I Studied Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Jim Ovia & Aigboje. They All Said the Same Thing #264

The first principle here is the principle I call follow the hard road.

When Jim Ovia got the intuition or the wisdom to start his own bank, he had the opportunity to go for either a commercial banking license or a merchant banking license.

In those days in Nigeria, the commercial banking license is worth 20 million naira.

That's like $4 million today.

And the merchant banking license is 6 million naira.

That's like one point something million dollars today.

But he took the high road, and he went for the commercial banking license.

Now, that tells us a lot about life.

When you have the opportunity, go for the high thing, the big thing.

Because I found out that, I don't know about you, it's gonna take you exactly the same energy to chase a big client like you take to chase a small client.

The same energy.

It's gonna take you exactly the same energy to chase a big dream like you take to chase, you know, sort of like a small dream.

So go for the big things.

And the Earth, the universe, has a way of conspiring to favoring us.

I tell people all the time that when you raise your standard, the Earth has a way of rising up to meet you there.

So that is the first idea.

In fact, Jim Ovia put it this way.

He said, "My guts told me to choose the harder road." That's the first principle.

The second principle is also from Jim Ovia.

When he wanted to get this banking license, you had to present yourself before the Central Bank of Nigeria, the NDIC, and all of the authorities.

And as at that time, one of the qualifications for owning a bank is that you must have spent 20 years in the banking industry.

And as at that time, Jim Ovia had spent only 10 years in the banking industry.

So by the law, does not...

He did not even qualify.

So when he was presenting his case before the panel, he told them something powerful.