2015, I had just finished school - no startup capital, zero support. I went to a popular priest in the south east to ask for funding for my idea.
A lot of people wanted to get to him too & in the scuffle, a bodyguard pushed me down.
On that floor I realized that…
…if I sit around and expect help from people, it may NEVER come. People will ask me for business plan and never pick my calls.
So I went out and got a job as a teacher in a secondary school, teaching 3 subjects.
In the afternoon I will go to a lesson center & teach there too
I put together everything I made, while living with my parents at that time - and bought a second hand laptop.
Every night after work and on weekends, I wrote The Bang Rule (which would sell thousands of copies in a few years)
Google Bang Rule Charles Nneji - that was me
After I finished writing that book, I began to write short versions of it on Nairaland.
It got traction, Nairaland pushed it to the home page - sales trooped in. With the money I made, I advertised on Linda Ikeji’s blog and hundreds of other blogs - selling thousands of copies
But before I started my friends laughed at me. They told me -
- No one will buy an ebook
- Nigerians won’t buy this kind of ebook for that price.
Did they buy? Hell yeah! With the money I moved out of my parents house and bought my first car at a young age.
My point?
- Luck finds people already doing something. Nairaland won’t have pushed my article to the front page if I wasn’t writing them.
- nobody is coming to save you, people rarely help others if they are not benefiting from you too.
- Don’t be Mr. Excuse. Ask yourself “how can I fix this” - it opens your mind.
Imagine if I had told myself that I don’t have capital so I can’t try, or a laptop or that I was too busy to write that book (because I was) or that I had nobody to help.
Self pity does nothing
…this is why I have zero tolerance for excuses. I had 101 excuses to be down.
I am not even rich yet but For the past 2 years I have lost over 15M trying to break into a particular market - would I stop? Hell no.
Why? Because if I stop, then what? Be in this rot forever?
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This image below is a reflection of how little things compound over time:
The man’s name is William McElligott. A truck driver who would drive his truck with the window down.
Over time the side of his face that always faced the open window, exposed to wind and the UV light from the sun; began to age faster than the other side.
And this is why the right side (in the image) is that wrinkled.
Completely insane right?
This compounding effect with time happens in all areas of life. Your weight, finance…little drops fill the bucket.
Giving the poor money will not get them out of poverty. Poverty is a mindset.
Let me explain with a true life story. Tai Solarin was a big critic of IBB during his reign as military head of state.
He believed IBB should give soft loans to the poor…
He argued that when this loans are given to poor Nigerians and they start a business. More people will be given the loan - and with time the number of poor people in Nigeria will reduce.
He said this so much that one day IBB invited him to Aso Rock
IBB told Tai that he had heard his criticism & pleaded that he should head the program. Tai agreed.
Immediately IBB created a people’s bank, pumped in funds into it - and the sole aim was to offer and service loans for poor people.
How to Build Connections with Successful people
===== 1. It is easier if you are famous….build a celebrity status in your niche and their DMs will be more welcoming.
2. If you don’t have the above, get a mutual friend to make an introduction. For instance, befriend the PA…
…offer something of value to the PA or a friend of theirs who is more accessible, then get them to make an introduction.
3. Successful people always have people asking them for things, don’t do it. You can get what you want by just hanging out with them and being valuable.
4. Don’t “wash” them. If you wash them they will sense it, and you become a nuisance. Nobody likes a kiss ass. Give only heartfelt compliments. If you are asked for an opinion say what you think, not what you think they want to hear.
Ownership & Distribution - the two words that make men & women wealthy. I’ll explain.
You have heard terms like:
- Sole distributor of xyz
- Majority stakeholder
Haven’t you wondered why these terms always follow rich people?
It is because wealth is about ownership, and how big your distribution network is.
I will explain
The endgame of wealth is to own 100% or at least a portion of something valuable, and then distribute it in such a way that many people spend to use it.
Example - Microsoft (majority stakeholder is Bill Gates) - Ownership