It happened to my friend lately as he was driving down the streets of Lagos. He ran into the traffic light as it was about to turn red in just fractions of a second. He had the chance to continue moving but as he's contemplating to move or stop, he got caught between traffic. Needless to say we were guests of LASTMA's for some hours because of that slight moment of hesitation, it taught him and me a major lesson. What's incredible is that he got caught again the following weekend repeating the same offence!
Hesitation is the prelude and relative to procrastination. While We're guilty of hesitating when making some of life's decisions, when finally we've decided what to do, we go on to procrastinate. We postpone what we can do today till tomorrow. We wait, pass time turning the decision in our minds, asking if we've chosen right or not. The sad reality is that we could get caught on the wrong side of life and life may decide not be as kind as LASTMA. Life might just hit us when we don't expect. Hit us hard! Where else do we hesitate and procrastinate the most as human beings? Financial matters.
I'm not trying to be a self-proclaimed prophet of doom but from what I've experienced in the insurance industry, a lot of young folks out there are playing with their financial future! We think we have time in our hands while each day does nothing but draw more strength and life from our bodies. Each moment we wait and waste on being indecisive may cost us...and God forbid, it may cost us big. Ask yourself this question, (please be frank) 'What foundation am I laying for my future?'
Ruminate on that question for a bit of time and you realize that majority of us intend to start saving tomorrow, not today. Mind you, tomorrow, like the saying goes, never ends. It can only lead to a chain of other tomorrows that have their own chains of other tomorrows. In other words, we find ourselves living in a state of uncertainty. Can you imagine something so careless and unsafe as living in uncertainty in this yo-yo like economic state of the globe and the cataclysmic instability the Nigerian state of things can add to such volatile mixture? Finances, investments and financial plans could go up in flames at any time and the question is, what would you do after the whole thing explodes!
My guess like yours is that the world has always taken care of itself (with God's infinite mercy and help as always) but which side of the divide do you want to be standing? The safe and prepared side or the uncertain and perpetually hopeless side? What are you doing about your savings? What plans do you have towards savings? What strategy have you adopted so far? What are you doing about financial protection? What are you doing about insurance?
The earlier you start, the better for you as that would give you a head start in the race. Unless you're a politician of clout and stature, in Nigeria you cannot become an overnight millionaire. Financial stability is not in the lotto nor promos nor gambling, these schemes might get you some money but they won't sustain you, trust me. 8 times out of 10 fast money leave as fast as they come. Simply unstable and unsustainable, they have a way of getting to the head and are more often than not, spent on satisfying the thirst of wants, not of needs.
Many of the prospects out there would love to get insured, many confess they like what being insured means to them but they would want to do it later. "Why not now?" I usually ask them, the funny thing is they have no concrete answer. They claim not to know why. The answer to that is simply...human nature. Since being insured is an intangible and future investment, we tend to ignore it because we cannot grasp the result of our effort in the shortest time possible. Therefore, being insured looks like a tall order to many of us, except those with the will and vision of what tomorrow could look like. The time to may hay while the sun shines is now. The time to put something away for the rainy days is now. The time to start building for tomorrow is now.
"It's too early for me to consider insurance, am not yet 30, single and independent and would not have financial problems anytime soon. In fact, I can't even see where it would come from." said the young man I was prospecting the other day. What he does not realize yet is he's very ripe for it. He is by far the luckiest young man I've met since I started insurance marketing, there's nothing stopping him, he has everything it takes to do the business. But unfortunately his hedonistic tendencies and the uninformed and misdirected mindset coupled with the unwise notion occupying his head and pumping into every pore of skin - that he must enjoy life, to put it mildly, is what is preventing him. He would consider it in his latter days. What gives him the assurance that he would have the same vitality and bounce 10 years down the line? How sure is he that he's prepared to face this battlefield called life?
For all of us young folks thinking we have time and enough money to last our lifetime, try find out how many NBA and NFL stars in the U.S are still living the dream after retirement. Mohammed Ali has more fans under the age of 25 than 'Iron' Mike Tyson (how many under 25's know that guy?) The time of youthful exuberance could push one into reckless spending and inefficient financial planning, ask those who know. While Jodeci
Don't push till tomorrow, the financial decision you can take today. The cost may just turn out to be too much for the mind bear. Nature and society would soon beckon on us, young folks, to come take the place of our fathers while they retire to rest their limbs, do you think that would be the appropriate time to handle your own future. By the time you're laden with family responsibilities, you might not have the time and resources to build anything anymore. That is why at Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited we're not just into insurance marketing, we offer all kinds of solution to all sorts of financial problems. Don't wait till you're neck-deep in the financial quagmire, take the decision now. It's unbelievably sad what can happen when we hesitate. My name is Olumide Ogungbemi (07056989820 and 07033588160) and I'm with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited.
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