HENRY John Kaiser was an American industrialist who lived from 1882 till 1967. Kaiser's interests and abilities were eclectic — his companies played major roles in building the vital Hoover Dam spanning the Arizona-Nevada border, the roughly 2,700 Liberty ships that plied the Atlantic Ocean during World War 2 (to supply Allied troops as they battled Hitler's evil Third Reich and its Axis partners), a wide swath of radio and television stations across the United States, and a global healthcare and health insurance group.
His breathtaking spectrum of businesses nurtured and built in the first two-thirds of the 20th century remind me of today's (usually) wealthiest man, the Mars-fixated maverick Elon Musk.
Kaiser chose as his life and business motto, this catchy phrase: "Find a need and fill it."
Contained in those six single-syllable words is the key to enormous economic success for us all, not just the high-profile billionaires we read about in the press because of how effectively their mega brand name businesses have insinuated themselves into the fabric of 21st century life.
Most people who attain some measure of economic success do so by serving growing numbers of people, which is in line with Kaiser's motto. Yet many of them may not be aware of a profound truth embedded in a Native American saying, "Wealth is measured not by what you have but by what you've given away."
I agree.
You see, we can't give what we don't have; and we can't first "have" if we don't proactively choose not to spend everything we have on ourselves.
That's why, speaking for myself and my small businesses, the primary need I identified a long time ago and that I've worked on for 28 years — thus far — was (and is) to help regular people save and invest a portion of the money that flows into their lives through work and bequests.
So, what about you? Are you as successful and fulfilled as you wish to be? If not, I urge you to heed Kaiser's motto and, if you think it is appropriate, to then go as far as to co-opt it for yourself:
Find a need and fill it.
INVEST IN KNOWLEDGE
As you utilise this fabulous key to success, you'll discover time and again that a passionate commitment to lifelong learning will supercharge your capacity for success. (Read more of my thoughts on this here: www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2022/12/857472/money-thoughts-life... )
As my favourite American founding father Benjamin Franklin wrote: "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." Consider the income differentials between orderlies working in a hospital, basic nurses, specialist intensive care nurses, regular doctors, and specialists.
Or between legal assistants, junior salaried law partners, and full equity partners. Or, again, between cabin crew, first officer pilots and captains of commercial planes. The list is endless, but I'm sure you get my drift.
Regardless of our fields of endeavour, ideally, we all need to bring in more money each year in salaries, business revenue, or, if we no longer work, passive income to cope with the challenges posed by inflation.
Blending Kaiser's motto with that truth means we should target our lifelong learning endeavours to bring in more money per unit time by better serving our personal marketplaces comprising our employers and customers.
This doesn't mean that all of us will become millionaires, be it in US dollar or merely RM terms. Still, we should endeavour to succeed to the best of our ability.
ATTAINING SELF-SATISFACTION
The sociologist William Graham Sumner was once quoted saying: "Millionaires are a product of natural selection, acting on the whole body of men to pick out those who can meet the requirements of certain work to be done... They get high wages and live in luxury, but the bargain is a good one for society. There is the intense-st competition for their place and occupation. This assures us that all who are competent for this function will be employed in it, so that the cost of it will be reduced to the lowest terms."
(Translation: As the super-successful among us compete for vast riches and do so by providing the world with better (and more) goods and services, most of us enjoy easier access to stuff that improves our lives.)
To be able to pay for such "stuff", though, requires money. We toil to earn that money. Since we're going to be doing so for a long time, we might as well have fun along the way.
Someone who understood this was Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. He said: "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work."
So, carve out time in your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly schedules to dive into the pools of knowledge that are relevant to you. As you learn more and more, figure out how to serve more and more… end-users of your products and services — your buyers and your clients.
Doing so will bring immense success and grant you phenomenal levels of self-satisfaction, regardless of whether you become a millionaire.
© 2024 Rajen Devadason
Rajen Devadason, CFP, is a securities commission-licensed financial planner, professional speaker and author. Read his free articles at www.FreeCoolArticles.com; he may be connected with on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/rajendevadason, or via rajen@RajenDevadason.com. You may also follow him on X @Rajen Devadason and on YouTube (Rajen Devadason).