“Do what you can with what you have, where you are” Theodore Roosevelt
These words which were spoken by the 26th president of the USA, carry a lot of weight although many of us, especially today’s youth, easily miss it. The world today is by a very big margin, driven by the media and the entertainment scene. Everything young people do or seek, is often pegged on the threshold set by these two influential sectors in the world.
If you stop any young person today and ask them about what kind of person they want to be in the future or who they look up to, six out of ten will name either somebody in the media or the entertainment scene. A slightly lower number will go for politicians and sadly, the lowest will mention entrepreneurs. Many want an Abra cadabra sort of rise from rags to riches but the few that want to be great entrepreneurs, don’t want to go through the often long process.They want to start a business with millions of shillings. They want the benefits but not the pain of building the business that will bring them millions.
We have so much talent in this country but much of it seems to be going to waste. The main reason for this sad state of affairs is that many are waiting to get huge sums of money so they can put their ideas or talents to use. Others are waiting for a sponsor to give them the cash so they can put their ideas into action. More often than not, they end up frustrated because nobody is willing to fund their ideas. Many investors will put their money in an already operating business, a business that is showing signs of growth and progress. No investor worth his or her salt will invest in an idea stored in someone’s mind. They prefer to invest in tangible products; businesses which are already in progress. They require proof of our words and our beautiful power point presentations.
A word of advice to all my fellow young people: To be successful, you don’t require millions of shillings to begin with. All you need is a good idea, put it down in writing, then execute over fifty percent of it which requires little or no finances at all. From this point onwards, you will have something tangible to present to financiers. Often, the things that we want to do, require little or no capital input. Instead, what is required is action and everything else falls in to place. So, my fellow young people, don’t wait for the jackpot or a call from a wealthy investor or financial institution to give you that impetus to move. Do what you can do and let them find you walking along the path of idea execution. All the best from Mwangi
