My Three-Country Investment Story
Last week, we began exploring the path to financial freedom in our new series “Start Small, Stay Consistent”, and today I want to share more about money, and its fascinating dance partner, time. When these two work in harmony, they create a symphony that can play throughout your life.
How I Started Small
My financial story begins on a warm afternoon in my childhood home. My father, an electrical engineer with practical wisdom, sat me down for a talk that would change my life. Though he wasn’t a Wall Street wizard, he understood something fundamental about wealth, it grows from seeds planted early and tended with care.
“Look for good companies with good records,” he told me, his eyes serious and intent. “Or find promising new ventures and join from the beginning.”
These simple words took root in my young mind. Years later, when I received my first real paycheck, I remembered his advice. While friends splurged on celebrations, I quietly set aside a portion for investment. It wasn’t much, just a small envelope of possibility, but it represented something powerful: the beginning of a lifelong habit.
With each bonus or windfall, I continued this practice. I researched companies that made products I believed in and carefully directed some of my earnings into shares. Sometimes I joined new companies from their initial offerings, feeling both nervous and excited as I became a tiny owner in these ventures.
The amounts weren’t impressive. No one would have called me a serious investor. But I was learning something invaluable: the discipline of consistently nurturing my financial garden, planting seeds regardless of the season, trusting in future harvests.
How I Stayed Consistent
Life has a way of testing our commitments. My journey took me from the bustling streets of Nigeria to the gleaming towers of Qatar, and eventually to the wide horizons of Canada. Each move brought challenges, new currencies, different financial systems, unfamiliar regulations.
There were moments of doubt. Some investments withered. I made choices I later regretted, watching certain ventures collapse while others flourished unexpectedly. The temptation to abandon my practice grew strongest during these disappointments.
What kept me on course wasn’t extraordinary willpower but rather a simple tool: my budget. This wasn’t just columns of numbers but a written promise to my future self. It ensured that regardless of what I earned, whether feast or famine, a portion always went toward tomorrow.
As I adapted to new homes across continents, this financial habit remained my constant companion. The miracle revealed itself slowly, investments began to grow in three different countries, tiny seeds becoming saplings, then trees, a global garden planted one decision at a time.
Today, when I look at what has grown from those modest beginnings, I don’t see merely assets or accounts. I see proof that consistency transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. The power wasn’t in sophisticated strategies but in showing up, again and again, for my financial future.
Action Points
As you consider your own journey, I invite you to:
- Create Your Investment Anchor: Choose a meaningful day each month to make an investment, however modest. Pair this with something you enjoy, perhaps making your favorite tea or taking a walk in a beautiful place, to transform financial discipline into a pleasant tradition rather than a chore.
- Write Your Future Letter: Compose a letter to yourself to be read years from now. Describe the financial garden you’re beginning to plant today and your hopes for what it will become. Keep this somewhere visible as a reminder of why consistency matters.
Remember, wealth building isn’t about dramatic gestures but rather about gentle persistence. It’s not about following complex formulas but about honoring simple promises to yourself.
Navigate to Accelerate: Now Accepting the Next Cohort
The current Navigate to Accelerate cohort is wrapping up, and we’re opening the doors to the next group of driven professionals ready to take their careers to the next level.
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But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what one have our past participant Johnny Caputo, VP at Sterling Brokers, had to say:
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Practical guidance and tips through coaching
“I’ve worked very closely with Tom over the past 18 months of my career. Tom provided me leadership and personal coaching as I began my career at a large professional services firm. Being new to the industry, Tom was an integral piece of my development. Tom and I worked diligently to identify my strengths and actionable steps to address my opportunities for development. Tom helped me develop the skills and confidence to develop a brand within the organization and was always available for personal and career support.
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