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This was written in February 2008. It’s quite a long read but it is worth it. Picture taking around the same time at St. Peters, Rome.

I am very sorry that I have been MIA for a while; what can I say? I have been uber busy but don’t fret; I am working pretty hard to bring to fruition the vision of financial independence. I have had a secret fear for some time now especially those days I was under the payroll of various corporate establishments. In order to provide a temporary solution to this fear, I learned the skills of office politics, arse-licking, cliches, show-offs and diplomacy but I found out these skills were band-aids to a deeply rooted issue. I was so scared that I lost my soul; I have cars, land properties, investment portfolios, small businesses, etc which I guarded with gusto but I failed to guard the most important asset in the world – my soul. I was so afraid that my soul was in constant torment.

I have been poor before (maybe this may be overstated because of perception) but I have experienced the 001 meal ration with garri and groundnut being the much-appreciated dinner. I have been there and done that especially in the world of survival but I have also experienced a little affluence; I have flown first class to most places in the world enjoying choice meal and drinks. I have been able to decipher the difference between the two economic statuses first hand and I know that being without means is a disease. It forces you to lose your soul by deadening your conscience to your true calling. It is a social vice that must be combated head-on. It is funny though that I have seen people who have earned 3.5 million Naira a month (not a year) for two years who are still scared of losing their job. I found out that it is not the amount of money or properties you have acquired but the lingering fear that one day, you can be without means. It is the fear that your status would change from what it used to be to a lower status.

This was my fear for a long time and I presume it is common among men. It is even common among the low-income earners; I remember earning 2, 500 Naira per month by tutoring JAMB candidates and 350, 000 Naira per month corresponding to international clients. It is the same fear I had with the 2.5K job that I had with the 350K job; it was definitely no different. I recall looking at my investment portfolios and wondered what would happen if I lost everything I own. What is the worst that could happen? I dwelt on this thought for a while and I immediately realized that financial independence has nothing to do with the amount of possession/investment portfolios you have; it is a function of the intangible skill you possess – the intangible skill of “how to make money”.

This realization made me confront my fears to leave the cycle of constant dependence to independence. If I could create wealth without joining the rat race, would I be so afraid of losing my properties? I observed something that made me solidify my point; my wife has a shop that deals with wholesale and retail drinks. I realize that an average Ibo trader does not bargain price but an average Yoruba corporate worker would be fulfilled when he gets the best bargain. My wife also deals with pieces of jewelry and Ibo traders are her favorite customers because of their “cash and carry” attitude while the average Yoruba bankers are “higher-purchase” proponents, spreading the money over 3 months. The average Ibo trader is not scared of losing money because he knows how to make money; he could be broke one moment and be cashed up the next moment. Though these average Ibo traders are formal illiterates, they exude certain confidence about their destiny. I remember my first time flying business class to Madrid which was paid for by my host company and I met a young Ibo trader of the same age with me sitting next to me telling me he dropped out in JSS 1 because his parents could not pay his school fees. I quickly did a comparison in my head –  my bosses of more than 20 years working experience still fly economy class with their own funds and this young Ibo trader was flying business class with his own funds.

Then I went to my number 1 source of inspiration – “the Bible” to explain this anomaly. I realized that God’s blessing is not about physical possession but an intangible asset of how to be prosperous. This was evident when God blessed Abraham when he was already materially wealthy; Abraham giving Isaac his blessing and distributing his material wealth to his other children; Isaac giving the same blessing to Jacob and leaving the material possession for Esau and yet Esau was not happy with Jacob. This tradition of blessing has nothing to do with physical possession but an intangible possession that makes these patriarchs produce wealth constantly. This blessing is all-encompassing (not just a money making mechanism); it involves prosperity in all spheres of life. It is a culture that has been passed from one patriarch to another; clearer evidence can be found in 2^nd Chronicle 21 whereupon Jehoshaphat’s death, he gave the blessing (which was regarded as the kingdom) to Jeboram and the physical assets to the other children. It is this same Kingdom that was Jesus theme in his ministry and that was why he implored his disciples to seek the Kingdom instead of physical possession because when you possess the kingdom, you can easily create physical wealth.

This is the culture of all successful investors; even in famine, Isaac produced a hundredfold, Jacob increased the estate of Laban his father-in-law because of his presence, etc. I have taken my time to read and study our contemporary billionaires like Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Warren Buffet, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, etc. All of them possess this intangible mechanism that produces wealth; all of them were not in a comfort zone when the wealth was produced. Donald Trump lost almost all his billions and he got them back, Martha Stewart was also imprisoned and lost her money and she got them back, Bill Gates went from an average home to the wealthiest human on earth through an intangible asset and so were Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffet. This is the culture of all successful investors; it is not their physical possessions that make them successful but the intangibilities like wisdom, boldness, courage, excellence, patience, persistence, opportunity seeking, faith, etc.

Recently I wanted to venture into equity investment especially the Nigerian Stock Market and I started looking for undervalued companies (stock prices below the potential value) that were listed. I started looking through their financials which I got from their annual statement from my dad (a stock connoisseur). I got a whole bunch of the annual statement for as many as I could lay my hand on started calculating the Earning per Share (EPS) vis-à-vis Price per EPS ratio to determine my theoretical average turnover time. At a point, I noticed a lot of discrepancies and realized that I could not base my judgment of obtaining undervalued prices on theoretical technical analysis instead I looked at the intangibles of the companies and I was able to extrapolate undervalued companies. The intangible assets like:

1. Innovation

2. Quality

3. Customer relations

4. Management Capabilities

5. Alliances

6. Technology

7. Brand value

8. Employee relations

9. Environmental and community issues

Out of the above drivers of the companies’ value creative index, I placed innovation as my number 1 criteria and I juggled the rest based on the demand of the industry the company plays in. In the Banking Sector, Innovation, Customer Relations, and Management capabilities are key factors to determine undervalued stock price while in the Manufacturing Sector, Innovation, Quality and Brand value are key factors; looking at these intangibles, I was able to deduce a constant outcome unlike the financials that are prone to misappropriation and insider trading.

Looking at these intangibles is what successful investors are cultured to see. It is the culture (the way of life-habits) that makes an investor successful not the investment vehicle, not what the investor say; not the capital in possession of the investor. This is why I have taken my time this season not to introduce any investment vehicle (though I have seen some juicy ones that are safe-proof) because I wanted investors (including me) to understand the ABC of investment so they can make right choices. One of the ABCs of investments I have learned is from the nature surrounding me. I have looked at the culture of some successful investor and decided to share them:

THE CULTURE OF THE ANTS

 Seasons

The Ants are one of the most successful investors in the world; I don’t know if they have any brain but their wisdom is exuded in their actions. They read the seasons readily unlike most humans who cannot decipher the winter of investment from the summer. They know by intuition when to gather their food and when to stock up for the time they cannot gather. Every successful investor must be trained to understand the season so they are not surprised by the varying season. For example, this is not a good time to buy in the NSE because the prices are quite high and they would definitely fall except something goes wrong with the economy.

Network and Synergy

The Ants understand the power of synergy so they always move together in colony sharing a common interest. You need to take 30 minutes of your time to observe the ants; you would be fascinated by the way they distribute work. They are the strongest animals (in relations to size) and they work together in a group to get the work done. What investors need to do is come together to share ideas so they can achieve the same aim of beating the rat race and becoming financially independent.

Skill-set and Talent

The ants understand the colony they belong to based on their skill set e.g.

1. Formica ants: They suck on the juices from insects that they kill.

2. Cornfield ants: They eat the honeydew that they milk from aphids.

3. Carpenter ants: They eat the sweet juices from insects and plants, and make their nests in rotting wood.

4. Thief ants: They eat sweet foods left lying around.

5.  Leaf-cutting ants: They cut leaves to make underground gardens. Then they grow mushrooms in their gardens for food.

6. Army ants: They travel in very large groups and eat all the insects in their path.

7. Harvester ants: They usually eat seeds, but sometimes they eat insects too. They also store seeds to be eaten later. They bite and sting.

8. Janitor ants: They make their nests in hollowed out tree twigs.

Investors need to understand that they cannot major in everything; they can invest but not major in all investment. They should develop skill-set based on their dominant talent. If you are sales oriented, always major in Network Marketing, if you are analytical, go for Forex, if creative, set up a small business, etc

Purpose 

The ants are very purposeful; they are known to solve small problems before moving to a big one. This is what most human being does not know; they are always eager to know their purpose in life instead of accomplishing the small purpose they can see. I can imagine Bill Gates at the age of 14, a very shy nerd with a dream. Imagine someone telling him at the age of 14 that he would be the richest man on earth; he would definitely laugh at that. You can never see beyond the resources you have; do the best with the resources you have and you would increase from there. The ants take one day at a time; humans should know that their purpose in life is like an onion with different layers, you have to peel the onions one by one to get to the core so is your dream investment, start with the little you have towards the big purpose.

Benevolence and Charitable Works

There is a lot to learn from the ants and one of it is the liberal soul they possess; they know how to share their resources with one another thereby creating an abundant mentality for themselves. Every successful investor must know how to give; this is a must as you cannot grow if you do not let go. Every successful investor I have seen in this whole world understands this principle because your level of benevolence increases your wealth making capacity. It forces you not to rely on your physical possession but to expand your thinking into creating more wealth.

There are great things coming up on this site that would change your life for good. If this site is blessing you in any form why not share it with your friends by using the e-mail function above so everyone can be financially independent; just send to a minimum of five people and you would have started incorporating the benevolence and charitable works of the Ants in your life. Have a wonderful week!