The Journey Is Never Smooth!

By DAVID J MUHUNZI,

In 2018, when I joined Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, I saw some students trying every opportunity that came on their way to get money, some in online marketing and others in betting companies.

I was not surprised with my observation because I knew that everyone is eager to get money, to be financially free and achieve financial liberation. I must be honest with one thing here, I also want to achieve financial liberation; the ability to efficiently and sustainably handle my demanding financial needs and life expenses.

We are currently exposed to life of very high standards, due to globalization, and everyone wishes to get there, but wait, is it an overnight event? I don't think so. Financial liberation is, for the matter of fact, a process which needs determination, hard-work and above all, patience, and can not be achieved overnight unlike what some people think it is.

It is not a crime to hope that one day we will be financially free, or we will own luxury cars and big houses, but do we really do what it takes to be there? Is it possible that one day we'll wake up and find ourselves economically stable? We must do what it takes to achieve the stability we are dreaming of.

As a college student, I came to realize that "Goal setting" is one among the important, and yet one among the underrated steps in the process of achieving what we've been struggling for, to be financially stable. This is where someone states what he wants to be, and how he can reach there.

As easy as it sounds, practically it is a difficult step, in achieving what one wants to be.

We forget that to be is to do, and to do is to dare.

Goal setting should get a hand on from the opportunities around.

This is another difficult part, faced by the young generation on our dash of life. Brainstorming the environment around us, looking for something we can do and get something back in return is as difficult as hell, or we are just lazy to think and feel that we are too weak to get out of our comfort zones and try something new, or so I have been told. 

I have also come to learn that, the fact that we are still young, gives us the illusion of having enough time, forgetting that we do not control our timelines. In this stage, we need to make the most use of our brains to see the opportunities around us that we can invest our time in, and get what we really need in life.

While pursuing your degree at college or whatsoever, think of adding some soft skills in your bunch of knowledge which can turn out to be the source of what you need, financial stability.

Contacts; +255 659 180325 mboneambwambo01@gmail.com S. L. P 65007, Upanga, Dar Es Salaam

Mbonea Erick Mbwambo, a pharmacy student at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences started learning graphics designing in the first year of his studies in the University, and a year after, he had already founded his own graphics designing brand, MIO graphics.

Knowledge has become very cheap than we can ever imagine, with "digitalized world" and cyberspace informatics, you can use the available resources to acquire skills of your choice online.

"If you don't invest in soft skills, you will be the next illiterate and an important fool in the ecosystem. No other language can explain this",  says Whitefrank M. Frank, a dental student at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences.

Position yourself to know your interests and your priorities, this will help you minimize"opportunities overload". You can not take every opportunity around you, but you can take all that fall into your priorities as long as your position is favorable.

Someone may ask me here, "how do I know the opportunities in my position"?

The answer to this question is quite clear, the iteration cycle.

Learn to understand how things run in your area. Look carefully to observe the gaps that need to be fulfilled, or inconveniences that need to be solved.  Think of the possible solutions to the existing gaps or inconveniences or to an existing problem in your ecosystem that can give you something back in return. Test your solution and get genuine feedback. Improve the positive feedback and correct the negative side to remove the flaws. Execute the opportunity and grow. I must caution you here, it is not as simple as it sounds written in these words. It needs hard work, passion, patience and the drive from your inner being to practically do this.You will meet the hell of challenges and a bunch of setbacks.

I have for a long time been learning on the issues of financial stability especially to the young generation as they are preparing for their future. I was eager to understand how young generations can financially achieve their dreams in legal terms. This piece of writing is as a result of an intellectual discussion conducted by ILBORU MUHAS CHAPTER 2018 about financial stability among college students which was held virtually on 29th April 2020, from where I become motivated to come up with this work. The ideas presented in this piece of writing are mainly contributions from different members who gave out their views on the topic.

May I take this opportunity to appreciate their opinions and acknowledge their views that contributed to the development of this article.

I'm not saying that this is the way, but here are the principles, the principles to financial freedom and liberation. The principles towards what we are struggling for and what we are dreaming at.

The journey is never smooth, or everyone could have made it!