*Importance of Financial Intelligence by Tolulope Olusola*

IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE

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e live in an environment that almost everyone believes money is the answer to freedom and the extent to which a man can go in life. I’m inclined to believe that, true independence and freedom are as a result of genuine and adequate financial intelligence. Intelligence is a little bit in all humans, but, the difference is that not all humans are aware of it and even those that are, might not know how to use it to their full advantage. However, that doesn’t mean you have to overwork yourself.  All you need is to understand better and start making changes on how you deal with your finances. Money is not the end game, it’s the means to an end with which you create the life of your dreams. Money can be invented, created and protected using financial intelligence. The greatest wealth is financial education. Your wealth is a function of your ability to effectively manage your finances and not just the amount of money you have. Financial intelligence determines a man’s success and happiness in life.
“Financial intelligence”- echoes more like what cannot be achieved, but therein lays a fallacy; financial intelligence can be achieved. With this, let’s bear in mind that we all have our individual cognitive processes. The use of our cognitive power determines what we all get from it, and this is the main thing that differentiates one man from another. The single most powerful asset we all have is our mind, if it is well trained, it can create an enormous ground of wealth. Great opportunities are not seen with mere eyes, they are seen with the mind. Financial intelligence is mainly about knowing the ins and outs of finances, be it personal, group or companies. It involves understanding, acquiring knowledge and skills in finance. People with low financial literacy standards are often unable to take their ideas and create assets out of them. A man is expected to analyze his daily activities from a Financial Mindset with a view to optimize the basic assets that are common to all, which are time, talent & treasure. We all have access to these natural assets; the appropriate use of them determines your grade of wealth.
Financial intelligence is a term that has gained popularity to help enhance financial decisions. It helps to increase your knowledge about money and make your wrong beliefs about it extinct. It gives an insight to how money can be controlled. Successful people control money, they decide the what, where, who and how of it. A lack of knowledge is what often forces us into making financial mistakes that get us into debt. As you become more financially intelligent you increase your income (wealth), manage your expenses better, increase your assets and leverage, instead of increasing debts. Try to tune up you foresight and realise that every step you take today will have a negative or positive impact on your future.
Furthermore, the main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government. A man’s life is a struggle between ignorance and illumination, once a person stops searching for information and knowledge, ignorance sets in. I would also say that in the pursuit of wealth in life one should expect challenges; however, they wouldn’t last forever. You will surely rise again only if you truly exhibit persistence and never stop getting up after being knocked down. Life is all about risk, only appropriate evaluation of these risks will enable you put in place proper protection mechanisms which will guarantee your financial security and fulfilment. Therefore to get financially educated one needs to be opened to information on finances.
Also financial intelligence is based on being skilled in communication, which is a core skill for personal success. Communication skills such as writing, speaking, and negotiation are essential to a successful life. The better you are at communicating, the easier life becomes. It enhances the ability to build a network that will grant you access to resources of wealth beyond what you can imagine, i.e. surround yourself with those who are pressing with everything they have in their soul to build that life of their dreams.
It is important to groom oneself for success; this involves learning all aspect of business systems to gain wide a variety of experience, learning and skills.
Lastly, to be truly rich, we need to learn how to give as well as to receive. Giving is one of the greatest secrets of most great wealthy families. The most important law of financial enhancement is: “Give and you shall receive.”


Written By: OLUSOLA TOLULOPE C.