by
Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
This is February 2018.
It’s been observed that when one gets to almost every state in Nigeria, you are welcomed; you will see a big signage welcoming you to the state; however, that of Lagos is different. The moment you arrive the tollgate, the three famous statues points their hands to you to emphatically remind you that: “This Is Lagos”, meaning ‘No one asked or invited you to come, it is only you that knows what brought you, so mind your business. One of our staff in the Lagos office will always say, “When you are in Lagos, you have to shine your eyes very well, and you must be sharp because Lagos takes no rubbish!!!”
It is for the above reason we started this article by reminding you that this is the month of February in the year 2018. Whether we like it or not, January 2018 is gone forever. Few days ago, I told my colleagues in the office that this year is fast running out; our secretary responded by saying, ‘Do you mean to say ‘This month’. I repeated what I said without mincing words, ‘This Year is fast running out!’.
With the above realization, have we started working on our New Year resolutions and plans? Are we taking actions to ensure successful accomplishment? The emphasis of our last article, ‘Making 2018 your best year ever http://bit.ly/2lvvtLg’ was discipline. Discipline is the essential requirement that will ensure our dreams, goals and desires come to fruition. You can’t but be disciplined.
Now, straight to the essence of this month’s article titled ‘Get Bold! Get Mad!! Get Crazy!!!’. ‘What a weird and sarcastic title?’ you might say, that is exactly what it is meant to achieve. This writer has realized that to achieve greater than normal accomplishment, you just cannot be normal in the real sense of the word. Every great and worthy achievements in history were not accomplished by ‘normal’ people, but by people who refused to conform to normalcy or status quo. These sets of people break existing laws, rules and standards to create new ones. Without them, we cannot enjoy the political and economic freedom, the technological breakthroughs/ inventions and civilizations we see today. These people are non-conformist. They are radicals in every respects. They do unusual and uncommon things. They are bold. They are ‘abnormal’. This is because they do not conform to ‘normal’ sets of rules and standards. In other words, they have their own sets of standards and values which they abide with, and over time, they make ‘normal’ people follow these rules and standards until they become a way of life. Examples of these great people abounds. However, for lack of time and space, we shall examine three of these personalities from three different continents (Africa, America and Asia) to drive home the point. These people are referred to as ‘legends’, whether living or dead.
The first from Africa is our own Aliko Dangote, GCON. He was born on April 10, 1957. His current net worth is estimated to be 13.8 billion USD (Forbes 2018). He is regarded as Africa’s richest man on earth by Forbes. This is a man I really find difficult to understand in terms of someone that has guts and doesn’t see anything as impossible. This is a man who threads even where angels dare. This is someone who is involved in so many things at the same time, and everything seems to be working just fine. Whether you are poor or rich, it is certain that you are using a Dangote product, whether it is cement, sugar, salt, flour, rice, fertilizer and very soon, petroleum. It may be appropriate to say that Dangote is one of those holding Nigeria’s economy together. His company stocks have also contributed immensely to the performance of the Nigerian Stock Market. It might also interest you to know that the construction of Dangote’s on-going refinery when completed will have about 650,000 barrels per day refining capacity which can meet the current requirement of Nigerians with surplus to be exported to other neighbouring countries. It will be one of the world’s largest refineries. In a recent interview, when asked about the challenges he has encountered, he said, “For the refinery, almost every single item was imported. One of the difficulties was that most of our ports are not designed to receive heavy equipment; 75 percent of the cargo needed for the refinery cannot be offloaded in the port of Lagos. One piece of equipment weighs 2,870 tons! So we had to build our own jetty, about one kilometre in the ocean, which was a major project. We couldn’t get local cranes to hire, either. We had to go and buy 300 cranes. Then there’s manpower, which we also brought from abroad—almost 30,000 people, because we didn’t have a trained workforce for these massive projects.” (This Day, August 27, 2017).
These are seemingly difficult challenges. But, what did Dangote do? He did what only a ‘crazy’ person will do, ‘by building his own port infrastructure (jetty) which can receive, withstand and transport the equipment to the refinery. According to him, this single act costs them so much. What would an ordinary ‘normal’ human being do when faced with similar challenges? Simple, to give up the idea of building a world class refinery, or better still, build a local refinery. He further gave an assurance to deliver the refinery project by December 2019 by saying, “This is my lifetime project. I have to back it up with my own life to make sure it is delivered.” This shows that Dangote is not only ‘crazy’ but very bold; he has a firm believe that ‘nothing is impossible’.
The second legend is from America, the second richest man in the world according to Forbes, Bill Gates. He was born on October 28, 1955.Before launching Microsoft, Bill Gates was a Harvard University dropout and co-owner of a failed business called Traf-O-Data. Driven by his passion for computer programming, Gates built what would become the world’s largest software company. Microsoft went public in 1986, and by the following year its rising share price made him, at age 31, the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.
What stands Bill Gates out is not only how much money he has, but how crazy he gives to various causes. In 2000, Gates and his wife established a charitable organisation called Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As at 2007, the foundation was ranked the second-most generous philanthropists in America having given over $28 billion to charity, and it was reported that the couple plan to eventually donate about 95 percent of their wealth to charity (Wikipedia). The charity gives out billions of dollars to fight HIV/ AIDS, malaria, polio, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, and other diseases all over the world including Africa and Asia. He extends the passion he once expended on enterprise to putting an end to diseases and starvation. On December 9, 2010, Gates, investor Warren Buffett, and Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg signed a commitment they called the “Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge.” The pledge is a commitment by all three to donate at least half of their wealth over the course of time to charity (Wikipedia).
Even with his enormous wealth, the billionaire lives a very simple frugal lifestyle. While addressing the pupils at a south London school in January 2012, he said, ‘If I hadn’t given my money away, I’d have had more than anyone else on the planet. Ninety-nine per cent of it will go’. That is crazy. When asked about his goal in life, he said, ‘I’ll live to see ‘unnecessary’ deaths drop to zero’. He added, ‘It’s not about legacy, I’d like to see it get done; that is my job’ (http://bit.ly/2nsRqeN). That is a divine statement, and to ‘normal’ people, this is crazy and mad. Yes, once again, you’ve got to be ‘mad’ to make a terrific impact. Bill Gates is a Technological Leader.
The third is from Asia, India to be precise. He is Late Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest leaders that ever lived. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (real name) born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar in the Indian state of Gujarat, was an Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer. He worked as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa and then returned to India where he assumed leadership of the Indian National Congress. He led Indians in the Dandi Salt March in 1930 to challenge a British imposed salt tax. Gandhi also led Indians in the Quit India movement in 1942. He served many years in prison in India and South Africa. He was known for fasting. He was the activist who led the Indian Independence movement against British rule. As such, he has been described as the father of the Indian nation. Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest to achieve political and social progress. His birthday is now celebrated as a national holiday and as the International Day of Nonviolence. He passed away on January 30, 1948 at 78 years old when he was assassinated.
Gandhi’s legacy has been carried down for generations. His universal teachings continue to inspire people all over the world. His life and philosophy have become legendary. His fame spread worldwide during his lifetime and only increased after his death. The name Mahatma Gandhi is now one of the most universally recognized on earth (www.britannica.com). He is an example of a great political leader. Now, what makes Mahatma Gandhi crazy or mad, you might ask. Well, it is the fact that he often goes on hunger strike (fasting) to fight a political cause, that was usually his own form of riot; and interestingly, he always achieve his goals as a result.
Although, this article was not intended to be a memoir of the richest, but the first two legends above are among the wealthiest in the world. This is not a coincidence because your outward reality is a function of your internal values and gut. However, the last legend (Mahatma Gandhi)’s net worth was estimated to be about 1,000 USD; his own life ambition and ideology was more political than economic; and by every standard he is considered to be successful, since success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.
To this end, to be really successful in life, everything you do will at first appear crazy before people begin to come to term with it. We have decided to select three different personalities from three different continents to proof that the law of success is universal, and has no respect for colour, race, language, age, background or gender.
But, what lessons can we learn from all of these. The core lesson is that these set of people are ordinary human being like you and I who, at one point in time, became dissatisfied with the status quo, refused to settle for less, made definite decisions and took decisive actions to achieve their dreams or goals. For whatever reason, they decided that they are going to take a stand and do things a little or a lot differently. It is this decision that turns the ordinary in them into legends, because they do things that are legendary – the things others call ‘impossible’. Their motivation is beyond money, but the desire and passion to make a difference and leave an indelible mark in history.
The interesting thing is that the Hall of Fame, or should we say, the Hall of Legends can never be closed, it is widely open for anyone who decides to join the league. Legends don’t die, that’s why we have living and dead legends, their works are obvious for all to see and will forever speak for them.
To join this team, we have to transform our thoughts and idea from ordinary to extraordinary, from natural to supernatural, from conformist to radical, from ‘normal’ to ‘abnormal’. You’ve got to be bold. You’ve got to be crazy. You’ve got to be mad (at least, to the eyes of others). In other words, to make a lasting impact in our world, you’ve got to be thinking what others are not thinking, you’ve got to be seeing what others are not seeing, and you’ve got to be doing what others are not doing. You’ve got to have a mind of a leader. You owe nobody an explanation; follow your deep positive conviction and intuition, even if it looks or sounds crazy. Fantastic discoveries often start as crazy and stupid ideas.
Many people have lost golden opportunities by not taking crazy action. Few decades ago, the entire area of Victoria Island were forest. We were told then, it was a thing of shame to tell people you live in Victoria Island. The prestigious locations then used to be Surulere and Yaba area. However, some people took the bold, stupid and crazy action to buy land there. We all know what land is worth in Victoria Island today. Opportunities do repeat itself. You may have missed the Victoria Island of today, but look and target the Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki of tomorrow. Remember, it is the forest of today that gives birth to the cities of tomorrow. Get bold to take crazy steps and actions. Persist until you succeed.
As usual, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment and advisory, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. That is our promise, and will always be.
Thank you.
