2020 is finally coming to an end. One of the top entrepreneurs in the world, Jack Ma, is quoted to have said that “your biggest profit this year is completing the year 2020 alive.” He is spot on.
So many people have died during the first half of December 2020.
Rule number one is to stay alive. With life, you can dare to dream. It does not matter how much money you may have in the bank account, if life is leaving you or you are too weak to mind about it anymore, the bank balance is useless. This year reminds us to put a brake on the shadows we chase. To be considerate. Slow down and be better parents, relatives, and neighbours.
In the space of the past two weeks, I have lost six people. All of these were well-established executives, with retirement properly planned for and were living decent life until the Coronavirus pandemic happened. Today, to spend just a day admitted in an intensive care unit (ICU) and or high dependency unit (HDU) costs an estimated Ugx. 5m! That is about the US $1,370! Keep in mind we live in a country where many of us are subsistence farmers, living on less than one United States dollar a day. And the sad reality is that over 80% of the patients admitted into HDU die! If one spends about 2 weeks in HDU before dying, that is a bill of over US $19,180 in medical bills alone plus the lost loved one. What a double jeopardy!
Now that you have tried to stay alive, what plans do you have for the future? In these TUNA – turbulent, uncertain, novel, and ambiguous times we are living in, reduce the planning horizons for your family or personal plans. Keep it short to medium term – draw two-to-three-year plans; and of course, a work plan for the first year of your planning cycle. That way, uncertain variables are easily evened out.
Now is the time to envision the future. As you do so, ask yourself key questions for example how do you see yourself in 2 to 3 years, in the following areas:
- Income earning assets
- Products and services, you offer to earn?
- Strategic partners?
- Passive income? How much and from which sources?
- Personal health?
As you envision the future, ask yourself, which areas of your life do you hate most, or are you worried about most? Your vision should be such that you overcome current and future worries. Be as descriptive as much as possible. Your vision of the future should be such that achieving it helps overcome your current challenges, worries, and pain.
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, 2020. All rights reserved.
