Gbenga Onifade: The Noah’s Principle of Investing

When it comes to investment, the first thing that comes to mind is saving money. Saving money in piggy banks, using the savings accounts in banks, buying landed properties, bonds, or, as new-age investors are doing, buying stocks – be it foreign or on the Nigerian market. This pandemic has taught many people a big lesson: you need to have a plan for your life as nobody can ever predict what will happen tomorrow. While we have all been doing well over time in endorsing and committing ourselves to this idea of putting money away, there are some flaws.

I remember the story of Noah in the Christian Bible. Noah preached and warned about an ongoing flood and advised the world to come inside an ark so that they can be sheltered for a certain number of days, months, or even years. This ark will shelter and provide them from the flood so that when disaster arrives, their family will be protected. We all know how that ended for those who heeded and those who did not.

The Noah Principle is a common saying in the literal sense of the word. Noah principle tells us not about predicting the rain, but rather getting ready for it by building the ark. 

Here are some pointers to protect you from an unplanned and perilous position of negative equity, so you don’t fall on the wrong side of ‘Noah’s Ark’:

Be prepared

As a human, you must persevere, preserve, and be responsible for your own life. You must be ready to survive at all costs. Understand that superheroes are not real, and nobody will come and save you. Eliminating poverty in your future is your job. No one else. The only bad option is doing nothing.

Hire yourself

As stated by Warren Buffet, “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. If you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.” This quote is supposed to apply to yourself. Are you able to test yourself of your integrity, intelligence, and energy? Are you confident enough to say my principles and values are well suited to surviving in today’s world?

Regardless of how skilled your paid employment is, you may stretch yourself too thin, but statistics prove that only a tiny make it through. You are the most qualified person for this job, therefore, hire yourself and be smart about it.

Make efficient use of your time

How well are you using your time? Do you know your process? Do you have a working process and its constituent parts? What is working for your life? Process is the most important factor that will make your life work. What process have you defined for yourself? While this is what I find the most important, it is one that gets the least attention and probably given some distance. In being smart about how you use your time and life, it is not your habit that you overcome, it’s yourself.

Hop on the Ark

As the saying goes, if you are thinking of planting your tree tomorrow to protect you from the shade, you are already late. In order not to be left behind, it’s time to hop on the proverbial investment ark. Mostly, in times of uncertainty, people deem it safe to hoard their cash. In unpredictable times, as it happened this year, COVID-19 should not be a reason why we should not invest. It’s normal to try to save oneself, but not leaving a portion for the unpredictable incoming dangerous flood of life is a blindside mistake. Your ark needs to be strong and robust but also adaptable and flexible according to Naseem Taleb, author of Anti-Fragile.

It does not matter how much rain is predicted; it means absolutely nothing. If the available ark you build yourself is not strong enough, then you cannot use it when the rain comes. Survivors who step in the ark are called winners. To be counted among the survivors in the ark, you need to collect the tools, and start building it so that you can step comfortably in it.

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