The Truth About Money

 I know you're reading this because you're curious to know what I want to say about money. So yeah, don't be in a hurry to scroll past, because I would be sharing secrets, now hear me out, and don't be impatient. These things are open secrets, they are right in our faces but we haven't taken enough time to identify them yet. Sherlock Holmes said, "the world is full of obvious things, which nobody by any chance ever observes." So, shall we?

Let me tell you about a very interesting young man. He started a business in 2016 and from my view, I wouldn't say he saw it as a business. He was just doing what he loves, going after his passion as a visual storyteller. What he does is that he gets tech products, smartphones, televisions, smartwatches etcetera, and he would tell the viewers about the amazing features the device offers. Telling you all you stand to gain using that product. There are things you don't even know such a device could do, that he would bring to your attention. He was able to perfect this passion of his through constant research, thereby gaining knowledge on tech devices and attracting tech lovers all over. This guy was able to do three(3) things through visual storytelling: 

1. Promoting himself as a tech expert.

 2. Effectively marketing the product and 

3. Drawing attention to himself. The world is digital now, so people started paying attention to tech. 

Two(2) years after he started, he got his first 1 million views. He was able to pull off this feat because of his consistency, he kept looking for better ways to tell his stories and identify appealing devices. Today, he is paid to review tech products, smartphones, cars, laptops, etc. He has over 150,000 YouTube subscribers and has gathered over 10m views. He has been featured on TV, in newspapers, and in blogs. He has partnered with Jumia, Union bank, and Music bed to mention a few. He is 26 years old and his name is Fisayo Fosudo. That's the end of my story.

So why am I telling you about the Fisayo dude?  I choose this story because I saw consistency. Usain Bolt once said, "I train 4 years to run 9 seconds. Some people don't see results in 2 months and they give up. They start to complain and lose focus." I saw somewhere that— stop jumping into a hustle and expecting it to just pop. People shed blood and sweat to make it look easy. Sincerely, while planning this write-up. I was to come up with a list of things to do to help you earn good money. And in trying to do this, I discovered The Truth About Money.

Sometimes back, I held a leadership position in a group, and we were discussing a proposed Seminar on entrepreneurship for those we govern. They were various opinions about teaching them a new trade, a new skill and all. So I gave my suggestion based on what I've observed. Which is, I see that a lot of young people are doing something already to make money for themselves. They're selling wear, accessories, doing makeup, baking, etc. But I notice that the way they project their craft doesn't position them for making big money. So I mentioned that we teach them Digital Marketing. To guide them in the promotion of their business and build a solid brand. Now notice that I used the word "their", which means it is what they want to do, and not what we are making them do. This way, we will enhance the existing businesses that are solely influenced by them, and we are only helping them build a better brand to position them for better opportunities.

Now here's the catch, you can give me a list of business ventures that would boom this year and none of them might interest me because I am passionate about something else! Someone else might take the offer obviously because it sounds lucrative, and I would still end up better off than them when the year ends. So what am I driving it? Passion! To make money, you need to love what you do. Now passion is one, consistency is another. You might love what you do but still not make money. Why? because you are not taking appropriate steps to help you get discovered, and are not disciplined enough to put in the work, even when you are not seeing results. You don't start big, you gradually become big. This is the time of building a foundation, and it needs to be stable enough to house a skyscraper. If not all you've worked for can crumble. 

Now there's no pressure in demand and you're not getting 100 orders per hour, so now is the time to perfect your craft. Now is the time to build your portfolio. If you're a writer, start writing your first book, and gradually you'll create your collection of books. If you're a singer, keep on writing and recording as much as you can. Opportunity meets preparedness. Don't be afraid to start, take action now, make all the mistakes you can now, and learn from them as quickly. Growth happens when you learn to handle your problems, so whatever challenges your business is experiencing, look inward, seek help where necessary, tackle it, learn, and move on. The truth about money is that you have to love what you do, stay consistent in it, and put in the work. 

Stay productive, you got this.