While discussing consumer behavior in a recent class we dwelt on social factors that affect the way people behave in relation to products and services. We are not all amenable to use the same things and to a large extent what we use and how we use it is linked to the social group we belong to, the family background that we have and our lifestyle generally. In every country of the world, there are two broad groups of people. The cynic would say they are the “haves and haves not” But the categorization we refer to here is not about riches per se, but about our attitude to life. Generally, there are two broad attitudes to life: There is the attitude of trying to control what we do and how we do it and there is the other attitude of the care free, taking life as it comes.
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Jim Rohn, philosopher and business life coach, encourages those who can to “resign from the majority group of care free people and join the minority of right thinking careful people. Mark my words that is a great thing to do! We are not saying we should be over cautious about life. Naturally there are risks to take in terms of investment, marriage and having children and many other things, but there are certain principles we must adhere to that would help us get our lives on track. Four key areas come to mind and how we run our lives in these four key areas has nothing to do with how rich or poor we are or how enlightened or educated we tend to be.
We all, for as long as we are in this world, must take proper notice and care of our finances, our studying, our health and our relationships. Now these are pretty broad concepts and we cannot exhaust their essence in one article, so we are simply going to highlight and look at the main issues only. Random research by self development professionals shows that only 3 per cent of most populations in major countries of the world have a handle on these four areas we highlighted. Take for instance: Finance is a major issue. Do we save money? Do we invest it in projects that yield us income or do we just earn and spend. No matter how much we earn or where we are on the salary scale it’s a great idea to save a percentage of our income and invest it in a profitable venture after a period of time! If we can do this, after a long period, chances are we will strike the level of being financially independent. It is a curse and a form of bondage to live from one pay cheque to another. Real wealth is built over time and nothing comes instant or easy. So if you have people who are preaching to you about get rich schemes or ponzi schemes that will turn you to a billionaire over night, run from them! We will talk more about finance in another article. But one other thing to add is we should cut our income into percentages. How much to spend, how much to give away (to charity and God’s work and how much to keep). Please note, the size of your income doesn’t really matter. These habits are important.
Good health is described as abundant wealth. Only those who are healthy can live to enjoy life. So naturally we should try hard to live healthy lives. Healthy life style includes proper and regular exercise. Nothing too strenuous. If we can’t jog we can walk. We must work against excess fat in our body and eat healthily. If we can do without eating meat and fish and replace them with vegetables and fruit it’s healthy. There are certain people who neglect their health. They will not even take a walk to exercise, won’t eat fruit or vegetables and therefore end up getting sick unnecessarily because of a weak immune system.
We also have to work on our relationships. Do we have a good relationship with God? What about people who are close to us, like Family, friends and associates? Everyone needs a support group. No matter how well to do we are, these are the people that should be at our side when we need support. The support we refer to here is not necessarily financial but if it comes to that, there is nothing bad in helping a person who is in need.
When we mention studying, some people think it’s all about going back to school. Well if you can go back to school and attain qualifications that would help change your life, why not? Even if it means sitting with people who are younger than you to receive some form of training there is nothing wrong with that. But on the other hand if a certificate would not make much difference to your livelihood and self development, you can read, attend webinars and seminars and do research about your area of interest. The essence is to be on top of your game. Be among the best at whatever you do. Keep up with changes in your sector and see how you can remain relevant for as long as you wish to in your chosen career or preoccupation. Many people look forward to retirement. But the question is: why retire? Retirement should mean you stopping what you have been doing if you feel you no longer want to do it and embracing something else that you like which can earn you money.
Everyone listens to motivators and coaches at one time or the other. But the big question is: What do you do when the coach goes home and you are all alone? Do you implement what he has told you to? Or do you just feel inspired within the moment and forget about it? It’s time to change.
By Alex Ogundadegbe
