Salary can be addictive. If you are on a regular salary
you become diseased with what is called: sure wage syndrome. Regular salary
gives you a false assumption of financial security. But you must realize that
there is no such thing as financial security. There is ,however, something like
Financial Freedom and only entrepreneurs can attain that.
Working for somebody is like “slavery”, just that this
time you some wage. You earn a meager compared to how much your company makes. You
do not experience financial freedom working for someone else because your employer
or the organization determines the time you wake up, determines how long you
work, and when you sleep. They also determine how much you are paid. They
determine when you go on vacation, how long you spend with your loved ones. A
job doesn’t give you freedom ;it enslaves you.
In a typical civil service job in Nigeria, you sit down
and do almost nothing from morning until closing time, except gist, gossip, and
for the women, sell or buy clothing materials to or from colleagues. That kind
of job stifles creativity. It is void of challenge, and at best, “routinizes“
your activities .When you retire, you either get drained and used if you worked
in slavish parastatal or you get totally bored.
When some retire, they
take their gratuity and dump into some investment or begin a business
they think will succeed. Alas, they are
unskilled in the intricacies and technicalities of investments and so their
business fails. If it didn’t, they would have to face the challenge of
competing with the young, enterprising
entrepreneurs in the outside world. They have ,however, given their creativity
and energy to the previous companies they worked for. They lack the drive to
compete with these young people in business. Yes, they have experience, but
surely not experience in real life, street business. And so, if they even have
the heart to sustain through, they have to go through the learning curve every
entrepreneur goes through.
Those who worked as civil servants, after retirement,
line up, sometimes under the scorching sun to get peanuts from the Government.
And if it is delayed, they rant and batter over radio and television programs,
carrying posters and cards with them as they protest in Government houses. These
are old men and women who should be enjoying the fruit of their labours. What a
life!
Some young graduates are easily mesmerized by the flashy
bank jobs here and there. They seem excited about the white collar shirts ,ties
and fancy suits bankers wear. These banks may pay them huge amounts when they
get the job, but they keep them working from morning till night. These bankers
have no time for themselves or their loved ones. I call this slavery; slavery
in a civilized modern manner. That cannot be financial freedom no matter the
amount being paid. It is unfortunate that very many creative brains are concentrating
themselves in the banks. Nigeria is large with possibilities, options ,and
alternatives. I foresee a time when graduates will turn down these jobs and
become their own bosses.
Others who work in multinationals think they can use
their money ,get a manager, and start up a business. They pour in huge amounts
into those businesses only to realize that success in business is not about
money or capital, but about effective management. They suddenly realize that
nobody can manage the business better than the one who initiated it. Business
is like a baby; the mother who gave birth to it must wean and nurture it if it
is to succeed.
Am I against apprenticeship? Am I against people working
for others? Of course not! In apprenticeship you may gain experience and learn
lessons, especially if you are in the right place, but chances are that your
unique, undiluted approach would be relegated to the background as the
so–called experience you gain under apprenticeship would be given preeminence,
thus inhibiting original expression and limiting your success to the
achievement of your master. Also, if you are not careful, the addictiveness and
false security of your small or huge salary may prevent you from launching out.
The ultimate purpose of life is to be “Be Your Own Boss”,
leave your own trail, your mark. You can work with others, not for others.
Synergize through interdependence, not survive as a dependant.
Well, you can still work for others if you may or
if you really must, but remember that salary is addictive and no time may be
right enough for you to leave.
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