Your 10 Years Countdown Just Began

How about this for a morning read :

Each day, rise and face the challenges that come with adulthood. It’s your turn now, and the worst mistake you can make is to keep pushing those challenges to another day. Delaying only ensures one outcome — you’ll eventually face them, and by then, it might be too late to catch up.

The challenges of adulthood are common: debt (which you’ll likely encounter at some point and must learn to manage), office politics (someone will always harbor dislike — that’s part of the game), sibling support, the need for your own home, housing, comfort, further education, and more. Among these, one of the most crucial is finance.

To get your finances in order, you need time. Beyond hard work, time is your most essential resource. When it’s time to build, build; when it’s time to sell, sell. Overthinking either will only complicate things.

Now, let’s dive into why time is your most valuable asset in securing your financial future. In your youth, you have strength and energy — both are tied to time. This is the period when you can jump on multiple buses, travel at night, catch the first flight to distant places, carry heavy loads, and think deeply. These are feats that become harder with age. On average, you have about seven decades to make your mark — unless you’re one of the lucky few living in the Blue Zones.

When it comes to finance, there are two key actions: Building and Selling. Everything else, like working for someone else, is merely a shadow of the real deal. I don’t like relying on luck; I prefer to play a game where I control all the cards — especially the ones I’ve made myself.

Here’s the truth: everyone who has ever succeeded found a gap others overlooked and filled it. They discovered something to sell and sold it. Some built something unique and then sold it. The core message is this: you must Build and Sell. The act of building can take many forms, but when you find something worth selling, you won’t be the only one who recognizes its value. Hundreds of others will, too.

What will set your product apart is the reason why you need to build. It’s that one thing the other 99 people who found the same opportunity won’t be willing to do. Back in the 90s, when the Central Bank of Nigeria invited bids to own and operate banks, everyone knew the offer was on the table. But only those who could afford what it truly took stepped up. And “what it takes” isn’t just money. It’s more than that.

Sometimes, your build will demand stress, gathering people, engaging others, and more. But that’s what it takes — doing what others can’t or won’t do, narrowing down the competition. If what you want to do is so simple that anyone can do it, then you’re already at a disadvantage. Sooner or later, the market will be flooded with competitors, driving down your potential profits.

The sooner you find a product with an edge, the better your chances as a young person to secure your financial future. Remember, time is not on your side. You don’t have forever.