If you’ve been a long time follower of this column, you’ll probably have come across where I used the title of professor Wole Soyinka’s book, “You Must Set Forth at Dawn” as the backdrop on a number of occasions. The reason being that I’ve owned it as I turned that title into my mantra just as it is the Nobel laureate’s own.
That has served as my default setting to jump start all sorts of things, especially days, weeks and other stuff. It’s a proven and tested blueprint for pushing yourself to get to work early. If there’s any time that Soyinka’s words fit perfectly to our lifestyles, the beginning of the year tops the bill.
So, as the first working week of the year rolls in, let me reiterate the award winning playwright’s words by saying: “you must set forth at dawn.” What does this mean for us? Setting “forth at dawn” translates to setting your financial goals for the year now. If you haven’t already done so, please make this a priority and have this ticked off before this very week is over.
So, go ahead and create the time to do this. This might take as little as an hour or more than three hours. But make sure you do it this week. That’s what it means to set forth at dawn. It’s going to be worth its weight in gold.
Finally, set at least 12 financial goals and a maximum of 20. Don’t settle for anything less. Increasing your earnings and income should naturally make the cut. Spending just one percent or less of your monthly income on seminars and living within your means ought to be in your list too. The call is entirely yours. So, make sure you get it done and thus, set forth at dawn.
I Gave It A Final Push: In the very last piece of last year last week, yours truly asked everyone to give their financial goals one last throw of the dice.
Guess what? I followed through as well. Despite having the luxury of hitting the relaxation mode, I put in some effort on each of the last three working days of the year. That took care of some annoying expenditures and also made it possible to top up one’s portfolio.
If you did, well done. If you couldn’t, nothing to worry about. We all have the opportunity to set forth at dawn and thus, give ourselves another chance.
Action point: Is there any action I can take as a result of reading this column?
Tunde Oyedoyin is a London-based personal finance coach and founder of Money Intelligence Coaching Academy, a specialist academy of personal finance. He can be reached as follows: +447846089587 (WhatsApp only); E-mail: tu5oyed@gmail.com
