IMPETUS TO ACHIEVE:
INVEST IN YOURSELF, REPRESENT YOUR INTERESTS
THERE is one investment that supersedes all others, invest in yourself. These are not my words; they are the words of the one and only Warren Buffet, perhaps the greatest value investor in the world.
It is undeniable that an investment in oneself is the only key to true independence at individual level. Most people invest in themselves for the sake of empowerment.
There are different ways that people invest in themselves. Some people in formal employment invest in education, what some Zambians refer to as further studies, to enhance promotional prospects.
It’s the dream of almost every employee to rise to the pinnacle of their profession or organisation.
People also invest in acquisition of assets to ensure financial freedom. Others invest in a trade to advance certain interests of theirs despite already being well educated.
I have a sister who is a finalist for the prestigious Herriot Watt MBA, yet she took herself to a simple tailoring school to advance her interests in fashion. She has since acquired a trade that is bearing fruit.
When I talk about investing in yourself bringing independence at different levels, my mind drifts to the days that I lived in my father’s home. It seemed as though it was a prison at times with all the rules and regulations that I had to follow.
My father had no time to compromise on many things and simply said: you’ll be able to do whatever you want in your own house.
Cut to ten years later and now I’m telling a nephew of mine who is giving his mother (my older sister) all manner of teenage headaches that he needs to abide by the rules and wait to have his own home to do whatever he wants.
Incidentally, he is in an examination class and I told him that he has to pass his Grade 9 exams to one day be able to do whatever he pleases under his own roof. He needs to invest in himself by studying and passing otherwise he will continue to be a “slave.”
There are some ethical dilemmas sometimes associated with investing in oneself. For instance, if you work in a critical role for your employer, but you want to go for further studies, there may be a conflict between you leaving to advance your goals on the one hand and the desperate need for your presence at your employer on the other.
Choosing to represent your own interests can certainly put you in deep meditation in terms of whether to represent yourself or represent another interested party that you are connected to such as an employer.
It is tempting to easily go for what is best for you at that particular time, but always remember that what’s best for the present is not always necessarily what’s best for the long term.
In the event that simply picking yourself ahead of any other’s interests is what’s best, then make sure that you manoeuvre your way around the dilemma delicately so as to cause less harm to the other party.
Representing your interests in life is also very necessary because other parties essential to sustaining life that need us today will not always need us tomorrow.
For instance, if you have a chance to invest in something that can earn you some decent income, yet your employer needs you for another five years or so of service, you may want to critically reflect on whether foregoing plans to have your own income generating activity to serve your employer may be worth your while. Remember that the opportunity may not come back once your employer is done with you.
When I say you need to manoeuvre your way around certain dilemmas properly, an example that comes to mind is a case where you work, but you are looking to build a business on the side.
Our employers mean a lot to us; those that are in formal employment will particularly appreciate this. After all, it is your employer that ensures there is food put on your table at home to feed your family, that there is money for school fees and so on and so forth.
The foregoing notwithstanding, it is very important to recognise that your job will not be there forever. It is therefore important for you to start preparing for the day you do not have your job as early as possible.
Invest in yourself, represent your interests. You may be conflicted in terms of time because most investment projects require your physical presence and this is time that you owe to your employer to earn your daily bread. But as I said, manoeuvre delicately, with guile and sophistication to juggle both and ultimately get to a point where you are working at your current employer out of choice and not necessarily because you desperately need to.
Sometimes in life we get so deeply engulfed in representing other people’s interests at the expense of our own. We get to a point where we even forget that selfishness has its own benefits, and that always looking to please others may not lead to us getting what we need.
Investing in yourself also includes your lineage. Your offspring and their offspring are simply you in another life, just as you are also leading somebody in your lineage’s life from generations ago.
What good is acquisition of assets and wealth anyway if not to give your immediate family a good life including after you are gone.
Take Ana Botin for example, she is the chair of Banco Santander – the largest bank in the Eurozone. She is regarded by many as the most powerful female banker in Europe.
Botin is a fourth generation head of the bank. Her family has a 2 percent stake in the bank yet it is known as a family business.
Ana Botin took over the chairmanship of the Santander Group in 2014 when her father – Emilio Botin - whom she succeeded suffered a fatal heart attack.
Emilio Botin had been chair of the bank from 1986 when he as well took over the bank Presidency from his father. So there you have it – representing your interests over generations. How many of us do that? How many of us have dedicated ourselves to creating an asset base strong enough to guarantee the comfort of generations to come? How many of us have committed to instilling very important family values that will last for generations to come?
In all that we do, there are a number of stakeholders. And indeed, it is very important that we must consider those stakeholders. That being said, there will come a time when we will have to fend for ourselves and our families without any manner of support from elsewhere and against this background I encourage all to invest in yourselves, represent your interests.