Our persistent thoughts ultimately determine the outcome of our lives. This is a well known truth. It is for this reason that learning to control our thoughts is considered by successful people, to be a very important competence.
In many societies today, it appears fewer people are arriving adulthood with this ability. As a result, we’re witnessing, sadly too, poorer quality levels of individual accomplishment.
Too many people prefer to play safe by settling for “group thinking” i.e. aligning themselves with what the majority thinks. And this, even when they nurse strong contrary opinions or sentiments.
Let’s examine a typical situation in many societies (especially in my part of the world) that needs challenging.
Incidentally, Robert Kiyosaki – in his book “If You Want to Be Rich & Happy, Don’t Go to School?” – has already identified this problem.
Most young people are told by their parents that getting a good education is essential to succeeding in life.
Salawatu Abeni is a popular female musical artiste in Nigeria (in the traditional Yoruba Fuji genre).
Yet she barely finished her elementary schooling. Despite her poor educational background, she achieved significant success in her musical career. Expressing herself in English was however one area she lacked proficiency, Sometimes that presented a challenge if/when she had to communicate in that language.
At some point, Salawatu decided to enroll for private classes.
Some reports have it that she actually took a short course at the University of Lagos. Whatever she did, it worked, because whenever she spoke subsequently, one readily noticed marked improvements in her ability to express herself in English!
In effect, she’d gone about the business of getting “formal schooling” the other way round!
We have a saying in my language (Yoruba) actually justifies this approach
It goes thus:
“K’A RO ASO MO IDI, TABI K’A RO IDI MO ASO, KI’DI SAA MA PA OFO!”.
Translated literally, this phrase means:
“It doesn’t matter whether you tie a cloth around your waist or tie your waist around the cloth, so long as you don’t end up appearing naked in public!”.
Taken in context, it means: Salawatu went out and got successful using her skill as a singer, then returned to get an education using the money she had earned through her success.
Another good example many of us can relate to is the great Juju music exponent: King Sunny Ade.
A few decades back, interviewing him in English was not something he would have found agreeable. He had very limited competence in use of the language!
Today, just as he does playing music, Sunny can hold his own before ANY audience in speaking English. How did he manage this? Simple. He got someone to provide practical coaching for him, till he achieved proficiency.
Since he was already making good money singing in his own language (Yoruba), he could afford to pay for the best available tutoring, and for as long as necessary.
How many people do you know, who blame lack of money for their inability to finish schooling?
I know too many like that!!
Maybe if they had been encouraged to use (or develop) their talents, skills or special knowledge to make a living from earlier on in life, they might have been able to do something like what Salawatu, and Sunny Ade did.
Many so-called “educated” people do not know how to make money by providing a service or product that others appreciate enough to pay money for.
Their schooling did not prepare them for that. Yet, this (traditional schooling) is the path they want their children to follow!
What is Education Anyway?
Napoleon Hill described an educated person as someone who applies the knowledge s/he acquires to productive purposes.
Many “formally schooled” persons do not do this.
And that’s why for instance, we find our graduates of mechanical or automobile engineering working in banks!
Even worse, many of these supposed “experts” of engineering will typically get their car engines serviced by roadside mechanics that have never even seen the four walls of a school!
This fact is underscored by the saying that “knowledge is NOT power – applied knowledge IS!”
Some parents discourage their children from trying to make money from early stages of their lives.
This is wrong.
I say this as a father of five kids. Two of them (boys) already earn periodic income by finding and selling metal items required by itinerant waste collectors. They also team up with their 14 year old elder brother, to make and sell my pineapple peel drinks in the school they attend.
Way back in 2002, when I started out in business, I vowed to educate my kids about money issues, and prepare to begin earning income before they clock ten.
The youngest of the three boys mentioned above will be eleven years old in July this year (2014).
Last week I bought him a complete set of electrician’s tools – multi-tester, pliers, soldering iron etc. And he’s already making use of them – having received some coaching from his visiting lesson teacher who happened to possess some useful knowledge on how to use them.
This youngest of my boys is headed for a technical training school. I’m sure of it!
There is no doubt in my mind that he will be best served by immediate exposure to practical training, based on what he already does in the house.
He figures things out for himself – and his mother readily passes faulty electrical devices to him to fix. Many times he succeeds. Rather than follow the crowd and push for him to attend the so called “university”, I know he needs to go to a technical college.
Until then, I’ll continue supporting him by providing practical tools, activities and experiences, to engage his creative energies. And he really loves it. You should see him put them to use at every opportunity. That alone tells me I’m doing the right thing!
The boys also have two sisters aged 4 and 8 respectively. I’m bidding my time with the girls, trying to study them and identify where their passions lie. It’s just a matter of time before I help them discover their own magnificent obsessions too.
The Earlier You Start, the Better for Your Child
Jim Rohn and Robert Kiyosaki in their writings advise that helping kids develop income earning talents and skills, as early as possible in life, is the wise thing for every parent to do.
Over 14 years ago, when my first child was born, I resolved to take their advice. Today, the results I’m getting confirm it was a wise decision.
Unfortunately, parents in our society generally believe that their children should finish school before beginning the business of learning how to make money and create wealth.
That needs to change – else the tragic experiences of poorly prepared graduates from our institutions will continue to torment us daily in our society. It’s time we changed our thinking.
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“Thinking is the most exacting job there is – which is why so few people engage in it” – Henry Ford
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What I Have Expressed Here Are My Personal (Experience-Based) Opinions
The ideas I share in this article were conceived over 14 years ago, and formed a major component of the talks I delivered in some organisations across Lagos.
You do not have to accept them. I do implore you however, to reflect on them. Read Robert Kiyosaki’s books: “If You Want to Be Rich & Happy, Don’t Go to School?”; “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. Read also Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”. They might help you arrive at your own ideas.
NB: This article was written based on excerpts from my Self-Development Bible™ titled “Ten Ways You Can Use Self-Development to Create the Future You Want”.