Good People, all the fingers on our hands are not equal and our circumstances are not identical. That means the way your friend invests should not automatically become the way you invest. Investing is deeply personal; it is one thing you must own yourself and not merely inherit through herding.
Just because Abu is buying real estate does not mean Chika should rush into real estate. Do you know when Abu needs his money? Do you know his obligations, family structure, liquidity requirements, or risk tolerance? Two people can earn the same income and still require completely different investment approaches because life itself operates under different equations.
One of the greatest mistakes in investing is copying outcomes without understanding contexts.
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At Tekedia Institute, I often explain that many investment decisions can broadly be viewed through three philosophies: Value Picker, Income Chaser, and Growth Maker.
The Value Picker searches for assets trading below their intrinsic value. This investor believes markets occasionally misprice opportunities and patiently waits for those gaps. Warren Buffett is perhaps one of the most recognized examples. A Value Picker may buy shares of a company because the market underestimates its future or because temporary circumstances have pushed prices below underlying worth. In Nigeria, a Value Picker may buy into overlooked sectors or strong businesses during periods of pessimism.
The Income Chaser has a different motivation. The objective is not necessarily explosive growth but steady, recurring cash flow. Such investors often prioritize dividend-paying stocks, Treasury Bills, rental properties, sovereign bonds, or income-generating assets. Think of a retiree who depends on monthly income from investments or a professional seeking stability and predictable returns. For this investor, cash flow matters more than excitement.
Then comes the Growth Maker. This investor pursues asymmetrical outcomes and searches for businesses capable of compounding rapidly. Venture capital and startup investing largely belong here. Growth Makers are willing to accept unusual risks because they seek unusual outcomes like 10x, 50x, or even 100x returns. Investing early in companies such as SpaceX, Stripe, OpenAI, or emerging African startups reflects this philosophy. The expectation is not frequent wins; the expectation is that a few large outcomes compensate for many smaller failures.
None of these philosophies are inherently superior. The issue is alignment. A young professional with stable income may comfortably pursue Growth opportunities. A retiree may naturally prefer Income strategies. Someone with patience and analytical depth may thrive as a Value Picker. The point is simple: investing is not fashion. Investing is not imitation. Investing is not copying Abu because Abu made money. Investing is understanding yourself. Because before choosing an asset, you must first understand the investor and that investor is YOU. That is the first thing you must do before any investment.
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It begins with self-discovery, because you first need to encounter your own life realities, experiencing good and painful moments, and learning how to deal with them. Out of these, a great investor emerges. You cannot know how to handle failures when you haven’t failed before, neither can you know how to handle success if you have not succeeded before. Good and bad times cannot be taught or memorized, rather they are experienced.
Investment will hand you good and bad times, that is why you must learn how to deal with them, not by reading what happened to other people, but by experiencing them yourself.