My success lessons from childhood mango hunting.

When we were kids and back in the day, we would go mango hunting in other areas with mango trees, that was in Tamale.

Usually, hunting wasn't risky but could get messy occasionally. What you need to get hunting was your body and a bag to collect your mangoes home. We did this for fun since our parents would still buy mangoes to the house. It was fun really.

We needed three groups of people to have a successful hunt. We needed those who could climb, those who could give accurate directions to where the ripe mangoes hung who also served as pickers and We needed those who had a sharp sense of observation and could spot any old man who would come claiming the mango tree was his coming from afar.

Now the mission was to be done quietly but because someone would be on top shaking, that was not possible so we needed to be very vigilant to be able to have a successful end.

Now, it wasn't necessary to hunt with a team, but that was optimal because you had more mangoes after and wouldn't get into trouble.

My main point comes when the trouble comes. When the old man is spotted, the whole team becomes dissolved and it's confusion time. The fastest runner will not get caught, the one who spotted the old man may be the first to run, those on top of the tree may lose almost everything because those on the ground could run away with all they've to their houses.

Now, we would run in any direction but mostly to our homes. This means the one who climbed to tree had the highest of risk and yet could fall into trouble and still lose all the mangoes he suffered most for.

Our success journey is just like this childhood hunt of ours. Success is a tough journey that's why I usually say

"I DON'T BELIEVE IN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS"

I mean you don’t just wake up and you’re a successful person, it requires a lot of things to get to the place you can call a success.

One thing to keep in mind is that you'll need to take bold oftentimes risky and lonely decisions. In investment, the most risky portfolios are those which have the greatest returns. This does not mean you should go about taking unnecessary and uncalculated risks that you'll suffer from later. Mango hunting, especially when you're done one on the tree has its own risks. You may fall and break your leg or your friends may run away before you even know the supposed tree owner is on his/her way etc.

Therefore it's wise to know the kind of team you keep, your circle of friends you do business with and any other business partner of yours. Managing partnerships is one hell of a task but very necessary. If not we'll done, you'll often find yourself in trouble and risky, unnecessary deals you shouldn't have ventured into. I wrote something on "Your network determines your net worth". I've come to believe in that statement. Your friends can either make you better or worse off. There's nothing like they have no effect on you. If they're not improving you, then you should be improving them else get a new flock who help you grow.

One thing to note: Be particular about character. Oftentimes we value competence over character. Character is underestimated

❗Bear the risk
❗Choose your team
❗Be careful about choosing character over competence

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