Fast Track your Financial Independence in 2015

The great French Naturalist conducted a most unusual experiment with some processionary caterpillars. These caterpillars blindly follow one in front of them. Fabre carefully arranged them in circle around the rim of a flower pot so that the lead caterpillar actually touched the last one, making a complete circle.

 

In the centre of the flower pot he put pine needles, which contains food for processionary caterpillars. The caterpillars started around this circular flower pot. Around and around they went, hour after hour, day after day, night after night for seven full days and nights. Finally, they dropped dead of starvation and exhaustion. With an abundance of food less than six inches away they literally starved to death, because they confused activity with accomplished.

Many of us make the same mistake and as a result reap only a small fraction of the harvest life has to offer. Despite the fact that untold wealth lies within reach, they acquire very little of it because they blindly, without question, follow the crowd in a circle to nowhere. They follow method and procedures for no other reason than its always being done that way.

I have been managing small businesses for several years. I have had privilege to interact with individuals who want to change their financial position. Many of them have full time job with a steady pay cheque average of N1.5M ($15,000) per annum. As we discuss their options, I can see they want more money, financial security, but not total financial freedom. I asked the strategies they have for their money before and I get answer such as I don’t have any strategies for making money, I just save certain portion of my money in the bank and fixed deposit for interest. This situation is not uncommon in our society today.

Segun (not his real name), a banker was in our office for small loan some time ago. We exchange pleasantry and I asked what he wanted to do with the money, with full smile, he said business of course. ‘I want to start small business and I need loan’ he added. I pressed further to ask for his simple business plan but to my surprise he said he had not even given it a thought.

The truth is that people want to start business. They want something better than 8.00am to 5.00pm syndrome yet they are not ready for it.

Each time I discuss with people who want financial freedom or want to start business, I ask what strategies do they have in place that we give them the life they desire? Most time they stared at me.

More often than not people like Segun are everywhere in all the continents of the word. They have few thousand in saving account, may be fixed deposit account and mutual fund. They turn everything to their bankers and investment advisor or business brokers. They want the easy path. It is easy to give your money to an investment advisor and it is easy for the advisor to put the money in a mutual fund. It is not nearly as easy to gain the knowledge necessary to work in real estate, business or the stock market.

Financial freedom is closer to you than you think but not until you take action to unlearn your previous philosophy about turning your hard earned money to financial advisors who are not better than you. A few financial advisors will understand your financial needs and those who are out there want to sell you their products instead of helping you plan financially. Before you call your financial advisor pick a book today about business, stock market, real estate and read from cover to cover.

There is now better time to start business than now that investors are still happy.