysis by analysis. After analysing your situation, step out and do something. You don’t swim by standing on dry land. Step out. In the words of Franklin Roosevelt — “Above all, try something”
Your yearning power will determine your learning and deep quest for knowledge and afterwards the rewards of learning will be what you’ve earned.
You can check other articles I have written on money/finances/ financial intelligence. They are The Money Question 2018 Edition, Saving The Pennies, I’ve Got Money On My Mind, Money & Money Management Skills, 7 Common Money Mistakes and 7 Common Money Mistakes (Part II), 10 Common Money Mistakes (Part III), 8 Money Mistakes (Part IV), Stock Market Investment Basic , Things Not To Do With Money and Find A Financial Mentor
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Regards, Gabriel.
