by
Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
This is wishing you a happy new month and Complements of the season!!!
Our article this time last year titled ‘It’s Never Too Late’ (http://bit.ly/2gM0tm3) is still relevant. The month of December will always be very spectacular, not only for the festive events, but also it’s a period of taking inventory, a month of accountability and a month of perfection/ completion (to finish up what needs to be finished up).
The year 2016 mean different things to different people. In Nigeria, it is the year of recession with its antecedent impacts. To the world economic power like the United States, it is the ‘Election Year’. The whole world was at a ‘standstill’ to know the outcome of the U.S. election, because being the world’s biggest economy, almost every country in the world has a link with the U.S. and the outcome of the election will have direct and indirect impact (positive or negative) in the economy of every nation.
The U.S. election has come and gone, and that Donald John Trump won the election is no longer news. At this juncture, it is worthy to note that the writer of this article is not a politician, nor is he affiliated to any political party; he only tries as much as possible to distill important life lessons from any major events and occurrences, of which the recently concluded U. S. election is one. This writeup does not suggest the writer’s preference or prejudice for anyone or any political party.
Shortly after the Trump’s victory, a friend asked me what I thought about Trump’s victory. My response was straightforward: “What I thought about Trump’s victory was the same thing I thought about Buhari’s victory (in Nigeria) – there comes a time in people’s life when they crave for ‘change’. At that time, their passion for change outweighs perceived benefits derived from the status quo”.
The campaign that led to the recently concluded election was adjudged to be one of the most controversial presidential elections in the U. S. history (www.worldatlas.com). The U. S. election has so many lessons for everyone, however, here are 7 that stands out:
1. Lack of experience is not an excuse. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, being a former Senator and Secretary of State seems to be more qualified than Trump who has never held any political position. Trump’s opposition party used this against him. People will always emphasize and deliberate on what you don’t have, but you will need to emphasize to them on what you have. Trump doesn’t have political experience, but he has vast business experience more than any U. S. politician; he built the Trump organisation to what it is today. Read this once again, lack of experience in an area is never an excuse.
2. Know yourself and believe in yourself. It was really very amazing to watch Donald Trump’s interview by Oprah Winfrey in 1988 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZpMJeynBeg). While answering one of the interview questions, the young Trump said he doesn’t think he’ll run for the U. S. Presidency at any point in time, but if he ever does, he was going to win, because “he never go into anything to loose in his life”. The man Trump really knows himself too well and he is very confident to let people know the stuff he is made of. Don’t let people tell you who you are and what you can do or can’t do, they don’t know you; you (and no other person) need to tell them who you really are.
3. Don’t build your life on public opinion. Someone sent this to me shortly after the election result was declared.
Trump lost the presidential debates, twice. Yet he won the election.
He lost the public opinion polls to Hillary Clinton by double digit margins. Yet he won the election.
All living former American presidents opposed him. Yet he won the election.
Top celebrities and entertainers opposed him. Yet he won the election.
Top party power brokers deserted him. Yet he won the election.
Millions opposed him. Yet he won the election.
Global public opinion ridiculed him. Yet he won the election
Don’t build your life around the opinions of critics. Don’t build your life on public opinion, as a matter of fact, that’s just what it is – an opinion.
Popular opinion may not always be popular. Certainly, the voice of people may not always be the voice of God.
4. Don’t hide or cover up your mistakes: Honesty is the best policy. At the dawn of the election, even to the latter part, Hillary Clinton was still the toast of most U. S. electorates until the email scandal. While the evidence isn’t clear and there are still answers to seek, we know she wasn’t forthcoming with her email fiasco. This mistake plagued her campaign thereafter. The question isn’t whether she did wrong by using a private server or whether national security was violated. The backlash came from her perceived dishonesty. This lesson teaches us that it is best to face the music. Trying to justify, hide, lie or cover up your mistakes is a sign of dishonesty and irresponsibility. Worse still, it sends the message that you will lie and cover up mistakes even in the near future. Liars are not always believed even when they say the truth.
On the same note, blaming others is just as detrimental as lying. It’s easier to point fingers when things go wrong. Clinton used this tactic during the Benghazi hearings. This only proved blame and omission are not effective leadership tools. People will prefer a leader who takes responsibility and have integrity.
5. Be careful, your past could haunt you. This is another lesson from the Hillary Clinton’s email scandal. Clinton’s prospects really got a setback when the FBI announced that it was relaunching its investigation into her previous email usage. The consequences were huge: one ABC/ Washington Post poll, which had Trump 12 points behind a week before, incredibly showed him ‘ahead’ after the scandal resurfaced (The Sun – https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1906975/us-election-2016-donald-trump-president/). Be careful of what you do today; what you say doesn’t matter today may become matter arising tomorrow.
6. Persistence and Perseverance. Donald Trump had many things go against him. He is (or was) seen as a controversial figure, a sexist, someone with unstable temperament and notorious history. Some see him as arrogant and uncontrollable. At a point, he was said to be suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), a mental disorder; and at another time, his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort resigned. These are just few of what Trump encountered on his journey to become the President, but in all these, he never gave up, he was steadfast and undeterred. To achieve greatness in life, you must have a ‘never-give-up’ and enduring spirit.
7. Target your ‘ideal’ audience. Have you ever wondered why some candidates pay more attention to certain states and completely ignore others? They are using a time honoured tradition – target marketing. Business professionals, politicians and public relations specialists focus their message on the people who are most likely to agree with them. Donald Trump focussed his campaign more to the white, working-class voters. CNN had it that, ‘Democrats’ so-called “Blue Wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin crumbled, with Trump winning two of the three outright, and leading in Michigan in the early Wednesday hours’. He also had critical victories in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, three states essential to his path to 270 electoral votes. The lesson here is that you don’t need the support of everyone to succeed in life; you only need the support of those that matters. This is related to Pareto principle which states that 20% of the invested input is responsible for 80% of the results obtained, hence, pay more emphasis on the 20% input that generates the 80% output.
In closing, one of the foremost magazines in Lagos, Lekki Express, are of the opinion that Trump’s triumph will immensely benefit the Lekki real estate market. For obvious reasons, many Nigerians living in America and elsewhere will begin to seriously consider the importance of getting properties in Nigeria, and most especially in Lekki which is reputed to be one of the elegant areas in Nigeria with constant upgrades of infrastructural facilities and other amenities.
Hence, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment/ sales and purchase, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. That is our promise, and will always be.
We wish you the very best in the month of December 2016.
Thank you.
