Approaches to Investment: 5 Strategies to Use

 

While savings are a great step on your wealth creation journey, there’s more to it. Savings should be looked at as a boarding stage for the crucial part of the journey. Investment is the point at which things get exciting. Get it right and you will be in a position to smile at the future. Miss the bus and you will live to rue the opportunity. Investment happens when you use the savings you have collected to generate more money. It is releasing your money into certain trusted instruments with the aim of multiplying it. At the level of an investor, you are no longer working for money but finding ways of making your money work for you. What are some of the investment strategies you can deploy to get your money working for you?

Preparation

Before we delve into that, what are the signs that you are ready for investment?

You are ready for investment if,

-You can afford to put money away

-There are no debt obligations bogging you down

-You have enough to cover your bills after investment

-You have a good risk tolerance

This is determined by a number of factors including Age, goals, lifestyle, financial situation, expected returns, income and retirement window. The young can take more risks, the old have no such luxury.

What is an investment strategy?

A set of principles designed to help an investor achieve their financial and investment goals. Some are conservative, others are highly aggressive. They are not static and can be reviewed periodically so that you adjust depending on your circumstances. The best strategies should help you meet your financial goals and grow your wealth while maintaining a level of risk that lets you sleep at night.

There are numerous strategies you can apply towards investment. They include

1)      Value investing. This is the strategy that Warren Buffet has employed to grow his wealth through 6 plus decades. With this strategy you seek out undervalued stocks of companies whose intrinsic value is greater than what the stock price is saying about it. It works from the standpoint of how the market can be irrational in assigning value to different stocks. This irrationality gives investors unique opportunities to buy highly valued stocks at discounted prices. This is a strategy for those who are keen on playing the long game. With value investing you buy a business not just the hottest stock on the market. It requires significant research, effort and patience to hack.

2)      Growth Investing. Look for investments that offer strong upside potential when it comes to future earnings of stocks. It involves evaluating the current health of the stock as well as the growth potential. It is about looking at the prospects of a stock before you buy it. You look at recent records to see evidence of growth and whether what it deals in is something the public wants and uses. It involves fundamentally analyzing financial statements and factors about the company behind the stock.

You must be ready to analyze the management prowess of the executive team of the company you are investing in. How does it achieve its growth? Through business activity or borrowing? You must also look at competitors to determine whether it is a dominant player with a competitive advantage.

3)      Momentum Investing. With this strategy buy stocks on an upward trend. The slogan is buy high and sell higher. You are strictly driven by data and look for patterns in stock prices to guide your purchasing decisions. According to Rob Arnott the fees and expenses related to momentum investing negate the gains you would expect to get from the stocks. This requires you to be constantly on, making decisions about what to buy and what to sell. It can be labor intensive.

4)      Dollar cost averaging. This strategy focuses on Making regular investments in the market overtime. You choose a regular amount to invest every month. It is a disciplined approach and you can use automated features that invest for you. It saves you from the stress of market timing. When investments happen in regular increments, the investor captures prices at all levels.

Keeps you committed to saving while reducing the level of risk and effects of volatility. Not good for those with a lump sum to invest. Ideal for those with little amounts to invest overtime. It prevents spontaneous illogical behavior.

5)      Other Worthy Mentions

Buy and Hold

Time in the market is better than timing the market. Assumption is that short term volatility will be corrected by long term returns. This is considered lazy because of its passivity.

Core and satellite

Buy a large index fund as the core element of the portfolio and other little funds as satellites. This reduces risk through diversification, achieves above average returns with below average risk.

Tactical Asset Allocation

A style where the three main asset classes(stocks, bonds and cash ) are actively balanced to maximize returns and minimize risk.

Best strategy?

I wish it was easy to point at one strategy that beats all others. Unfortunately the answer to the question: what is the best strategy is it depends. It depends on the amount of time you want to use in the process of investing, what your end goal is, how much you have at hand to invest alongside many other considerations. As such, you should choose a method that resonates with you and keep adjusting through the different seasons of your journey. What strategy do you think you are going to use on your investment journey and why?

Financial Literacy Open Day coming up on 26/03/2022 at Hotel Green Court Latema Rd. purpose to be there and invite many to come alongside you.

 

 

 

 

The Beginner’s guide to savings: 6 avenues to explore

 

So you made your first dollar from a job, gig or business deal? What next for you? More often than not, it is not what we make that matters but what we keep out of what we make. Earning six figures is no guarantee of financial security. While there is a lot of good that comes with earning highly, if you don’t put systems in place, you are likely to fall into the famous rat race of trying to catch up with the bills. Clason in his timeless book, ‘The richest man in Babylon’ advocates strongly for the need to tame your needs and appetites. The way we are wired pushes us to adjust our lifestyle relative to our income and because of that it takes deliberate effort to stay on course if you are pursuing financial freedom. This is where savings vehicles come in handy. The need to tame the leakage of your hard earned money requires that you take steps to store some of it in places where it can grow to a level that will help you achieve your big goals. Here are six jars you can use to hold your monies for future use.

The Bank

Every bank I know has savings accounts that you can use to hold your money for as long as you need. I know the interest rates are abysmal to say the least but when that money is locked up in there, your chances of misusing it reduce significantly. It definitely is an upgrade from ‘mattress banking.’ I also know that many of us have savings accounts that have no savings to write home about. What you need to do is identify a bank that has accounts capable of locking in your savings by restricting withdrawals and giving you incentives to save with regularity. The KCB Goal account is a worthy mention in this regard. What other banks do you know of that offer this kind of savings accounts? When are you opening that savings account or funding the one you already have?

MMFs

Money market funds are a good place to hold your monies if your need to hold them for a relatively short duration-anything below three years. What they do is put together units comprised of shares and government papers. In buying a unit you are spreading the risk across several asset classes in a way that almost guarantees the safety of your money. The institutions which offer them will gauge your risk profile and advise you accordingly on what to buy. On average their interest rates are slightly better than savings accounts. It is also easy to liquidate them if the need arises. The CIC Money market Fund is one of the best performing ones in this category.

SACCOS

Just like the name suggests, these are outfits that help people save and borrow for both emergency and development purposes. When you get into a SACCO you buy share capital and also save through your membership. There are people who prefer to have their salaries processed through their SACCO rather than the bank. This makes it easy for you to transfer the portion you have set aside for savings seamlessly into your account. The shares earn you a dividend at the end of every financial year. This is a place you go into if you have chosen to stay long term because the share capital is non-refundable. You can only transfer it to another member if you want to exit the SACCO. Before you get into one, be sure that you want to stay long term. It is also better to be in a SACCO where you know people especially if you are thinking of borrowing for development. This is because of the need for guarantors. I belong to Stima SACCO and have enjoyed the experience so far. What is your experience if any with SACCOS? Is this a vehicle you would consider exploring?    

Insurance

Many people have had nasty experiences with Insurance companies especially in the General and medical business areas that they hardly have any time for an agent who comes seeking to enlighten them on Insurance and how they can save through policies. When your understanding of Insurance is limited to risk, you will have a difficult time understanding how a product will help you save for the future. Insurance companies have products tailored to help you in your long term savings journey including education plans and endowments. These pay a bonus every year in most cases accumulated and paid to the policyholder upon the maturity of the plan. There are added advantages including tax relief, life insurance, disability and loss of income covers. In my opinion this is one of the most underrated and misunderstood savings vehicles out there. As an insider in this industry, I can help clear the air on some of the questions you might have regarding how to use insurance as a viable vehicle for the planning of your future. Feel free to DM or ask questions in the comments for your benefit.

T bills and bonds

The government borrows from the public through treasury bills and bonds. The beauty of these papers is that they are as secure as any vehicle can be. It is very rare for the government to be incapable of honoring its obligations in paying lenders. The interest rate is also attractive. This papers fall in the category of both savings and investments because of the rate of return offered. Bills are short term while bonds are long term. Before you put in the money, be sure about when you need it out so that you don’t get stuck yet you have money trapped in places where you can’t get it out easily.

M-banking

This would have been the first option I brought up but since it is linked to a bank and I spoke about banks first, I kept it last. If you feel like you don’t have the time to go into the bank and get started, then your mobile phone is the easiest place to start. You can set up on M-shwari for example and lock your savings up until the time when you need to use them. Different banks also have apps and other platforms where you can initiate the process. There’s truly no valid reason why you cannot get started on this journey if you have the will to do it.

To do list

What other options can you add to the list? Of the six listed here, how many have you taken advantage of? Having learnt or familiarized with these six avenues, what is the next step you are going to take to boost your savings stating today? Share in the comments.

Next week we tackle  investment vehicles.

The Online Gold Mine

                      

Nearly every one of us is online at one time or another during the day. Some of us spend countless hours browsing mindlessly on Social Media. In the same breath, there are many who are making a killing and earning big bucks every time they are online. What are some of the ways in which these people are changing their financial situations and how can you get in on the action? What are they doing differently? What do they know about the online space that we don’t? How can we inculcate mindfulness into what we do online so that it brings in the big bucks for us as well? Here are a few things you can do.

Expand your mind and see possibilities

The world became a global village long ago. While it was inconceivable to work for a company thousands of miles away 30 years ago, today remote jobs are all the rage. Whether you think about it as an employee or a freelancer the opportunities are no longer restricted to your locality. That alone should tell you how unlimited the whole deal is. If you remain open minded, there are possibilities for you from all four corners of the earth.

Hone your Craft

One of the downsides of operating and competing at the global stage is that the pool is far much wider and with the best players you can imagine. Standard skill does not cut it t this level. If you want to ‘chill with the big boys’ as they say, your skill needs to be at elite level. While people competed locally in the past, today, a graphic designer can be hired from the Philippines by a Start Up right here in Nairobi.  The only way to play in the same league is to embrace the discipline of constantly honing your skill and craft. Do it by practice, study, exposure and everything you can leverage to become not just the best but the only who does it a certain way. Grant Cardone is an advocate of ‘Only Practices’ as opposed to best practices. Distinguish yourself by doing what no one else is doing in your industry or sector and people will beat the path to your door.

Consume Elite Content

We live in the best of times for anyone who wants to learn and grow. Anytime I open my Twitter timeline, I am bombarded with boatloads of wisdom from threads and singular tweets. Same happens on YouTube and a host of other platforms. This is the best age for self-directed learning. You can become adept at anything without needing to pay a penny if you are willing to put in the time and work.

Niche down

Become Super specific about what you want to be known for and good at. In a world where people are becoming pretty choosy about what they want, you want to be as specific as you can be. You shouldn’t put people in a position where they have to guess what your expertise is. When there’s ambiguity about it, it is possible for people to bypass you.

Eliminate Mediocrity and negative energy from your timeline

I love the mute button on Twitter and use it on a daily basis. All forms of Social Media have options that can help you cut off content that doesn’t add value to you. In the midst of all the noise, there are great pieces of content that would make a huge difference in your life. If you find yourself struggling to listen to what someone is saying because it doesn’t edify you, then give yourself the liberty to turn down their volume so that you have the energy to take in what is helpful.

Opportunities

There are plenty of opportunities you can take advantage of online. These include.

Content Creation

There is no shortage of opportunities to create content which can then be monetized. Content can be written, filmed or recorded. Some of the people bringing in the big bucks are into content creation. Think about bloggers, vloggers and pod casters who are making a killing in their respective areas. The key is to position yourself in a space where people need expertise and become the one who offers it. You have opportunities to earn through charging a subscription fee for your content either through a paid Newsletter, YouTube Premium among others. You can also get ad revenue once your numbers are good enough to attract the attention of advertisers. Better than advertising is paid partnerships where a company chooses to work with you because you are dealing with a demographic that captures the people they are interested in. There is a guy calling himself the farmercist on Twitter who is doing a pretty good job at this with Davis & Shirtliff. Content can also help you market your own products.

Virtual Assistance/Remote Work

The rise of Covid-19 has pushed virtual work into the limelight. While people have worked remotely for a long time, it is now becoming mainstream. Without living the comfort of your home, you can work with companies from across the globe and earn a living. There are companies that have chosen to go completely virtual while others have given their employees the option to choose whether to go back to the office or remain virtual. If you search diligently, you are likely to find a lot of companies willing to hire talent. If you are good at a particular skill, don’t limit your job search to your locality. Realize that opportunities are available on a global scale. Among the people doing a lot on virtual work in Kenya is VA Africa. You can check them out to know more.

Gig work

On sites like Upwork and Fiverr, you will find loads of opportunities to earn decent bucks. Whether you are looking for a part time engagement or want to do it full time, the number of opportunities is inexhaustible. What distinguishes you from the crowd is your level of skill and the ability to pitch for jobs. Developing these two will see you attract clients in large numbers.

Writing

There are tons of publications looking for article writers. Whether you have a way with words or not, you can develop writing skills and use them to earn a living. You can work as a ghost writer or choose to write for yourself. You can do Ebooks on topics you are proficient at and offer them for sale on platforms like Amazon Kindle and booksformysoul. The world could do with your wisdom and you could do with some extra bucks. See what a combination that makes? Walter Akolo has a very interesting and enlightening course on writing and tons of other resources that you can take advantage of.

Courses/Coaching

With everyone seeking to grow their skills, if you have something you are good at, you can find tons of clients online willing to pay top dollar for it. Identify your area of expertise and develop a course or coaching program around it. There are numerous platforms where you can put up courses for purchase. Some of the popular ones are Teachable, Udemy and Coursera. Coaching is boosted by certifications which help you stand out from the crowd.

Influencing

If there is an avenue that requires you to have a niche in order to stand out, this is it. The people who are making it big as influencers have narrowed their focus and become exceptionally good at serving their demographic. As a result, brands are willing to invest top dollar on them knowing that their word carries a lot of weight within their demographic. Is there a place where you can position yourself as the go to person? Are you passionate and willing to put in the work in a particular area? If your answer is yes, get down to work and begin to build a profile for yourself.

Sell and market online

This one is pretty old by all standards but there are people who are still leaving a lot of money on the table. If you are selling anything whether a good or service, it is important that you position yourself well digitally. Seek to understand how each medium works and how you can take advantage of it to have enough people finding you and your offers.

 

Taking Stock-Looking back at the year that has been

Our last session of the year on Unleash Hour saw us discuss the critical matter of taking stock of the year that has been. The end of one year is a good moment to evaluate your life in all dimensions so that you can adjust and reset for the new year. This is a time to ask what went went well, what didn't and what role you may have played in the final outcome. This is a moment to look at yourself in the mirror and be real about issues. This video will help you in the quest for self-evaluation which is critical for the next season of your life. Watch, share, comment but most importantly act on the insights therein.  

Profligacy: The Unintended Consequence of A Mindset of Abundance.

 

Whatever you take to the extremes always comes with some disadvantages. A mindset of Abundance is one of the best things you can possess as an individual. It creates endless possibilities for the possessor. However, when it is taken to extremes, it could result in profligacy. Profligacy is just a big word that means wastefulness. It is a word that is used mostly with regard to strikers in football matches. When a striker keeps squandering chance after chance, we say he is profligate.

Profligate strikers cost their teams matches, crucial points and at the end of the day trophies. How would you feel like a coach when the striker you depend on misses chance after chance and shows little to no remorse or effort to get better at taking their chances? Before long, you will be tempted to find a more clinical striker.

I am a strong proponent of people not crying over spilt water but at the same time I want them working on ensuring that I future the water spills less often. Optimal utilization of chances and opportunities happens as you take steps to get better at making the best use of them. If you are responsible for taking freekicks in your football team for example, you want to perfect and vary your technique in such a way that you are getting better at it and also reducing the possibi9lity that your opponents will figure you out. You want to maintain a degree of uncertainty in their minds concerning where and how you will place the ball. As professional footballers will tell you, this doesn’t come by chance. It takes hours upon hours of practice to become good at it. Cristiano Ronaldo who is one of the most prolific goal scorers of the modern era was known to spend a lot of time perfecting his freekick technique at Manchester United. As a result he became very good at scoring them overtime. By the time he was leaving for Real Madrid, he was the undisputed Freekick taker of the team.

No one is 100% efficient

It is true that no one can get it right all the time. You only need to listen to Michael Jordan talking about how many shots he missed. We are talking about The G.O..A.T of basketball. Here is what he had to say. ‘I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.’ We clearly see that he missed some pretty big chances in his career. Efficiency doesn’t mean that you won’t miss some. What it means is that every time you do, you check your performance with a view to doing better next time. That Thomas Edison got it wrong more than 10000 times with the light bulb doesn’t mean that he was mindlessly doing the same thing. Each failure took him closer to what he was working towards. Can you say the same about the chances you have squandered in the past?

All is not lost.

What makes a mindset of abundance a recipe for profligacy? I would like to emphasize that this mindset is a beautiful thing to have in spades. You do not want to be those who stare too long at a closed door while there are many other open doors ahead of you. Once you miss a freekick, penalty or big chance in life, a mindset of abundance comes in very handy in reminding you that there will be other opportunities to get it right. Those who get it wrong make one huge error. They do nothing to get better at taking their chances in the intervening period between one chance and the other. They fall for what Albert Einstein calls insanity-doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Profligacy happens when you fail to grow from your failures of yesterday. It happens when you don’t take the time to reflect on what happened the last time you squandered your chance, opportunity or moment. The best thing you can do for yourself to be cushioned against profligacy, is to get used to the idea of looking back over what happened with a view to picking the lessons you need in order to move forward. When you do that, then future opportunities are less likely to go to waste.

How to guard against profligacy

Be mindful of your performance. If you want to improve your performance, it begins with opening your eyes and paying attention to how you have done in the past and in the last time you attempted something. Whether it is a product you are developing or a goal you are pursuing, mindfulness will go a long way. A mindful attitude will help you take note of details that would escape you otherwise. It will give you what to work on in order to improve your technique.

Once you are clear on what is ailing you and your ability to take your chances, it is time to employ what is known as deliberate practice. James Clear defines deliberate practice as a special type of practice that is purposeful, systematic and requires focused attention with the specific goal of improving performance. This is one of the greatest things you can do to get rid of or reduce profligacy. When you are clear on what is missing, you are better placed to work on getting it to work so that you are functioning optimally overtime.

Be open to mistakes but seek to grow from them. It is important to note that you will not move from wasteful to efficiency in one fell swoop. It will take many little adjustments to get there. The best thing you can do is to be comfortable making mistakes and learning from them every single time. You should be ruthless enough with yourself to not allow repetition of mistakes but open to making new mistakes at a higher level.

Leverage on the failures of others. More often than not, what you are doing or trying to do has been done by others in the past. There is nothing much that comes from constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. Just because experience is a good teacher, doesn’t mean that you have to learn from your own experience. The target should be to learn as much as you can from those who have gone ahead of you so that you are starting on higher ground.

Pay attention to feedback. It is said we tend to play better when we are keeping score. Evaluation of performance is critical whether by self or others. A coach will go a long way ion helping you get better if you allow them to. Who do you listen to concerning the area where you are trying to be more efficient? It will help you to improve your performance if you are listening to someone and acting on their feedback even if that someone is yourself.

In Hot Pursuit!!!

Qualitative and quantitative adjustments for goals.

The pursuit of significant goals constantly meets obstacles along the way. The temptation is strong to quit on your goals when this happens. However, those who quit will never get to see what life is like on the other side of their goals. There is need for people to find a way to forge ahead in the face of opposition. In this article we will have a look at some of the adjustments you can make to your pursuit to increase your chances of success.

When it becomes difficult to reach your goals, don’t fall quickly to the temptation to revise them. The more prudent approach is to revise your strategy. The wisdom of Einstein reminds us that insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Since we are clear that you are not insane, what are some of the adjustments you can make to your pursuit of your goals to help you get there faster.

I am making certain assumptions here. They are as follows. You have some goals you are pursuing. You have a strategy you are applying to help you get there.

Categories

I am looking at two broad categories of adjustments you can take and I will try to give examples in each case. Consider the case of James who is a salesperson in the financial services sector. When he started the year, he set himself an income target of Kes. 3 Million by the end of December 2021. So far he has only managed to raise 1 Million. Seeing as this is the second half of the year, he has a lot of work to do to catch up. In his strategy, he needed to see 5 people a day Monday to Friday to stand a chance of getting to his goal. James has been faithful in meeting five people for over ¾ of the time in which he has been pursuing this. His problem clearly is not in the numbers he was supposed to be racking up.

Grant Cardone in his book the 10X Rule proposes a relook at the effort we put into pursuing our goals. He opines that we often underestimate the effort needed to get us to our goals. If James was to follow Cardone’s advice, then his adjustment would need to be quantitative. He would want to try raising the number of daily appointments from 5 to 7. Whether that is practical depends on how long his meetings last and whether he has the numbers to increase the engagement. Looking at his closing ratio, it is possible that this forty percent increase in the number of people he is seeing would result in him getting as close as possible to his target by the end of the year.

Sometimes all you need is a quantitative adjustment. If increasing the quantity of your activity will get you closer to your goals, then by all means jump on board and engage more people, increase the number of hours you are at it or whatever numerical increase is represented by your activity.

James could also be having a qualitative challenge. The calibre of people he is meeting, how closely do they align with his ideal clients? For as long as they don’t qualify on a number of criteria, the battle is going to be tougher for James. His remedy will be to take a fresh look at the list of people he has been meeting to ensure that they meet the strict criteria of his ideal clients. Qualitative increase in his case means he sees more of the people who fit in with his profile and less of those who are off the mark. By applying these strict criteria, he might end up seeing fewer people but this will be the right people. Chances are high that he will close more lucrative business.

Another qualitative adjustment he can make is to improve his closing ratio by improving his closing skills. He should ask himself questions like, what can I do to increase my chances of closing more clients? Such adjustments will take him closer to reaching his goals.

Blended Approach

More often than not, we need both numerical and iterative adjustments to get us to where we need to go. What would happen to your results if you added an extra hour of activity every day? How would adjusting the number of attempts affect your outcome? If you are looking for a job and making applications, ask yourself what you will achieve if you increased the number you are sending every week. That would be a quantitative adjustment. A qualitative adjustment in your case would be refining your resume and cover letters and also filtering through the companies and positions you are applying to so that you focus on those that tally with your skills and cultural disposition. A combination of quantitative and qualitative adjustments well thought through and implemented is likely to get you to the other side of your goals faster.

Let’s experiment with one of your goals for this year. What is the goal? What strategy are you pursuing for its realization? What feedback are you getting from your action? What adjustments can you make to increase your chances of hitting the mark? Be sure to review regularly and lets see where you end up in December.

PS: One of the qualitative adjustments you can make is to get a coach to help you through the process of pursuing your goals. if you are looking for someone to walk with you in the pursuit of your goals feel free to reach out to me. Together we can achieve more. Email: asenasam@gmail.com

Unleash Yourself(Part 3 of 3)

 Here is the last of our three part series on the common things that hold people back from becoming all they can be. you can check out the first two in the posts preceding this one. As you read through, take not of what you identify with so that you can find a way to deal with it and rise to the top. 

Self-Doubt

When God called Moses to go and deliver the Israelites from the captivity of Egypt, the first question Moses poses to God is who am I? Jeremiah is quick to say I am just a youth. Gideon has so much doubt in his ability that God has to prove over and over again that he is the man to get the job done. The interesting thing is that all these men went ahead and accomplished great feats the moment they believed in their ability to get it done.

Self-doubt is a huge limiting factor to the greatness of many people. Many of us don’t feel good enough or pretty enough or deserving of the honor that is being put on us. Like Moses we ask who am I? We have little confidence in our ability to accomplish anything worthwhile. We don’t see ourselves as capable of exploits. We are comfortable getting lost in the crowd.

Until we get rid of this doubt and believe God to be with us like he was with these great generals of the past, we will remain stuck in our predicaments. You need a healthy dose of self-confidence to be able to go out there and do what needs to be done. This should ideally stem from the understanding that God is by your side walking with you every step of the way. Are you a victim of self-doubt? How does it show up in your life? How are you dealing with it?

Lack of vision

When you have no definite chief aim, chances are that you will not go very far in life. Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint. Proverbs 29:18 The possibility of living aimlessly is greatly increased when there is no guiding principle for your life.  If you are keen on living a life of greatness, you must first define what that greatness looks like. There are many competing aspirations in our lives and we must choose where we will expend our energy. Without that, we will be spread thin in many different directions and have nothing concrete to show for our efforts. A failure to decide what we will pursue means we will have very little motivation for life or any of the other things that matter. When you have no vision, your efforts are haphazard at best because whatever results you get are okay with you. It does not matter how many resources you have at your disposal, if they are not channeled towards creating something worthwhile, they will amount to nothing. Resources, favor, luck and all those things we hope for follow vision and not the other way around. A vision keeps the wrong people out of your life. Those who do not align with what you are doing will not find room in your life for as long as it is clear. Part of the reason why we are surrounded by people who offer very little is that we are not yet clear about what we want and as such everyone feels comfortable around us. What is your core business here? That tells you what you should be spending 80% of your time on. You cannot call something a priority when you are struggling to create time and set aside resources for it.

A lack of vision guarantees you a lacklustre life. With scattered efforts, incongruent utilization of resources and no clear outcomes, your activity will not make sense even to you. A lack of vision is one of the greatest leashes used to hold us back from living a life of meaning and significance.

Money

I have put money as low as this because it is not such a limiting factor when you have taken care of a lot of the issues mentioned above. Like I said in my submission above, resources follow vision.

Having said that, a shortage of money can become a huge limiting factor to how much you can accomplish. Many people have great ideas that will never see the light of day because they do not have the money to execute on them. Great ideas require great men and women to carry them out. Great men and women do not come cheap. Money can limit how far you can carry out your ideas. The Super wealthy have the luxury of choosing what to do because their resources give them the liberty. One who is just starting out must make many compromises and sacrifice aspects of what they want to do until an opportune time. This keeps great ideas from being fully implemented. Anytime your ideas are caged, you are put on a leash and cannot move beyond your confinement.

There is a way around it though. You must be quick to embrace the concept of interdependence. Since you do not have all you need, instead of waiting forever to have it, you would be better served by joining forces with others who bring the strengths you don’t have. This is why Venture capitalists and angels exist. If finance is your limitation, look for someone who has it but doesn’t have a clear idea how to put it to work. Such a person will help you bring out your greatness. This brings up another leash that we probably need to talk about as well. Selfishness.

Selfishness.

Believe it or not, trying to make it all on your own is not usually the best strategy. Don’t let the need to call yourself a self-made man keep you from connecting with other people who can be of help to you. The concept of a self-made man is a fallacy. You must find a way to keep your ego in check if you will be able to connect with the missing pieces of your greatness. There were strategic people in the journey of Joseph to premiership in the Bible. Think about all the people a politician needs to surround himself with if he is to ascend to the presidency. From the funders of the campaign, to lobbyists and many other people who work in the shadows to make the campaign a success. You cannot run a one man show and expect to go very far. If you truly want to release your greatness, be willing to accept help from others who have a lot to contribute to your journey to the top. Don’t see yourself as the source of all wisdom and strength. Know what you are good at and what you suck at. That understanding will enable you select people who can come in and complement your strengths. Let’s be clear on the fact that you need a circle around you to reach certain heights and your task remains to choose the right people to be in that circle. Accept the help offered by others who see things in the same light as you. You must also be willing to accommodate divergent views within your circle. If no one questions your proposals or seeks to improve on them, you have the wrong people in the circle. Surrounding yourself with Yes-men is the biggest sign of a selfish individual. You want to have people who bring a different perspective so that the task is accomplished in a manner that encompasses the diversity and dynamism required.

Success/failure

Finally success and failure are both seeds which can either propel you forward or keep you stuck. Failure if it is misinterpreted can define you and determine your action going forward. It is possible for you to get stuck in the place where you are not attempting anything out of your comfort zone simply because you tried something and failed. Failure must be looked at as a lesson. Someone has gone as far as to say in everything I do I either win or I learn. Failure is you finding a way that doesn’t work. Thomas Edison failed 9999 times in his attempts to make the incandescent light bulb. How many times have you failed before you called it a day? You must keep trying and refining your method until you get the desired result. Failure can be a fatal blow if you let it. It can keep you from ever trying again. Failure is a terrible leash because it comes with evidence. Beware of the hold of failure on your ability to move forward.

Success on the other hand can also hold you back. It does so by numbing you. Bill Gates says Success is a lousy teacher. It teaches you to think that you are smarter than everyone else. You must guard against the effects of your success as much as those of your failure. Success makes you take things for granted. As hard as it is to get to the top, it takes a lot more effort to stay there for long. You must maintain the posture of a student if you will remain at the top. Success massages your ego and leaves you feeling invincible. The moment you begin to think you are immune to failing, you have already started your descent. It is wise to manage your success lest it destroys you. The enemy of great is good so they say. You are not kept from greatness by your failings rather it is your prior success that can stand in the way of another attempt at a bigger challenge.

What other leashes can you think of that keep people from reaching their full potential? What are you going to work on as a matter of urgency to ensure that you give yourself the best chance of finishing at the top? Share your thoughts and other contributions in the comments below. I am passionate about helping people break out of their limits and living remarkable lives. If you are keen on that, reach out to me and let's see how I can be of help. 

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