BY Waceke Nduati-Omanga: When it comes to matters such as money, investment, and business, many people want someone else to tell them what to do.
I have talked and made presentations to many people about money and sometimes I often sense an air of disappointment because I did not end the presentation with information on exactly which plot of land in Machakos you should go buy or precisely which share on the stock exchange you should instruct your broker to purchase.
Many of us treat our financial lives like a movie we start watching, get bored with, and fast forward to the end, to the part where people live happily ever after.
We are not interested in the true entertainment value that lies in the challenges, the finer details, the ups and downs, or the process that got people to the end result of happily-ever-after.
We just want the assurance that they got there.
Even with money, many people are not interested in the process.
They want the instant gratification of being told what works today or what will make them more money immediately.
These are the same people who will blame the stockbroker for losing their money. In most cases the stockbroker did not lose money, the clients just did not take time to understand how stocks work and sold shares when prices were low.
That is how they lost money. They did not instantly get the happily-ever-after they wanted, got impatient, and blamed the stockbroker.
Unlike the movie, with investments you cannot just fast forward the process. For many people, understanding the dynamics that make investments work is the boring part.
So to avoid it, people move on and buy something else from a smooth-talking financial salesman who happens to be selling the story they want. They end up blaming that person too.
You cannot create wealth that way. You will be forever dependent on someone else to tell you what to do or show you the happily-ever-after if you do not want to engage in the process.
If you have that dependence then you are fulfilling someone else’s agenda and not yours.
Say you want a salary increase. Many people think their employer should be paying them more today (instant gratification) and blame their employer for not fulfilling their happily-ever-after dreams.
Fewer still think about what to do, what levels of performance to achieve, what additional responsibilities to ask for to justify a pay increase.
Many people want a solution to pay debts, yet few of them cut expenses or try to pursue income-generating ventures to do so.
Many want to know which properties to invest in and few of them spend their Saturday mornings driving around and actually doing the research needed to become a good property investor.
Many want to have more money before they start a business, yet few of them try to get their first client with whatever resources they have in hand.
Dependence is thinking that someone else has a solution for you. Whatever you want to do, you are the solution.
You have to drive the process. You have to be able to answer the question, “What am I doing about what I want?”
You can consult professionals to give you advice on different things, but it is your job to understand why you have taken or declined their advice.
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It is your job to actually direct and produce the movie. You can then get different actors to play the roles needed to get to the “happily ever after” scene. These actors are your employers, banks, advisers, investment partners.
Let us say you want to get to Mombasa.
You just do not get dropped in Mombasa from the sky. Planning to go to Mombasa does not get you there. Buying a ticket does not get you to Mombasa. Sitting at the bus stop does not get you to Mombasa. The only thing that gets you there is entering the bus.
You hardly ever know the entire route but you need to get on the bus. Once you are inside the bus you will learn different things or figure out different ways of doing things.
You want to invest — start by saving money in an account as you take a course or do some research in a particular field. It is not perfect but it is a start — you are on the bus.
Do not expect to be able to raise money for a business you have not even started — you are not yet on the bus. Do not expect help to pay your debts while you maintain the exact same spending habits. Be able to show what you have done before asking for help.
Happily-ever-after cannot come without this responsibility and control. This attitude puts you in the driver’s seat.
If you were to take the approach I have mentioned at work and get a raise (irrespective of the amount), you would start getting confident in your ability to direct the income you earn. Starting with that one client enables you to understand what you need to do to get 10 clients.
Cutting an expense to pay debt gives you control over your lifestyle in a way that works for you.
If you want happily-ever-after, get on the bus!
