Who is Alinko Dangote and what can you earn from him?
Alinko Dangote is Africa’s richest man and the richest black man in the world. He is the founder and Chair of Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement producer. Actually, Dangote needs no introduction 🙂
Below are 10 success lessons to learn from the richest man in Africa, Alinko Dangote.
1. Have a Vision: Dango believes that, people with a vision are more likely to take the world by storm than those without a vision. You may not have all the resources at your disposal, but it is important you have a vision, where do you want to be in the next two, three, four, or five years. What cause of impact does your heartbeat for, what keeps you awake at night and gives you hope every morning when you wake up? That is your vision, it may not be crystal clear from the beginning, but as you begin to put in some work in that direction it would unfold before you piece by piece.
2. Work Hard: The richest Blackman, Dangote admonishes that we must endeavor to work as hard as possible to attain a new aim with each day that comes by. One of his is guiding principle is that don’t go to bed until you have achieved something productive. In his own words and I quote, “I built a conglomerate and emerged the richest black man in the world in 2008, but it didn’t happen overnight. It took me 30 years to get to where I am today. Youths of today aspire to be like me but they want to achieve it overnight. It’s not going to work. To build a successful business, you must start small and dream big. In the journey of entrepreneurship, tenacity of purpose is supreme, Alinko Dangote.
3. Think Big: Alinko Dangote admonishes us to think big. No wonder that he only started with cement production, but today is dealing in a variety of commodities and dominating other African markets aside from the Nigerian market. There is no law against thinking big, give wings to your imaginations, and let them take you beyond your current environment. If you don’t think big you will only remain small. No one who has ever made a significant impact on the world thought small. They are always big thinkers even if what they think seems to be unachievable. As Les Brown said shoot for the moon and if you miss it you would still be among the stars. Think Big!
4. Be Focused: Alinko Dangote believes that as a person we ought to remain focused and not be easily enticed by flashy things. There is so much noise around us and a thousand and one things that are fighting for our attention. To be able to achieve significant success we have to be focused as a person. Having a vision keeps you focused because if you know your destination even if challenges come your way you would be able to circumvent around them.
5. Think Ahead: Dangote at every opportunity he gets reiterates that we always anticipate the future and have possible plans in place as to how to handle issues. Without anticipating the future we become reactionary to situations which often make us lose focus on where we are going in life. There comes a point in our lives where even though we may still be under the roofs of our parents we have to think and imagine the future we desire to have. This not only makes you put an effort, but it also gives you a sense of direction in life.
6. Your Name is Your Most Valuable Asset: Among other things, Alinko Dangote believes that our name is our most valuable asset. Hence we must make sure to have a very good name by being honest and maintaining integrity. Usually, people hear of your name first before they get to know you. He believes that to succeed in business, you must build a brand and never destroy it. He said and I quote “One competitive advantage I had when I ventured into manufacturing was my brand “Dangote,” which I diligently built in the course of my trading commodities“. So if your name speakers well of you, then you are likely to get more opportunities coming your way.
7. Possess the Right Information: there is nothing like being too informed, so we have to gather a lot of information so that we can be able to make informed decisions. Exposure to a varied pool of information gives one the ability to have alternative solutions to the same problem. That is why it is expedient we read a lot of books and make researches in the areas of our expertise or a new area that we want to dive into.
8. Be Consistent: Consistently taking the right actions or engaging in the right task overtime has an inherent ability to transport you from grass to grace or from zero to hero. Being consistent does not imply that we would not encounter challenges. Challenges would definitely come, but we have to find a way to circumvent them. One thing business doesn’t like is to start one thing and because we encounter one or two problems so we stop and try something else. We cannot make progress this way, we must be able to face challenges head-on. And life without challenges would be boring, the beauty of life is that challenges come so that we can be promoted to the next level. People are called champions not because of their looks or any other superficial quality, but because they have been able to overcome a challenge.
9. Be a Good Listener: To succeed in life requires that we become good listeners. Listening to good advice from family and friends. Listening to the message the current business terrain is sending across, our political systems, and the entire global culture. Because as you listen you would be able to identify where you fit in the whole picture and how useful you can make yourself. For instance, pertaining to the development of Africa, I have listened to very interesting conversations on what the challenges seem to be. A major one is the disturbing nature of our mindsets. So to be of help I have started this blog to help challenge the status quo of our minds, challenge our way of thinking, empower, and help uplift the youths of our generation.
10. Do Things You Only Understand: Dangote encourages that we must try as much as possible to only do the things we understand. Don’t complicate your life, engage in things (business) that you understand. Doing only things you understand saves you time and resources. We need to have executable plans in place. Goals without timelines are like fantasies. Like taking a course, learning a skill, attending a conference. These plans must be doable.
If you want be great you must learn from the great, if you want to be rich you must learn from the rich.
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