FROM THE CLASSROOM TO WEALTH

The importance of having an excellent formal education can't be underestimated.

There’s nothing wrong with learning sciences, history, languages, the arts and so on.

The problem though is that our educational system as it is, is woefully inadequate in teaching personal finance and wealth building principles.

The result is that a lot of us go through the process and come out of the classroom with our degrees and book knowledge, but with little to no idea on how we can actually strategize for healthy wealth accumulation in real life.

In fact, we end up finding out that going from classroom to wealth may require that we actually go against some of the things we were taught in the classroom.

While it may seem like those who have gone on to achieve success at the highest levels did so by chance or simply because of their given talents, everything they've accomplished is usually the result of dedication and perseverance - and a similar approach and effort in these areas from you will yield you similar results.

Most people will not be able to achieve the highest levels of success of course, but anyone who sets their mind to it can go from the classroom to wealth in a few short years by sticking to certain principles and putting in the necessary time and effort.

Below are some of the timeless principles involved in going from the classroom to wealth:-

1 Keep learning and investing in yourself: A lot of people think their learning ends when they've graduated from the classroom.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Your brain is your greatest asset in your bid to go from the classroom to wealth. A strong knowledge base is the most valuable thing you have, so keep expanding your knowledge — even after the classroom. Thanks to the internet, you can now learn almost anything for free.

Your learning should include and exceed your particular disciplines. No knowledge is a waste and the more you know, the more money you can make.

2 Get a Mentor:- By getting someone who has already achieved what you want to achieve to mentor you, you can accelerate your journey towards success.

By leveraging your mentor's experience and insights, you will avoid mistakes and pitfalls you would otherwise have made or fallen into had you gone out on your own.

3 Quit with the excuses: Going from classroom to wealth entails that you let go of procrastination, excuses and accept responsibility for how your life turns out.

A lot of people who are fresh off the classroom believe that there's always enough time for everything. They see strategising for wealth building as something that comes later in life, and are more preoccupied with the pleasures of the moment.

Unfortunately, this is naive at best. Building wealth is a gradual process and the earlier you start working towards doing so, the better placed you will be to achieve success.

And the longer you make excuses or wait, the fewer advantages you have.

4 Avoid the shiny object syndrome: Young people who are fresh off the classroom, in their bid to "strike quickly" are often susceptible to all the communications they receive promising guaranteed and magical wealth.

The truth though is that there is no such thing. The fundamental principles behind accumulating wealth are based on working smart even as you work hard, putting your money to work for you and being shrewd with your spending.

5 Be an entrepreneur: Even though you will want to get a job immediately after school to start earning and grow your income, it is a fact that you can't accumulate great wealth by working for someone else.

Being an entrepreneur who creates values, products, services and businesses is without a doubt one of the fastest and most effective ways to earn spectacular wealth at a young age. This is how most of the world's wealthiest young people made their money.

So you want to start your side hustle as soon as possible.

6 Take calculated risks: As a young person who's just out of the classroom and intends to accumulate wealth, you have to get used to taking calculated risks.

You statistically have a lot of years ahead of you and so now is the time to take risks. Carefully research and invest in higher-risk, higher-payoff opportunities, start your business, jump on new ventures and new opportunities. If things don't work out as well, you'll have plenty of time to rectify.

Most who have accumulated wealth will tell you one of the greatest keys to success is taking calculated risks.

While your peers are averse to risk and comfortable being average, you are going to have to take a different path if you're to achieve wealth.

7 Understand the concept of redundancy: This simply means diversity or giving yourself options. Don't have or rely on just one skill set, have several. Don't rely on one income stream, have several. Don't rely on one opportunity or connection, have several.

By having multiple sources of everything, you hedge and protect yourself from paralysing setbacks should any negative event affect any particular source.

8 Build your connections: To go from classroom to wealth, you've got to build as many connections as possible. In this day and age, just being hardworking isn't enough. You need to be connected to the right people whose influence you can call upon to advance your interests.

The more connected you are, the more opportunities you will be informed of and exposed to and the faster your progress will be.

By applying these eight principles, you'll be able to start accumulating wealth no matter where you are in life. It may not necessarily be easy and you'll have to make sacrifices -but if you get on the path early and stick to it, you'll set yourself up for massive financial success.

Implement these principles in your life and watch as you healthily accumulate wealth regardless of the fact that it's not that long ago you left the classroom.