Personal Finance: Make a Habit of Reinventing Yourself
What do Floyd Mayweather Jr, Hilary Clinton, Jay Z, Michael Johnson, Luis Figo, Bill Gates, former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Andy Murray, Aare Afe Babalola SAN, and our dear president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), have in common? One thing is sure, they’ve all increased their earning power.
Dr Doyin Okupe may be eating his words now, for once mocking the then presidential candidate of the opposition, saying Buhari had not improved – reinvented -himself in donkey years. Well, the rest is history. The president in waiting is a work in progress. Make no mistake about it, this is not a political piece.
I know it may not be rocket science, but from looking at the list, it is hard to find which common thread runs through them or which dots connect a former American First Lady to a reigning world boxing champion.
Perhaps it might help if I include the duo of our outgoing President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili in the group. What is that one thing that these people have in common? To be honest, you may still not be able to figure it out. I’ll actually be surprised if anyone can easily find the common denominator between these folks at the snap of a finger.
Reason being, how does one lump former Real Madrid and Portugal’s football legend, Figo with former president, Obasanjo? Besides, considering that Ezekwesili had been a thorn in the flesh of the current administration for some time, it’s almost unthinkable that she could be placed in the same bracket with Jonathan. Okay now, the waiting is over. The one thing that all of them have in common is that they used to have a previous life from the one they now live. In other words, the career they now have is not what they previously had. They’ve all had to reinvent themselves. The only exception is President Jonathan, who has to now reinvent himself into a statesman.
You may have heard that cliche that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but you need to copy these people if you don’t want to become obsolete while still alive. That’s one of the starting points of sorting out your personal finance. Your just learn to reinvent yourself.
What does it mean to reinvent yourself? One dictionary defines it as, “to make yourself as if new,” to present ( something) yourself, in a different or new way and to make major changes or improvements to – something. Mrs. Clinton did that, she used to be a First Lady, she made changes to herself and became a politician, then a diplomat. Now a contender for the White House. Obasanjo started in the barracks, then reinvented himself and went to the farm. He made changes again, became civilian president after being locked away by the late General Sani Abacha. He made a couple of changes after eight years as president and became statesman and author.
Ezekwesili used to be a two- time Minister, but saw a gap in society and became a Bring Back Our Girls campaigner. It’s opened some doors for her, including the chance to speak at Oxford next Tuesday.
Why should you reinvent yourself in the first place?
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To be concluded next week.
