Conversation with my Billionaire Friend
(Session 26)
My Billionaire friend had been hinting at the need to emphasise once again the importance of knowledge in wealth acquisition. But at our last session I was not too sure of what to expect. Once all the necessary protocols were observed, I just allowed him to express himself with no interruptions from my side and in all demonstrating versatility on the science of wealth.
Here is how it went; I just allowed him to fire. Please enjoy:
“As previously canvassed in our past conversations, wealth-building requires clear knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of facilitating wealth-building goals. Knowledge here includes all the facts, information, exposure, skill, and education gathered through a theoretical and practical understanding of the subject of building wealth”.
“To start with, wealth builders need to acquire explicit, implicit, tacit and procedural knowledge about wealth to a reasonable extent. This will help them to navigate the intricate labyrinth of achieving their wealth-building goals. Wealth builders also need to gather conceptual, meta-cognitive knowledge. The truth is, wealth building is not a cup of tea. It requires a continuous search and pursuit of knowledge, especially in one’s chosen areas of wealth focus. Knowledge itself manifests in awareness, which is gained from facts or situations surrounding wealth building. Knowledge is the condition of knowing and being familiar with the issues and the various factors that are useful for a successful wealth-building endeavour. In other words, knowledge ensures that wealth builders do not approach their pursuit like the proverbial blind man without a guide. It is thus important for wealth builders to search for knowledge as an integral part of their search for wealth opportunities. Doing so would make a huge difference. Not doing so would, without a doubt, eventually impede and stop them from reaching their wealth-building goals. Wealth builders must, as a habit, continue to learn, understand and be aware of all the issues which concern the process of building wealth. They must not only personally acquire a good knowledge base but should procure expert knowledge whenever necessary”.
KNOWLEDGE EQUIPES FOR CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
“In general, wealth building requires deep knowledge about trade and economic rules, regulations, practices and procedures, which could be acquired from a series of learning activities that exist, and have been put in place to build wealth. The question would arise: Why is knowledge that important in building wealth? The answer to this question starts with the knowledge that helps to solve problems. In the process of wealth building, builders would encounter innumerable problems. Knowledge helps to position wealth builders in good stead to overcome problems as they arise. The problems of life are generally better solved with knowledge. Knowledge sharpens skills. Wealth builders who have acquired knowledge would have their skills better sharpened. Knowledge aids critical analysis and establishing the rationale for solving the problems associated with wealth building. Wealth building is an adventurous exercise. It is adventurous in the sense that losses may occur, and those losses can lead to the loss of lives and can destroy families and institutions. Therefore, wealth builders should have built their knowledge base such that their abilities to confront problems would be good. A strong knowledge base helps humans solve problems easily.
It also makes learning easier. Humans with a good knowledge base find it easier to acquire more knowledge. Knowledge is not only cumulative, it also grows exponentially so that those already rich with knowledge find it easier to grow more. This is why it is said that the rich get richer. Knowledge is characterised by being contextual and thus can be reused. Knowledge is, however, only beneficial when and if applied. There is no utility value in having relevant knowledge without utilising such to creatively build wealth. Wealth builders should not only build wealth for themselves but should assist others to start up and succeed as wealth builders. Knowledge is characterised by being changeable over time. Indeed, knowledge is not static, as it grows and changes over time. This is the reason wealth builders must keep themselves informed of new developments within and outside their sphere of wealth building. This is particularly important with the innumerable accounting, legal and technological issues that would confront them in their wealth-building pursuits. Since knowledge can become obsolete over time, it needs to be renewed from time to time. More importantly, knowledge can be obtained and transferred through education. This is why wealth builders are encouraged to regularly undergo refresher training and review a series of courses to regularly upgrade their knowledge base. As discoveries and findings are made, wealth builders must acquaint themselves with them as these emerge to keep wealth builders abreast of important developments in different spheres that make have an impact on their businesses. Hence, in doing this, wealth builders would learn continuously about new developments in science, technology, engineering, law, finance, investment and economics and how they affect their businesses. This will enable them better control the outcomes of their various wealth-building pursuits”.
SCIENNCE, TECHNOLGY, ENGINEERING, ECONOMICS, INVESTMENT AND FINANCE KNOWLEDGE FOR WEALTH BUILDING
“This should now lead our conversation to the importance of science, technology, engineering, economics, investment and finance knowledge for building wealth. Indeed, it is globally known, especially in knowledge-driven nations, that investments in science are investments in growth and development. This is because knowledge of science has broken numerous centuries-old myths and is still breaking many current myths held by humans. Thanks to science, humanity is discovering new frontiers of knowledge about life, the living environment and the world stratosphere that remained mystical and have hindered human development for centuries. Science has thus broken numerous myths, which hitherto prevented the development of humanity and immeasurably hindered the quantum leap of growth and development in the wealth of individuals, nations and the world in general. An example is how Gallileo Galleli broke humanity’s centuries-old myth about the earth being the centre of the universe, as against being the sun. History notes that Gallileo Galleli, an Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician, broke this age-long myth by discovering that the earth was round and revolves in an orbit around the sun. This scientific discovery by Gallileo Galleli, which was based on the forerunning scientific work of Nicolaus Copernicus , globally led to many far-reaching developments in astronomy, of beneficial developments in world aviation, which has now made the world easier to transverse. That enabled the development of the tourism industry, which now drives some economies. History has it that Gallileo was made to suffer for daring to align with the theory published by the Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543, which opposed a prevailing theory, advanced by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy, that the earth was the centre of the universe with the sun and the rest of the cosmos orbiting around it. He was condemned by Roman authorities in 1633, and was forced to recant his discoveries. Galileo remained in house arrest until he died in 1642 at the age of 77”.
WHAT HAS SCIENCE GOT TO DO WITH WEALTH?
“Science has revolutionised the world and continues to account for the sustenance of world empires. It is science that opened up the vast economy and wealth now enjoyed by humanity on numerous frontiers, which were previously unknown to humans. An example of the importance of scientific knowledge, which has built immeasurable wealth for humanity, is Michael Faraday’s discovery of electricity. Faraday’s discovery has not only brightened the world, it has also powered and energised the world. His discovery has revolutionised the wealth-building capacity of the world beyond imagination. Developed nations have particularly benefited greatly from that discovery. It has enabled the sustenance of humanity and has helped with the driving of machinery and equipment used in all facets of human existence, creating a wealth of great value for the world”.
“The discoveries of scientists continue to attract trillions of dollars in royalties to nations that invest in science. An example is the humongous amount of money made by scientists, firms and nations in the pharmaceutical discoveries of Covid-19 vaccines when the pandemic was ravaging the world with intensity. Science, therefore, grows wealth in the world. Science is a clear source for building wealth, which has been and is being tapped by knowledge-driven nations of the world. Unfortunately, Nigeria is still in the agrarian age, with minimal drive on industrialisation, with its defending and pursuit of the herding of cows, insistence on grazing routes for cows and similar facilitating enactment of laws for promoting herding of cows around the country, instead of a scientifically global preference for ranching”.
HOW ABOUT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY?
“Information technology is currently the key driving force of knowledge-driven nations for wealth development. Information technology has been highly embraced by knowledge-driven nations in all facets of their lives and governance. The world, in general, is currently being propelled by the knowledge revolution. Knowledge-driven wealth builders like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, etc., have made and are sustaining the United States of America as the dominant economy and wealthiest nation in our world with a GDP of about $25 trillion. Meanwhile, herdsmen and agrarian-driven countries with large populations are struggling with small economic sizes and poor per capita incomes. Such nations are steeped in debts, struggling to pay the debts and having their annual debt servicing costs outstripping their revenues. Knowledge of the modern technology which is currently driving the world is, therefore “sine qua non” for serious wealth builders that want to make a success of their pursuit. Without the knowledge of information technology, wealth building in the current world is a non-starter. This is why Nigeria needs to invest in information technology infrastructure in its public schools and universities. This investment is necessary for building wealth for the Nigerian nation and its people. Nigeria must invest in ICT infrastructure in its public universities and youths. Young Nigerians must be encouraged to acquire skills in information technology which will lead to birthing exponentially by-products of a better standard of living for Nigerian citizens, great wealth for our nation and a better global image for our country”.
WEALTH BUILDING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE INSEPARABLE
“In the world of today and tomorrow, wealth building will continue to centre around science and technology. So, wealth builders are encouraged to avail themselves of knowledge of information technology and its various aspects”.
“The knowledge-driven nations of the world, which as it is, are those dominating the world economically and militarily, consistently and determinedly invest in science and technology to maintain their world dominance and comparative competitive advantages. They compete and outperform each other, investing in science, information technology and engineering to grow their national wealth and the living standards of their citizens. For instance, China, with a 19 trillion dollars economy, comes second to the United States of America. China is globally acknowledged to be the next dominant power because of that country’s heavy investment in science, technology and engineering. Such a level of investment helps to build not only the military power of nations but also grow wealth for their national pride and the living standards of their citizens”.
“Knowledge about the law also needs to be explored by wealth builders but this can usually be obtained via procuring the services of legal advisers and consultants by wealth builders for developing, protecting and sustaining their wealth. However, basic knowledge about investment, finance and economics needs to be acquired by wealth builders because they are integral parts of the wealth-building process and pursuits for successful and effective day-to-day decision-making. Wealth building is about taking good decisions in finance, investments and managing tangible assets, which require basic knowledge and understanding of finance, investment, and macro and micro economics for monitoring economic developments and optimising business operations. This analysis does not aim in any way to undermine other knowledge areas or subjects. It aims at pointing out the significance of the emphasised areas of knowledge for building wealth, generally. “Knowledge is wealth”, they say. It is on this basis that I insist that wealth builders must explore, acquire and utilise knowledge for building wealth, both for themselves, their nation and humanity in general. Knowledge exists in the documentary, repository and implicit forms for wealth building”.
“Stupendous wealth is built by utilising knowledge in the areas canvassed in this discussion. It then boils down to how effective each wealth builder can acquire and use knowledge for making an impactful difference in society and the world at large. Globally, strong wealth builders are leading the way, and it is therefore vital for us to follow their direction, not only for building wealth for ourselves but also for the good of humanity by effectively utilising knowledge for that purpose”.
QUOTE 1
The truth is, wealth building is not a cup of tea. It requires a continuous search and pursuit of knowledge, especially in one’s chosen areas of wealth focus. Knowledge itself manifests in awareness, which is gained from facts or situations surrounding wealth building.
QUOTE 2
In the process of wealth building, builders would encounter innumerable problems. Knowledge helps to position wealth builders in good stead to overcome problems as they arise. The problems of life are generally better solved with knowledge. Knowledge sharpens skills
