Question: “Sir, could you tell me what to do to become financially independent and stable?”

My Response: A tough one because financial stability is relative, and it is a moving target. But I can share some personal perspectives. I’ve learnt that following my talent (here, inborn natural ability), and not necessarily my passion, helps me make more money. Passion does not generate financial outcomes automatically. What makes money for you  is your talent or skill you have mastered. But if your passion falls within your talent or skill acquired, that is a huge blessing.

But note this, it has to be in this order: discover the talent or what you are good at, and develop and nurture it, over time, that thing will become your passion, because you have a deep mastery in it. In other words, your talent which is unlocked will boost your personal confidence, deepening mastery and success, and over time, it will converge as a passion. But if you begin with passion, without the necessary talent, you could be frustrated, financially.

It is very possible that people will tell you to follow your passion, and over time, you would use it to unlock financial freedom. From my experience, that could be dangerous if not well managed. My passion is football, but I have no talent in football. How can something I am passionate about but cannot do it well make money for me?

In summary, check what you can do really well, focus on how you can develop yourself best in it, and that possibly will cushion more financial stability because you will be successful in it, and people will pay you. But following a talent-less passion will lead to frustrations. Of course, you could be among the blessed: your talent falls into your passion where you have inborn natural ability in something you are passionate about. Good luck.

The American magic of capitalism where you can fire 15,000 workers and no single senator, House or even a minister (secretary) will even notice. Yes, “Intel is embarking on a significant downsizing as part of a broader cost-saving initiative aimed at stabilizing its financial outlook and revitalizing its market position. The company has announced plans to reduce its workforce by over 15%, translating to more than 15,000 job cuts out of its current 125,000 employees.”

Most employees except the executives are under “as is” contract which means you can go to work, and your entry badge has been deactivated because last night, the executives decided to fire 2,000 people. Humans are numbers and it is plug and play! That is the other side of capitalism which we do not discuss here; those affected, we wish you strength.

But capitalism does not stop there, as Microsoft tells its shareholders that ChatGPT’s OpenAI, a company which it has supported with $13 billion, is now a competitor. How can you invest $billions in a company and that firm later becomes a competitor? How was that type of agreement a possibility that OpenAI could unveil SearchGPT in a world with Bing? 

Good People, these are things our African economies do not see at scale. And it seems this could also be the reason these American companies rule the world of tech – ability to hire and fire easily, and structure partnerships many of us commoners here cannot understand! But we the people need to make efforts to understand. I cannot imagine giving a company $13 billion and that company tomorrow will compete against me – no way!

Greetings! This is a reminder that registration for the next edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA continues. The next edition will begin on Sept 9, 2024 to end Dec 7, 2024. The cost is N90,000 or $170 and we have many payment options, including bank transfer, Flutterwave, PayPal, Stripe, etc. Click here and register if you plan to join us.

About Tekedia Mini-MBA: Tekedia Mini-MBA is an innovation management 12-week program, optimized for business execution and growth, with digital operational overlay. It runs 100% online. The theme is Innovation, Growth & Digital Execution – Techniques for Building Category-King Companies. All contents are self-paced, recorded and archived which means participants do not have to be at any scheduled time to consume contents. Besides, programs are designed for ALL sectors, from fintech to construction, healthcare to manufacturing, agriculture to real estate, etc.

The sector- and firm-agnostic management program comprises videos, flash cases, challenge assignments, labs, written materials, webinars, etc, and is delivered by a global faculty coordinated by Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe.  Tekedia Institute, Boston USA, awards certificates of achievement at the end of the program.

Updated Curriculum: Our updated curriculum is here.