The beliefs surrounding one’s ability to attain upward social and economic mobility is quite numerous and, sometimes, daunting. Some of them have been in existence for so long that we don’t even know their origin. Some are practical while others seem so unrealistic. But then, it is hard to determine the ones that are real and those that are myths.

It is the desire of every human to achieve economic and financial stability and independence. We all want to belong to the upper class. Some people were born into that class while others worked their way up. There are those that had wealth thrown their way while there are others that achieved it. The dream of everybody is to be among the decision makers in the society.

However, social and economic mobility is not an easy feat to achieve. In most cases, the ability of a person to move up the scale depends on the culture of his society. If it’s in a society where democracy is practiced freely, the son of nobody can become a king tomorrow. But in an aristocratic community, it is almost impossible for a person to change his social class unless certain circumstances warranted that.

That notwithstanding, many ideologies surrounding a person’s ability to move up the social ladder are in existence. As mentioned earlier, it is hard to determine whether some of these beliefs are factual or not because empirical studies are yet to be conducted on most of them. However, people already believe in these ideologies and have been applying them in their pursuit for better living.

Some of these ideologies are:

Children from working class homes cannot move into the upper class: This philosophy is refuting the belief that nobody can become a king tomorrow. Well, in as much as sociologists believe so much in this philosophy, they need to understand that it is not attainable everywhere. In Igbo communities for instance, children of paupers can become presidents of the country tomorrow. People that believe in this ideology already have it in them that they can’t move higher than where they are; they always settle for less because they never envision themselves attaining higher heights.

Associating with the upper class automatically brings about an upward mobility: This ideology is true, but it does not work in all cases. It is actually true that the type of people you associate with influences you but when it comes to wealth and class, the formula changes. I will do my best to explain this.

There are some rich people that are willing to pull others up and there are those that want everybody to serve them. The people in the first category type are mentors while those in the second category are, well, godfathers and “masters”. A mentor will help you to grow while a godfather wants you to forever remain his ‘boy’. If you find yourself in the midst of mentors, and they belong to the upper class, just know that your bread has been buttered. But if the people you mingle with are those that want you around because you fan their ego, just know it that you are not going anywhere.

Savings make people rich: Savings doesn’t make people rich; but lack of it can make people poor. Savings only saves people on a rainy day. Saving is actually there to save you from trouble. It is there to keep you away from begging. It does not increase your income because it involves keeping a part of your income. If a person’s income is small, his savings will reflect that; if his income is huge, his savings will be huge. However, his income has not increased. So if his income didn’t place him among the rich, his savings won’t do that. And if inflation steps in, it will attack whatever amount he left in the bank.

This is not to discourage people from saving from their earnings because it helps a lot. But it will be good if people realised that they should consider how to increase their income by finding better sources of income than believing that the money they put away in the bank will make them rich. But then, investing their savings can change the game plan.

Social class and economic status are preordained: In Igbo tradition, it is believed that people cannot get wealthy if their “chi” did not destine it – that is, wealth comes from divine intervention. It is believed that no matter how hard you tried, if it is already destined that you will remain poor, or that you and your “chi” are not in good terms, you cannot run away from poverty. This is why you hear statements like “O nwere ajo chi” (he has an ill fate but literally meaning that “he has a bad chi”), “chi m ekwero” (my chi did not agree with the decision), “chi na-enye aku” (chi gives wealth), “aku si na chi” (wealth comes from chi, that is wealth is preordained) and so many others. This ideology may have worked in the past because people were expected to work hand in hand with divine beings in whatever they do in the world (in other words, they worked hard and still consulted the oracle for guidance and permission). But from what we can see these days, a lot of people use this as excuses to remain unproductive.

No one can make it in Nigeria by staying legit: This ideology is borne out of the high rate of corrupt and illegal practices in Nigeria. This, sometimes, makes people believe that the reason they’re not moving up that social class ladder is because they’re doing honest jobs. This ideology is difficult to dispel because many Nigerian rich men and women have stories of illegal dealings trailing them. However, there are still some out there that must have made their money in a clean way, I believe.

There are so many other myths out there concerning wealth creation. But what matters is that you need to sieve through what you heard to be able to differentiate the myths from the realities. Wealth creation, as far as I know, is a skill. And to acquire any skills, you have to learn from those that have it. There are two ways of achieving that: finding a mentor and participating in training that will expose you how others have been doing.

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” Quote by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of The United States of America (U.S.A- 1801-1809).

Every individual on this planet is desirous of satisfaction and fulfillment of purpose but sadly, only about 8% of the human population is always able to live purposeful lives. Reason: they chose to do things differently from the gamut of people who remain in the 92%. Hear this: the cosmos is guided by universal principles and standards and when one is not able to key into the acceptable rules that guide the universe, one becomes a lost identity in course of time. You become like the flat car tyre that cannot go anywhere until you change it. That is exactly how bad going up and down with the wrong mindset and attitude is. In the end, the person goes on a rigmarole in this cosmos without achieving or leaving a legacy, thereby going back to his creator the same way he came.

It is based on this that Heraclitus of Ephesus, who lived Pre-Socrates while studying the nature of Man and the cosmos: revealed “that a man’s character is his fate.” In this quote: he referred to fate as homo deus which means character, attitude and habits.

Humans have used procrastination tools to make themselves poorer with respect to wealth creation. This article is not about being philosophical but rather includes salient success principles that can be acquired when one is a ‘procrastination victim’ and inculcates herewith some cosmos truth.

My opening quote speaks a lot about our generation. Our generation is made up of largely laggards (people who take so much time in arriving at a particular workable decision) and thus requires stiction (a force that causes one’s body to move or act). People often talk of destiny and surely what we call destiny is actually our character; and if character can change, then destinies can be altered as well. Reno Omokri said and I quote: “increase your productivity by preparing for tomorrow today. Select what you will wear tomorrow and have breakfast ready before you sleep. They are small things but the small edge they give you is the winner’s edge. Shape the future in the present”

In this period the world is facing health and financial crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some will develop wings, some others will go for clutches; and the difference between them is action oriented. Humans do not appear to bring in their best except when they are thrown into hot water and you see them scamper for safety; meaning that they are hamster wheel or like tea bags that can only be useful in hot water. Are you this person?

Then overtime, I have also discovered that one of the reasons people are still where they are is largely due to procrastination. As a Success Coach and Trainpreneur, I am very passionate about people who daily seek to achieve their goals and meet their objectives within a time frame and having conquered perceived encumbrances. You too can join this clerisy (intelligent or successful people).

To procrastinate is to put off what you are supposed to do now for a future date cause largely by indecision. And this is a major problem for everyone. It does not have respect for class, creed, race or levels of people. Anyone can be a victim. But the big difference between the high and low performers or achievers is knowledge and action. The person who knows and does not take action is not better than the person who does not know at all. So knowledge and action are the pivots in procrastination.

Many would say “I am still thinking”; “I am still brooding over the business proposal”; “I still need more time to go over the business plan.” I may not exhaust the statements of excuses people give. But you know yours. Come to think of it, life does not reward you for what you are planning to do but what you have done. Action oriented steps and vision are what we need to change our lives and beat procrastination.

In this piece I will not fail to mention the damaging effects of procrastination and how it has turned many into paupers. First, procrastination reduces your capacity and tenacity to achieve goals. Besides you waste quality time and opportunity that would have been used up in productive activities. Many do not even know that time is one powerful resource that you cannot recoup and one motivational speaker even said it is a value resource. You should be able to convert time to wisdom. Many say they save time but erroneously they convert time to keep. Again, procrastination will make you not keep promises. A promise is a future cheque but for ‘procrastinating victim’ failed them. A major blow of procrastination ruins your reputation and causes you to lose self-drive, self-esteem and in the end you suffer complexity, you start avoiding calls and people. Finally on consequences, your career suffers a nosedive, stymies, ultimately hurts and suffers you emotionally and brings in health challenges. Seriously!

Thankfully, there are a handful of remedies I shall walk you through to kill the ‘monster’ in procrastination. The paramount one is being able to reprogram your mindset. You are literally what you think. As it is written in the Bible “as a man thinketh so he is.” One quick way to kill procrastination is by being in a haste to fix whatever will drag you back. Man is a product of habits and when you do not act fast, that beautiful idea dies or the urgency to do dissipates. Too much thinking is planning to fail. Are you shocked? But that is just an obvious fact. Here, lots of energy is required to overcome inertia. Inertia means lethargy or the unwillingness to do something or simply put: being sluggish. Some people are only successful in the ‘thinking world’ and not in reality. You are not wrong if you call them castle builders in the air.

Another empirical remedy for procrastination is you taking a plain sheet of paper to write down your positive action statement as many times as possible with things like “do it now”; “act now”; “execute now”. Reason: whatever that is committed to the subconscious mind produces propensity for action.

Besides, you need to have the right knowledge that will spur you into taking the right steps. Knowledge is power. Why many refuse to start a business or an investment is the absence of knowledge for that ‘thing’. And here, you need a mentor or one who is vast in that field to guide you through and kill your fears. You must be very meticulous with whatever principles your mentor or guide puts down so that you do not pay dearly for any act of foolishness or unscrupulousness.

In addition, start a new association with people who are action oriented and very spontaneous too i.e fast moving people. This is referred to as Law of Association. The people you associate with are more likely to influence your decision and cause you to remain stasis (a condition in which things do not change). So you need to evaluate the people around you and you might discover that they are as weightless as tissue paper. Your life cannot be better than the association you keep. Your net worth is your network. Think about it!

Develop new habits. Man is a product of habits and success is a habit too. Be very determined to combine ‘thinking with doing’ otherwise you will never achieve anything. The last remedy that works for me is by starting small. You may decide to dive into the pool of water, but start from the brink by using your legs to measure the deep then gradually progress into the deep. Anyone that must dare to lift a mountain should first start by at least carrying rocks (an African maxim).

In conclusion, when you start, you should always have the end in mind. This simply means that your goals on financial decisions or any other target as you seek must be purposeful, determinable, achievable, timely bound, measurable, specific and challenging too. When you have all the variables, then the road map becomes something you can see even to the very end.

I wish you good luck as you start that new career, business, investment, network, etc.

I leave you with the words of Eleanor Roosevelt “you gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself. I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” What is keeping you down?