[b][/b]
“When I look back at my life, it becomes clearer why it took me a long time to arrive here. I was raised by a single dad but the explanation for the journey of my life was nothing near having a single parent- it was 100% a function of the choices that I made. My mother died when I was six. People expected my father to remarry but he resisted all the concerted effort to get him to pick a second wife. The pitch employed to convince him sounded perfect- they told him he needed a mother figure to look after me. But he rebuffed the idea and I remember him telling me that you cannot tell a cripple from a group of persons sitting in a boat. He told me later in life that you cannot tell a good woman from her appearance. He believed that the much-coveted mother figure might end up tearing us apart. He didn't want his love for me to become diluted by any means. He managed his meagre earnings, that came from working as a driver to a senior public servant, to provide us with our basic needs. His employer was a good man. At least, they assisted in helping my father train me through the university.”

Ben had been talking for a while. He rubbed his palms together and continued.

“I graduated from university and got a job with a commercial bank. The first ten years were good. I ate what I wanted. I was able to get a car for my wife after getting one for myself. I had this 60 inches plasma(this was what was in vogue then) television adorning my wall. I was living in a rented duplex in one of the most sought after areas of the city. At that point, life for my family and I was exceptionally beautiful."

He kept talking. "I had a very trusted friend in Remigius. We resumed duty with the same employer the same day. We became very close friends within those ten years. One day, we went to see his uncle who was a successful businessman and one discussion led to the other. We talked about what plans we had about investing for the future. In summary, my friend's uncle advised both of us to save and then invest. That didn't make sense to me then because my salary was good and I was looking forward to more promotions and corresponding pay raise; my salary was regular. In the wake of that visit, Remigius came to my house one weekend and suggested that we start saving a certain amount every month for three years towards making some investment that would bring us returns. This financial plan got my approval after a lengthy conversation on the subject.”

Ben was putting on one of the brightest white shirts I had ever seen. As I ran my eyes through the shirt, he went on. “We ended up saving N5m($13,000) in three years. In earnest, we started sourcing for the most convenient investment vehicle with considerable risk but with the potential to bring good returns. One day, Remigius walked over to my table in the office and told me about a real estate opportunity that just came up. He was informed by his uncle about the plan by the state government to move one of the federal government agencies and the market for a particular commodity to a certain location in the outskirts of the city. I told him it was a good idea but that I had decided to use mine to build a mansion in my hometown. There was a massive pressure from my parents to do so and I felt being able to save such an amount was the window that I needed.”

Ben concluded, “Five years after, Remigius was disengaged from the bank. That was during the banking shake-up of 2009. His property was worth N28m($73,000) in the real estate market at that moment. It was a massive return on investment for him. He sold it off, added some money to it and got a Bureau De Change licence. One year after, he became a big player in the market and I could easily see that he was doing so well. In the following year, I got the boot from the bank. Unfortunately, the building in the village had no economic value- I couldn't sell it( to be honest, there was no single interested buyer). And I had little money with me because I just moved to a new apartment where I spent a lot on rent; I equally bought a new car. That was when it dawned on me that I blew my chances. I had a lot of lifelines but I saved none for a time like that. To survive, I had to appeal to my friend, Remigius, to accept me to work for him while I looked at other options.”

REFLECTION
An opportunity appears like a dressed foreman in an overall. This is the very reason most people miss it. Especially those that don't like sweating it out; they choose to just pass by.

Opportunities do not disappear into thin air when neglected; they move on to the next available space until someone finds them. When Ben turned down the offer from Remigius, I learnt that the same offer was taken to a senior colleague who after observing due diligence, invested N15m($39,000) in the deal. In the end, he kept one and sold two plots(1000sqm) for N54m($142,000). That I declined the offer did not make the opportunity non-existent; in fact, it was moved on to the next available person.

Missing an opportunity that could have changed your life is very costly. Forget all the logic and assumptions; just take that step. Entrepreneurship is about taking risks. However, if you must jump from the plane, make sure you do so with a parachute. It is not like jumping with a parachute would remove the risk completely; because it could malfunction. But it would definitely minimize it. Do not allow missed opportunities to sum up your life.

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