INSTANT GRATIFICATION - THE SICKNESS OF NOW

Let’s talk about sports and money, professional Basketball and Money to be precise. Well it’s no news that these players earn massive wages, have fast cars, own mansions and are living the dream. But as Jim Rohn said I think, “Wages makes you a living, Profit makes you a fortune.”

Spencer Haywood was one of the darlings of the professional NBA league. He started his professional career in the early ‘70s at the age of 21 after being drafted in the second round of selections. His skills were incredible and it cemented his position as an NBA superstar. Haywood went on to win more than 15 awards in his playing career which spanned 14 years. Amongst those included the ABA Most Valuable Player in 1970, an Olympic gold medal and a Championship with LA Lakers in 1980. During his illustrious career, Haywood played for 6 professional NBA teams and was later in 2015 inducted into the prestigious NBA Hall Of Fame.

Everything was going on perfectly, much more than he would ever have thought until he was approached by an entrepreneur, Phil Knight, founder of a start-up company Blue Ribbon Sports in 1973 to help promote the company’s image as a brand ambassador of their sport footwear on a contract base deal.

He was handed a choice of accepting a $100,000 or owning a 10% stake in the company. That proved to be an easy decision for Haywood’s manager. So Haywood opted for the first option after he sought counsel. I mean who wouldn’t go for a $100,000 coming from a company that might not be around in say 5 years.

This feels so personal that it makes me want to weep every time I think about it. I love success, I really do. I want to think I'm smart and witty enough to make the most of my life, negotiate with my values and skills to be able to wield influence and money. But I found out my life's psychology was counter that of sustained wealth. Making money is a game all on its own and hence every player needs to have the money mindset, we ought to side in with it to earn the most of it.

Instant gratification is the psychology of wanting something right now at the expense of its better but future (or delayed) value. Money and value, are literally interchangeable. (We might talk about "money culture" in later issues.) It's important to know that how money is spent is more cultural and economic than personal.

So the psychology behind instant gratification can be sold to you, from ads, credit service options, fast track businesses, media, your hometown politicians and an endless list. I'm a Nigerian, and I’ve seen this culture play out, in politics, civil services, entrepreneurship and even in not-for-profit businesses even in our relational behaviours with people. I find a lot of people eating tomorrow's food today. This "you only live once" mentality isn't even categorically wrong, only that we read it to be "you only live now" not knowing that ‘once’ stands for "now and later". Come to think of it, you might live longer than you would consciously or unconsciously expect. I can attest to the truth that waiting is painful, but as in the story above the regret is epic and could hunt you for the rest of your life. You see financial success includes a person's ability to make a choice which limits their right to get something now, for the pleasure of being able to have something bigger or better later. There are endless principles that can get you out of this instant gratification cycle. Distinguish between real needs and frivolous wants, and control the latter. You know, a quick trick to this effect would be to prolong the satisfaction of your desire – give time time, say a day or two, a week, a month – so if at the end of your set time frame if you still intensely desire it then you can if you choose gratify your wants. Know the essentials and non-essentials. With time, certain things you think you have need of will wear off, so exercise a little patience. Ask yourself:

Why do I want it? How will buying it make things different? What is truly important to me at this moment? Does this purchase reflect my values? What else could I use this money for instead? There are other principles that should guide your thought pattern:

·         Stay thoughtful. Frivolity is in shallow mindedness. Don't just think about your money occasionally, do it regularly and keep it on paper. That way you don't forget what is truly important, a one off planning time won't do, read your previous plan and continue to plan. Make it a habit to look at your plan before a dime is spent.

·         Discipline. This is the most important ingredient. Have some dogma in your financial journey. Stake "almost" rigid poles of percentages to save and invest, no matter what need might arise. Maintain your budget, and re-evaluate what you term "emergency", I hear a lot of people say "it was an emergency, something came up", we see most things like that because we think we can handle it. People hardly sweat over what they can't handle. Which brings me into next point

·         Stop overestimating yourself. Self-confidence is good, self-control is better. Your monthly income comes in once a month and it makes you feel like at the day of receipt like a richer person not knowing that's your value spread over 30 days and with expectations of you utilizing it for the next 30days and the future. Same with your profit alerts as an entrepreneur and business owner. You aren't as rich as you think you are. So when do you have a right to purchase something, I'd say when you can get it at that same instant 10times over. This is the principle that a capital investment for a purchase should be a tithe of your reoccurring expenses, not your savings. You aren't truly financially secured as a salary earner if you don't have your 6 months’ pay in savings (*whispers* you could get fired from your job - don't overestimate yourself)

Patience doesn't guarantee success, but it dramatically increases the odds.

So back to my story, fast-forward to 2019 I can assure you Spencer Haywood has lived with the regret of his choice and would probably continue to till he dies. Did you say why? Hear this, so along the line Blue Ribbon Sports changed their name to Nike, yes, the sport equipment giant and also re-branded their image making their ‘swoosh’ logo (the tick) one of the most valuable brands in the world. I guess you’re now thinking what I’m thinking but just to put things into perspective, owning a 10% stake in Nike in 1973 would make you at this time have a net worth of about $8.2 billion.