Use simple strategies to gain wealth

Nairobi; Kenya: Last week, I reiterated that one needs to develop the right habits if he/she wants to create wealth.

There is an elderly gentleman I have known for most of my life and his habits are a good example of what it takes.

He is not what one would call super rich, but he is very comfortable, more so because he is retired after being in the civil service for 35 years.

In a recent chat, he brought out some very pertinent issues that helped him be successful and wealthy.

Like most people of that generation, he had been brought up in poverty.

But at the time unless you were white, that was normal and because you did know better, it was alright.

However, all around him the life and luxury of the white man was apparent.

They were the ones who owned vehicles and lived in stone houses.

After high school, he joined the civil service at a junior level under a white boss.

What that meant is that if he worked hard, there was no reason why he could not get what the mzungu had.

When he received his first salary, he made the first and fundamental step to wealth creation: he saved some money.

Now remember he is working with people who have different values.

Most of them were itching for conspicuous consumption, fashionable clothes, radios, cars, partying like rock stars — habits that continue to create false illusion of “doing well” among many people.

My elderly friend gave me an interesting tip: wealth creation is not a team sport, you have to be courageous enough to walk alone.

And that is what he did. He was on a mission to create wealth, not making friends.

As time passed by, the gentleman was promoted and he continued saving.

As the saying goes, opportunity presents itself to those who are ready.

Armed with substantial savings, opportunities to invest in real estate kept coming.

Because of his saving record, his bankers were more than eager to help him out whenever he had a shortfall.

Through this simple method of saving and investing, over time he had enough passive income from his investments to allow him live the life of his choice without having to work for another day.

Today at 70, unlike most of his peers, he lives comfortably, off his investments.

The only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in their habits.

The infinite majority dream of becoming rich and creating wealth someday, but someday usually never happens.

Most people are unable to build enough wealth or create sufficient income. To make matters worse, even fewer people, less than five per cent can provide for a comfortable (never mind wealthy) retirement.

I think this is sad and it is deeply regrettable to live a life of daily grind, to struggle to get by and have little or nothing to show for all that effort in the end.

If you are like most people, nobody taught you about money or finance when you were younger. Most of what you learnt in school or college is totally useless when it comes to creating wealthy.

Here are some worrying statistics:

Ninety per cent of people will be broke within three months of losing their jobs.

Only per cent of people will retire financially Independent at age 65.

Ninety-eight per cent of people who are poor never receive appropriate financial advice or training throughout their lives.

For a few shillings, you can study or be trained in anything from financial planning, to investing in the stock exchange, real estate and business.

There is no scarcity of strategies out there that can lead you to being amazingly wealthy within the next five to ten years.

But why don’t we invest time and money in knowledge? Because we are great at telling ourselves lies and we do this repeatedly until they becomes our truth.

The stories go like this, “I do not have time,” “there is not enough money to invest” “I will start next month” “I know the stuff they teach on wealth creation” or one obstacle or another. Does this sound familiar?

To become wealthy, your motivation, self image, habits and emotions must all be aligned towards achieving that single goal.

In other words, success is hinged on your frame of mind. That is why my retired friend is among the five per cent who finish financially strong.

Will you be among that small percentage?

The author is a life coach and founder of Peak Performance International — a human potential development firm.