Knight In Shining Armour.

This is my response to "Weekend-engagement post topics 77: Influential" You can also join the challenge here.

---

Special shout out to @galenkp for this opportunity to share this part of me.

---

Topic:

Tell us about someone, other than your parents, who have supported and influenced you and made a positive difference in your life. What did they do, how did they do it and how have you benefitted - What lessons do you remember the best.

---

---

I have always been the type that would blow any money he sees. I don't see the point in keeping money when I could be meeting my needs. I was like this for a long time.

Even when I can into a huge sum of money after graduation, I was getting a lot of things to meet up with my needs because I believed that I could get everything I needed at once. You know when you are an expert at something, sometimes you are the one that would flout the rules of what you believed in the most or studied.

I studied Economics and most people have this notion that Economists are stingy. I wasn't living my life to prove anyone wrong and I have heard stories of how most people won't even spend on themselves and I found it annoying. It didn't influence me but I failed to understand the basic rule of "Scale of Preference" - listing of human wants in order of priority. I didn't prioritize the things I was getting, I was just buying things based on how I feel. I spent a lot of money even before they finally got to me.

I didn't understand the basic rule of engaging money even though I studied it. I knew the theory but I was struggling to keep up with the practical. I never met any lady either who would make me see the errors of my ways and my brothers were not staying close to me, maybe they would have cautioned me in a way. I was just spending and getting things that I don't even need at that time.

Someone once said, "If you can't afford it, you probably don't need it." I would have to agree with that because most of the time we try to spend on what we don't need thereby neglecting the basic things that we need.

I lived my life this way for many years and I had no savings and no investments. I wasn't different from those who earn in a day and then blow it all in a day since they believed another day would come and they would earn again.

---

---

I found myself many times and each time I would always slip into the hole again until I met my wife. She was right on time...the knight in shining armour who came through to brighten my darkened world. She has always been meticulous and prudent but never stingy. I was even blown away by the things she had accomplished at such young age and I had nothing to show for it despite being older.

She opened my eyes to how savings and fixing my finance is important - how a lot depended on it and how I need to take charge of my future. It wasn't an easy thing and I had to subject myself to a lot of scrutinies just to learn how to. I would have saved up and then out of the blues pull out the funds and use them for something that doesn't make sense.

Finally, I learnt the art of saving and investing and I am better for it. There is a need for us to take control of our finances and see money as a tool to achieve greatness and the more greatness we attain, the more help we are capable of rendering to others. We need to stop living for ourselves, wasting resources and thinking about the short term.

Another impact she had on me was making me step out of my comfort zone. I know I was so relaxed back then. I was reluctant to even change my job even though the pay wasn't that good despite working as an accountant for an agro-allied firm. I was just comfortable and scared of what the future would hold. I was scared of trying something new... Maybe of rejection too.

She encouraged me to apply for a job in a city she lives in so we can spend more time together rather than the shuttle between two states that we did back then. Reluctantly, I applied for a job in Lagos state and I was called for an interview. I was scared because this is a job role I've never done before so I had to read up a little bit.

Fast forward, I was called for the job and I was still contemplating on whether to take it or not because I didn't want to leave familiar territory. I summoned the courage and took the job and my fears dissipated. I can dare to dream, I can dare to challenge things and I can dare to step into uncharted waters or territory because I've grown that self-belief that there is nothing I can't achieve as long as I keep my mind on it and all thanks to her; her patience, her resilience, her insistence, her support and love.

Growth isn't easy but she walked me through the process of it and I am grateful for it. It made me who I am today and I am willing to be more...

---

Thank you for your time.

---

My pen doesn't bleed, it speaks, with speed and ease.

Still me,

My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer.

Olawalium; (Love's chemical content, in human form). Take a dose today: doctor's order.