Making money and building sustainable wealth Step 2.

 

If you have started putting into practice what you learned last week in our first post, you are on the right track. Your finances can literally turn around in a couple of months if you put all of these steps into practice. 

So what does step 2 entail?  Pay attention, take notes and follow up.

Practice and Earn

You now have a skill, what do you do next, lock it up in your cupboard and wait for the dough? Of course not. Practice, practice, practice. Practice in the secret for a while, create needed samples, try out so many things, then come out. There is no point practicing writing in your room without showcasing your skill to the public. There is no point in designing an awesome flyer and leaving it on your computer. Your money is in the public go get it. 

Save 

Your skill has begun to make you money, you feel a bit proud of yourself, and you can now take care of certain financial obligations. That's not all, it is vital you begin to save. Saving is essential if you want to build wealth in the long run. The nice thing is that you don't have to save everything you earn, you just have to set out a percentage, and save consistently. Look at it this way, saving is one of the ways you secure personal wealth Vs financial obligations to others. You can decide to save in a separate account or use a savings app like Cowrywise. So learn to pay yourself first, or second if you have religious obligations. You won't regret this move.

Invest.

So, you are steadily building up a sweet pile of money, what's next? Buy a car with your savings? I'm tilting towards a no though if you are still early in this journey. Why? You are trying to grow wealth, not blow wealth. The next and final piece of this step by step guide is to invest. 

Investing is basically putting your money to work in a way that earns you returns. There are a whole lot of investment options available today, from real estate to transportation,  financial markets which include stocks, bonds, currencies and cryptocurrencies too. The knowledge on how to invest properly and patience are the tools that help you reap good returns from your investments. Getting luxuries can finally be an option when you have solid areas where your money is working for you via investments

If you stay consistent with this guide, you will be enjoying the fruits of your efforts in time. It takes consistent actions and time to see results but is ultimately worth it.  Overtime, I find that asides building wealth using these methods, we gain an understanding for the principles of wealth increase and it refines our perception of money

Stay tuned as further series will be dedicated into in-depth explanations and industry insights on each of the areas.

What can you do?

Leave a comment on what you have learned and what changes you want to apply/practise

Missed the first article? Read it here.  Say Hi on Twitter and browse through our medium for more insightful articles like this.

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Making money and building sustainable wealth.

Do you want more money?

Of course you do. You have bills to pay, luxuries to acquire, Data to subscribe for. Money leaves in multiple ways, but do you have enough money coming in for you? Do you have money on ground to take care of your emergencies? Do you have money for flex or your luxuries? 

The truth is that many of us have legitimate money needs. Often times, we realize that the funds in our accounts are not sufficient to meet these needs

What can you do about this?

Head out and start making money? Na, money making does not work that way because there are processes to follow to build sustainable wealth. You can't keep relying on loans, favours and keep sinking in financial and emotional debts.

How then, can you build sustainable wealth? By the time you finish reading this, you'll have gained a lot more direction in your money making journey. If you do learn something new or not, let me know in the comment section.

How to make money in the long run.

One major fear that comes with trying to make money is the fear of losing it. Don't worry I have your back, and I have created a great guide to aid you on your journey to financial freedom.

Step 1 - All about becoming better.

Assess your situation.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Luke 14:28 ESV

Yes, scripture has wisdom for planning too. 

The first thing to do when embarking on a journey to financial freedom is to first assess where you are. By assessing what state your finances are in, you can begin to understand how much trouble you are in. Lol, really though, knowing where you stand would help you make better decisions to take you out of that place. 

Mentality shift.

This is a crucial step many miss. It is important especially if you desire long-term wealth. You do not expect a child to act like an adult, neither do you expect a doctor to act like a lawyer. This is because their mental programming differs. Same goes for wealth. You need to reprogram your mind to think better about wealth and get comfortable with owning a crazy amount of money. If you cannot do this, you'll make money but also lose it before you can snap your fingers. You may also end up making less than what you're worth if you do not pay attention to this.

Get a skill

After you have fulfilled the above steps in step 1, you can now get a skill. There are skills you can naturally pick up, while there are some that might take you a bit more effort. What I do advice is to pick skills that earn you a lot. There are countless resources on Google that can help you get started. Make YouTube your personal person during this learning stage (you won't regret it). Consistency is a gamechanger, so don't start out today and expect to master it all at once. Stay with the process.

Conclusion.

"Wait, what?!?! Why would he be concluding?"

I know, I know, you were enjoying this, right? The human mind however, is known to feed on information in bits. This is science and you don't argue with science. 

In my next post I'll be letting you in on the three other steps to complete this process and you will be all set. In the meantime you should practice these three things first. They can as well change your life. 

Sneak Peak into what is in store for next time.

Practice and earn

Save

Invest wisely.

If you enjoyed this, do me a favour and check out my medium page and my Twitter (for more fun updates sprinkled with gems to do life better)

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The Perfection Illusion

“Perfection is an Illusion”

Day in day out, I come to the realization that you really cannot hit perfection. But, you can try, and eventually, watch yourself fail. Sad right? Well, in truth, man was not created to be perfect. At this point, some people are already shaking their heads in disgust, thinking that I cut the crap and put a full stop to what could potentially accelerate their progress in life. 

How?

Stay with me for a bit, especially if you are 

• a writer

• Someone getting into a new field

• If you are picking up a new skill,

• If you have been crippled by inertia,

Before I move forward, here is what Salvador Dali, a painter who knew his craft says about perfection.

“Have no fear of perfection - you’ll never reach it.”

Can we fear perfection?

I love how Salvador does not treat perfection as a thing to be attained but as a state to be feared. To make something perfect is the action or process of improving something until it is faultless.

While this might seem appealing, the only things that cannot be improved upon are things that are dead. As a result, there will always be a new model of a car that was supposedly perfect or a new style for a dress deemed perfect. That is why there is always room for improvement. 

“To be perfect is to be dead.”

I am sure every man has an image of how they would like things to be, i.e. a private jet, a fleet of cars and the occasional boat cruise, a perfect relationship, with no arguments or squabbles, a perfect room with the chairs stacked in the correct spots, their clothes neatly folded and arranged in their bags, and if you are like me, all your kitchen utensils properly cleaned and arranged.

But even these images of perfection are flawed. A stranger can waltz into your life and make things better, and then you realise how heavily imperfect your perfect life was. 

Perfection breeds inertia.

Often times perfection stops us from taking action at all. We are often stuck with an image of what we think is best. Sometimes, this image could be so overwhelming that it usually leaves us stuck in a place where we cannot do anything. 

Sometimes the problem with people is not the inability to work but the fear of performing below the perfect bar set for themselves. 

Here is a tidbit for parents and those on their way to parenthood, you cannot raise a perfect child. (drops mic and awaits the comment section.) 

If you intend to wait for the perfect child, don’t bother bearing raising any children at all.

If you patiently kept reading till now…

A couple of weeks ago, a very good friend and I were discussing creative writing and how editors could make works better. During our conversation, it struck me. While there are mediocre works that truly demand editing, so many creative works are edited based on the leanings of the editor and not the imperfection of the work. 

It was further revealed to me in a trancelike meditation that if you gave your work to several editors after each edit, there would always be a missing synonym or a misplaced allegory. 

Do I advise you to fold your arms and churn out despicable content? Hell no. You will probably shame yourself, your ancestors and your English teacher if you turn out content riddled with punctuation errors and obvious blunders.

What I do advise, though, is to work around the basics of editing or proofreading in the least. Cross your I’s dot your T’s and like Nike, “Just do It.”

A Grammarly account can help you do this with ease. 

Now, this advice applies to writers and everyone on the list above. You do not have to wait till you have that perfect role or CV before you begin to put yourself out there. I obviously did not wait to be perfect before I started writing on Medium and started my blog.

You can easily see my carefree side on Twitter; or reach me personally on WhatsApp @ +2348177324373.

I am always open to disagreements too. Let me know what you think about perfection in the comment section.

  

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lasers or the scattering of seeds?

A Jack of all trades, master of none, right?

Growing up this quote was like a warning to focus on a specific task and become perfect at it. If you are true to yourself, the quote hits
home on most occasions. It forced you to close off distractions and focus on a single task.

Guess what.

That famous maxim that has been peddled to you since the day you found you had multiple skills isn't complete. But, "Wait a minute," not complete? 

Yes. 

If you are interested in finding out the complete quote, keep reading.

Laser focus or scattering your seeds.

A case for scattering your seeds.

Bode's parents discovered at a young age that he loved painting, but he was also exceptionally gifted with numbers. He would paint in the evening, capturing the beauty of the sunset. He would be found attempting to solve complex mathematical equations in the mornings. 

Not all of his paintings came out great, in fact, they often looked a mess, but when he did churn out something good, they were sights to behold. 

There were times he would be stumped by a problem, he would mop, and his mood would show it, but with proper guidance, he could get the right solutions. 

His parents realized how much potential a career in maths could afford him, they got him teachers and planned for him to study at MIT. He could very well develop the next equation for space travel. They also got him, teachers, in the arts helping him fine-tune his painting and drawing abilities although they only saw it as a recreational activity for him.

In time Bode found his school saturated with so many maths geniuses just like him, and while that didn't deter him, he began to turn more into arts. So when the NFT wave came, he was well-positioned to take advantage of it and it paid off. He still loved maths, but his knack for creativity became his gateway into wealth.

For those who have heard the story of the sower from scripture (yes, I love scriptural stories), It is about a farmer who went about scattering seeds. The seeds fell on various grounds and in the end those that fell on the good soil produced fruits in varying amounts.

In truth, the story refers to hearts and the word of God, but one valuable lesson we can pick from this story is that the farmer did not stick to one soil. He kept on scattering his seeds and only produced the desired harvest in the end. 

The bottom line is that learning to pursue multiple avenues might be better than sticking to just one option.

The downside of this is that it is pretty draining. 

A case for laser focus.

Tabitha finally had her big music break. Her song was on top of the Nigerian charts, and her manager (her brother) had just received a call from a foreign artist that was ready to jump on the remix of her song. 

She already had her success story mapped out. She flashed back to a time when she had juggled playing football with her love for music. She enjoyed the thrill it brought, but she had to give it up for the music. She finally made it, mama would be proud.

When a laser is focused on one point, the results can be quite eye-opening for those who do not know. It can even cut into the toughest of diamonds. 

is that focusing on one area could have payoffs of proportions beyond measure.

The downside is you lose other unexplored opportunities. What if you focused and never made it. Think about it.

The balancing act.

Sometimes, understanding that there is a need for balance is essential. It is not wise to go around scuttling at the next supposed gold, nor is it always the best option to close your hands to various opportunities that would present themselves on your way to mastery. 

What should be learned is to pick your skills across a range and choose to zone in on these. Doing this would be energy-consuming, but it is totally worth it. 

Oh yes, I did not forget. 

"A Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one"

Sinister how they left this out, but the operative word 'oftentimes' should not be forgotten.

If you found out something new, and I am sure you did, a follow on Twitter would be superb. If you feel like you learned something, too, do share this with others.

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5 ways to get the best out of an event or training

The year 2022, a beautiful year with a lot of opportunities, for some the year is in full gear already, but for others, the year is having a slow start. Whichever side you are on, you will definitely be attending more than one event this year, actually, whoever you are, whatever field you are in, there will definitely be seminars, pieces of training and events related to your field, and this piece is aimed at helping you to maximize each and every event you will attend,

Before we go one, please note that the points' effectiveness depends on you too.

Research.

So first on the list of things to do to get the best out of any training, event, or seminar, is research. When I say research, I mean research in every of its form.

Research on what kind of event you will be attending, ask questions, search the internet, contact the organizers, basically know what you are going for, the advantage of researching the event you are going for is invaluable, you get to know what to expect from such event, you get to know how to prepare for the event, you get to know who you would like to bring along with you for the event.

Research on the topics to be discussed, it will make understanding a little bit more interesting, also it will aid you in connecting with the speakers, and this will be invaluable in making meaningful connections after the event. While researching on the topics, questions will begin to form, and this helps you to look forward to the seminar or event.

Research on the speakers, the more you know about the people who will be teaching, the more connected you are with them when they finally teach, the more you are able to tailor your questions for your desired response too.

 

Listen, Jot.

A common error we make when we attend events is that we think we are there to watch, not there to learn so we claim we listen and few moments after such events, we are empty, not because we didn’t listen, but because we are not wired to store all information gained right away like computer, and that is where jotting comes in. Note important points, key phrases, contacts, sites mentioned, questions from other members, note your questions, note names, places etc, but be careful so as not to miss the important information.

 

Conduct.

Now you might as what conduct has to do with attending and getting the best out of an event, but the truth is that conduct could make or mar the result of an event on a participant.

Your conduct is very important when it comes to an event. As noted in the previous point, many people go with the intention to see what’s going on at an event not particularly to learn at all, hence a nonchalant approach.

Conduct before, conduct during.

Conduct before has to do basically with how you prepare, your dressing, your attitude towards the seminar, event or training, your mannerism, all this contribute in no small measure to how much you will gain from any training.

Conduct during. Who says a smile doesn’t matter. How you carry yourself during an event says a lot about the amount you will gain from such an event, training or seminar. Laughing, jesting and disturbing during an event will definitely not benefit you at the end of the day.    

 

Participate.

Be active. Participate, note questions, and ask questions, you do not know the advantage of this? Asides the answers given that could be quite beneficial, you gain presence. The more important or pivotal the question, the more presence, the more interest you attract. Never be scared of asking questions.

Questions are not the only part of participation, some seminars and trainings allow sessions for discussions, activities, leave your comfort zone, take up tasks, and be noticeable.

 

Connect

Getting connected is the in thing now, need a job? Need funds? Need ideas? There is virtually nothing in the real world you want to do that doesn’t require, or that would not be aided by connections with the right people.

My major Principle for connecting is. Be interested, be interesting.

After trainings events and programs, there is usually a time to connect, connect with the invited guests and others around. Your success at connecting with the invited speakers sometimes depends on how well you have followed the previous.

Many a times the speaker would easily respond to someone who has asked an intelligent question during the course of an event, than someone who was dull throughout.

One thing to note is that sometimes you have to take a chance, depending on how well you have researched, you can easily walk up to any of the speakers after an event and get the engaged in a discussion, let the discussion revolve round topics related to the speaker, it might not necessarily be on what was spoken about during the seminar, be interested in the person you are discussing with, the more you know, the more you come off as interesting.  

In conclusion of the whole matter, practice makes perfect, the more you follow this tips, the easier it is for you from benefit from any event, seminar or training.

 

Akintade J Victor.

 

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