Invest in Yourself and Survive!

Introduction

It was in 2004 that I decided to quit formal employment. The reason? I was highly dissatisfied with my formal job. Three years prior to that I was a happy man. As the company’s chief chemist, I had a lot of clout. Many a time my bosses had to listen to me. I was working for BP Tanzania Limited – an oil marketing company. BP stands for British Petroleum. It was a sensitive industry. The company could lose a highly valuable customer because of an issue in product quality. As chemists we were the quality kings therefore our bosses paid close attention when we spoke!

Three years before I decided to quit, the company announced that all the jobs in the company would be re-evaluated. As a result of this announced a team of experts from the Head Office in South Africa paid us a visit. They met with all the staff individually, and discussed matters related to each staff’s job. In my case they told me plainly that I was at the end of my career ladder unless I changed my position. I understood them. If I continued working within the function, as a chief chemist where else could I move to on the career ladder? They thought it was not fair since I had a master’s degree. While I could no longer move ahead careerwise, a guy in Marketing and Sales – with only a bachelor’s degree – with time could make a manager or a director’s position. Of course, apart from status, managers and directors earned much more than us laboratory guys!

Dissatisfaction Grows

My dissatisfaction journey was formally launched. I tried to talk and reason with my bosses but they ignored my arguments. In 2004 things took a worse turn when the company announced re-structuring. All available positions were abolished and new positions were posted on the company’s intranet. Anyone could apply for any post. All the laboratory jobs were abolished including the position of chief chemist. We had no alternative but to apply for the announced jobs. The results came out and I didn’t succeed to secure the position I applied for. Just like that, I was out of a job!

I continued working while waiting for my retrenchment letter, but it didn’t come. One, two, three…. thirty days but nobody said anything to me. It was as if my old position was still available on the company’s organigram. It was quite depressing! After those first thirty days of having my mind messed up, I decided to take action. I wrote a very strong letter to the Country Manager and demanded an explanation. I summoned for a meeting almost immediately. When I went there, I found the country manager and the human resources manager together. They apologized and told me that I was very much still part of the company and what happened was just an oversight. They offered me a 10% salary increase to show their sincerity.

Better to Continue Investing in Myself

I told them that the best way for me was to leave since I was not satisfied with my current job anyway. They panicked! They asked me to give them three months to work out arrangements for my transfer to a different corporate function. I agreed although I knew that it won’t happen. From that day I started preparing for something else to do. I decided to invest in myself and enrolled into four online courses, two on business and two on health and wellness. I worked hard. At the end of the three months, I had my certificates.

I contacted the country manager and told him that I had not heard anything following our previous meeting and the three months they asked for was already up. He frankly admitted that they had failed to fulfil their promise and accordingly he didn’t have the heart to ask me to continue to stay. They gave the retrenchment letter and some severance pay. I left but I was briming with confidence that I could employ myself successfully using my newly obtained knowledge in business and health and wellness. Since then, I have written a lot of business plans for individuals as well as businesses, and I have also successfully facilitated the creation of strategic plans for some organizations. In 2007 I formed Herbal Impact which is focused on researching and developing herbal medicinal formulations.

I have also obtained a license to operate an alternative medicine clinic using my certificates in health and wellness. We use our own formulations in the clinic and these formulations are simply performing wonders! Some of these formulations are so revolutionary I believe given the right environment can be a source of monumental wealth. For example, we have this formulation we call ‘Haiiba C and P Support Plus’. It is a great formulation for those suffering from high blood pressure and heart diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 17.9 million people die from cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease, every year. Just do the math to understand what I mean when I mention potential for creating monumental wealth!

Conclusion

Investing in yourself is a powerful tool for wealth creation. When you develop a growth mindset, acquire knowledge and skills, build a personal brand, enhance financial literacy, prioritize health and well-being, cultivate a supportive network, and embrace continuous learning, you are all set for long-term financial success. However, you have to remember that investing in yourself is not a one-time event but a lifelong journey. By committing to your personal development and making deliberate investments in yourself, you unlock your full potential, increase your earning capacity, and create opportunities for wealth creation that can transform your life.