Zamai Banje

Tag: consistency (page 1 of 2)

Stay Locked In
Stay Locked In
July 7, 2024 / 0 Comments

Locked In: 6 Reminders for how to Finish the Remaining Year

For someone to be locked in is an act or instance of becoming unalterable, unmovable, or rigid.

But this is opposite of what we do when it is the middle of the year. Whenever we get to July in any year, there is always the tendency to slow down. Or go with the flow. After all, what was not done from January to June might not happen in July or the rest of the year.

Please don’t think like this. The year is not over. We are in halftime. You still need to maintain momentum. Staying locked in is an important process in doing your best this year.

Stay Locked In

Stay Locked In

I love how Topsy-Kola Oyeneyin (TKO) puts it. This is from her newsletter.

If the first half was challenging or disappointing, that’s okay; it’s an opportunity to start afresh. If it was great, congratulations! Now is the time to build on it – don’t lose focus.  Either way, don’t fixate on the current score; you’re playing for the entire game, not just the half, and the game isn’t over yet.

This is like how football players get to rest for a few minutes after the first half and before the second half begins. In those minutes, their coach comes to encourage his players to ensure they get the victory they need.

It is July, and you are in the same position too. So, before you go back in full gear, here are 7 reminders on how to stay locked in for the rest of the year.

  1. Be consistent

Don’t abandon the goals and dreams you wrote at the beginning of this year.

Keep transforming your goal into simple regular habits by building rhythms and routines that work for you. Create and maintain checklists that break down your goals. Then take notes to measure your progress.

When you consistently work towards a goal, you are more likely to succeed.

2. Maintain Focus

This is what allows you to completely concentrate your entire being on a specific activity to achieve it.

When doing your daily tasks, be present in the moment. Treat everything you do as important. From big things to the little things.  The better you focus when you do the little things, the better you’ll do in big stages.

Stay focused and keep moving forward.

3. Build privately

This is what I call a magical life – build in secret, celebrate in public.

Living a magical life for the rest of the year is learning a secret recipe to success. Your life is hidden in plain sight yet accessible only to a chosen few. Don’t confuse noise for success. Take deliberate quiet actions, rather than announcing your intentions to the world.

This is a rare art form you must learn to adopt.

4. Increase your chances of getting lucky

Life is in cycles and seasons will always come back and go.

This means you will have several opportunities in life to experience breakthroughs. Before these breakthroughs arrive, work hard and learn to recognize and act on opportunities. This is how you create your own luck.

Because Luck happens when preparation meets opportunities.

5. Love People

85% of your financial success comes down to your personality and how you treat people.

Be friendly. Don’t criticize, complain or condemn. Give honest and sincere appreciation. Always show empathy and put yourself in people’s shoes when communicating with them.

Learn to love people, not the way your school mates, novels and movies taught you, but the way your creator tries to teach you everyday.

6. Keep leveling up

You are the main character in your life. Act like it. I love how this quote put it:

Become the greatest your bloodline has ever seen. Then pass it down.

The quest is simple. Improve yourself. Prioritize your health and goals. Take actions daily and build relationships.

That’s 6 already, but there’s a 7th culled from Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

The Fear of God is important… to ensure that while you plan on finishing this year strong, you are also looking at the bigger picture (your life) as well.

Stay Locked In, my friend. The world awaits your legacy.

 

Getting a Lucky Break
Getting a Lucky Break
July 1, 2024

Lucky Break: Once in A Lifetime Opportunities are Overrated

What does it mean to have a lucky break?

On 29th May 2024, football fans were shocked when Bayern Munich the biggest club in Germany announced their newest club manager. A popular sports media agency carried the announcement with an headline saying “the World has officially gone mad.”

Apparently, this manager is inexperienced. Just four years of coaching experience. And one of those years was spent in the English second division.

His only European campaign ended in a Conference League qualifying loss. He has never coached in a Champions League game.

In corporate terms, it’s like a multibillion international company hiring for the role of their managing director. A position that demands decades of experience and influence.

Then this company gives this position to a young man who has only managed a small startup in a local city.

This man does not appear to have the capability or achievements to get the coaching role.

But this is what the available data indicates.

Stay with me. There are important lessons to be learned from this appointment.

Vincent Kompany. That’s the name of Bayern’s newest manager. He is not at fault here, even if it feels like a massive jump.

At 38 years old, Kompany is still a promising manager with the potential to become a great one. After a few seasons at mid-level clubs, he should be able to refine and expand on his ideas, and then he could be prepared for a position as important as that of Bayern Munich. However, it all seems to be happening much too soon.

From a wider angle, it highlights the mess Bayern were in. This ‘multibillion dollar organization’ blew through their managerial targets after asking their current manager to leave the club.

They were left with a manager who appears underqualified and unprepared for a job of this magnitude. Months of searching Europe for possible targets. Pursuing big names, and repeatedly failing. All efforts were in vain.

Getting a Lucky Break

Getting a Lucky Break

When Preparation Meets Opportunity

“If you are very skilled in a field, you will notice when a lucky break happens in that field.” – Naval Ravikant

A “lucky break” is often seen as a stroke of good fortune. However, those who are skilled recognize these breaks because they understand the context and the implications of the opportunities presented.

When a prepared individual encounters an opportunity, they can take immediate and effective action. This ability to act quickly and appropriately can create what seems like “luck.”

It looks like Vincent Kompany already knew about this one.

His managerial credentials don’t jump off the page.  Kompany first became player-manager at his boyhood club, Anderlecht, in 2020. The club legend was tasked with bringing the sleepy giant back to the top by the Belgian team, who offered him a four-year contract.

Anderlecht finished fourth in his first season in charge. He also finished third in his second season while making the Belgian Cup final. Kompany then accepted a coaching job at Burnley.

His first season was historic as the team played delightful playing football. Burnley topped the Championship, winning the league with 101 points – becoming the first team to hit triple digits in nine years.

To be frank though, it felt Kompany was doing something great with Burnley.

Small club or not, the quote of “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”

I understand that his next season with Burney was disastrous, that saw them finish 19th in the Premier League, being relegated back to the Championship.

But his “lucky break” came at the right time.

LESSON 1: THERE’S ALWAYS A COMEBACK

Life is in cycles and seasons will always come back and go.

Therefore, everyone in life would experience significant life changing opportunities.

You will have several opportunities in life to experience breakthroughs.

Before these breakthroughs arrive, have a combination of hard work and the ability to recognize and act on opportunities.

Like Kompany, this combination is essential in becoming the best option for successful breakthroughs

Will you be prepared when your own lucky break comes?

When Opportunities are already missed

At the start of 2024, Bayern Munich decided to rid their previous manager before the season ends. With this strategy, they believed they could get a head-start on finding the best candidate to take over.

Their primary target was the manager of their domestic rival club. It was Bayern’s tradition to bring anyone who threatens their dominance in their league to their club and it was believed that their primary target would carry on that tradition.

After all, they were the biggest club in their country.  It was not to be, though. In retrospect, this was a messy strategy.

Because of this rejection, Bayern were then left scrambling for other options. They turned to the man they had sacked only 12 months previously in controversial circumstances. This man rejected them too.

The German giant began a second wave of search. Rejection. Upon. Rejection. All potential candidates turned down the role. Because they had signed new contracts with other clubs. Or personal reasons.

And this is how the biggest club in Germany ended up with a manager of a relegated club in England.

LESSON 2:  DON’T BE ANGRY IN THE FACE OF REJECTION

“Even the migratory birds are punctual to their seasons.] Yes, the stork [excelling in the great height of her flight] in the heavens knows her appointed times [of migration], and the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time of their return.” – Jeremiah 8:7 AMPC

You might have missed some opportunities in the past. Or gotten rejected.

This does not mean you get angry or bitter in those times. Rather look at them as learning opportunities

It is like what an old king once said, “The stone which the builders rejected eventually becomes the chief cornerstone.”

Rejection might just be a step in fulfilling your destiny. So don’t be careless in the times of abundance. Don’t be afraid in the times of leanness too.

This is all for my end.

Will Kompany be successful at Bayern Munich? We don’t know yet.

That’s your homework to find out as the year goes on 😉.

Building Wealth: The Seven Types of Income
Building Wealth: The Seven Types of Income
May 26, 2024

Building Wealth: How to Access the 7 Types of Income

When it came to money and building wealth, I was lied to as a child.

I have a feeling you were too.

I remember sitting at my dad’s house in Benin City after concluding my NYSC, staring at my laptop with a rough draft of my cv, wondering what career path I was going to start and commit to for the rest of my life.

They had told me that graduating with good honors and getting a job was the fastest path to making money and being comfortable. This was not totally false, but it was not the full truth either. I only discovered this as time goes on.

There is more than one type of income

Getting a job is just one type of income. There are five more types of getting paid.

I want to show you what to focus on so you don’t get trapped in 9 to 5 called salary. Either as an employee or business owner.

I want to show you the six types of income so you can diversify your revenue streams and build a more robust financial foundation.

When King Solomon said, “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”. This was probably what he was talking about…

Building Wealth: The Seven Types of Income

Building Wealth: The Seven Types of Income

  1. Earned Income:

This is the most common type of income and comes from employment. It includes wages, salaries, bonuses, and tips earned from working.

HOW TO GET THIS INCOME: This is the most straightforward. Get a job. Look for part-time or full-time employment in your field of interest.

If your desired job is not forthcoming, Learn a skill and freelance. Or gain experience by working as an intern.

  1. Profit Income:

This is income generated from buying and selling goods and services. It’s the profit made after subtracting the costs of running a business from the revenue earned.

HOW TO GET THIS INCOME: Start a small business. Buy something. Sell the same thing with a profit margin. This can be online or offline.

You can also sell your services or expertise as a business. We have discussed this before – Productize yourself.

  1. Interest Income:

This is the money you earn on your savings. It’s the interest paid by banks or other institutions on money you deposit in accounts or lend out.

HOW TO GET THIS INCOME: Stop leaving all your money in your bank account. The interest rate in bank accounts is currently too low.

Open a fixed deposit account. Open a mutual fund account. Let these accounts be your main savings account. Your normal bank account should only be for your daily expenses.

  1. Dividend Income:

This is the money you earn from owning shares of stock in a company. Dividends are a portion of a company’s profits that are distributed to shareholders.

HOW TO GET THIS INCOME: Invest in stocks that pay dividends. Research companies with a history of paying dividends and consider your risk tolerance. There are apps that give you access to these companies with ease.

Tech companies pay dividends. Nigerian banks pay dividends. Just learn to open your eyes, my friend.

Start with small amounts and gradually build your portfolio.

  1. Capital Gains Income:

This is the profit you make from selling an asset, such as a stock, investment property, or collectible, for more than you paid for it. Assets are the things that you own that put money in your pocket, whether you work or not.

HOW TO GET THIS INCOME: Understand and pay attention to your sources of profit income, interest income and dividend income. Then this type of income will come easily to you.

This income simply comes from the appreciation of your investments.

  1. Rental income:

This is the income you earn from renting out a property, such as an apartment, house, or commercial space.

HOW TO GET THIS INCOME: Consider house hacking, where you rent out a room or basement in your residence while living there yourself. You’ll need to check local regulations for legality.

In the future, you can also look into renting out a property you own.

  1. Royalty Income:

This is the money you earn from allowing someone else to use your intellectual property, such as a patent, copyright, or trademark.

HOW TO GET THIS INCOME: This is a longer-term goal. If you’re creative, focus on developing content (e.g., music, books, inventions) that you can copyright or patent. Royalties come from licensing your work for others to use.

You can also create digital content like videos, online courses, or blogs that can generate ongoing revenue through licensing or ad revenue.

Building Wealth: The Seven Types of Income

Building Wealth: The Seven Types of Income

My Experience in building income streams (and a list of avenues I use)

I started earning income by getting a job (earned income) at a financial services company. My work experience further exposed me to interest income where I learned to save with apps like Vbank, Piggyvest and my personal favorite – SEEDs by Anchoria.

Capital gains and dividend income became a part of my income stream when I finally understood Bamboo and Risevest (these are mobile apps to buy US stocks and save in dollars). Then, I have gained Profit income during the sales of my books. This also came with royalty income when I learned how to sell and publish books on Amazon.

I have never earned anything from rental income but it’s something I will definitely try later.

Trust Yourself First when Building Wealth

What works for me might not work for you.

That’s why building wealth and life itself is so fascinating. I have friends who built businesses (profit income) and it is their major source of income.

There are also friends who ventured into cryptocurrencies (capital gains income) and it became the hill they are willing to die on.

The options are limitless, my friend.

Do your research. Gain knowledge. Acquire skills. Keep building on what you already have.

And that’s how you start generating multiple streams of income, contributing to your financial independence and long-term wealth building.

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