With all of your fancy degrees and unattractive student loans, it is safe to say that you were misguided to believe that a degree would increase your zero bank account balance and negative savings account status. In actuality, education is power and as my late mother would say, people are money.

Using people is a beneficial concept practiced in business but referenced to as mentor, intern or network among the least. If you have not been in one of these positions or taken advantage of such an opportunity, ask yourself now: “What am I waiting for?”

That job you want, that promotion you need, that vacation you can’t afford are problems easily solved when you know someone. By claiming to know someone, they do have to know who you are in return for this type of a relationship to work itself out fruitfully. Now the next important question is “Who am I?”

I don’t know who you are and chance are a lot of people you meet won’t either. So go and get yourself an image. Figure out what kind of people you want to be like, where you see yourself in the next five years and how you want to portray yourself. One of my business partner and friend in Kenya didn’t even try to get a college degree because he did have anyone to help him with tuition. Instead, he worked on his english, his look and started his dream career.

Eventually, he started to meet “very important people” and his brand grew. With is came the questions of “What school did you attend?”  and “Where were you brought up?” He‘d reply, “The University of Nairobi and Runda Estate.”  You can call this a little white lie but no one is going to fact check you in the middle of your elevator pitch. Those people you’re trying to impress, what they see and hear is what they get. The goal of the conversation is to sell yourself, your services, or your products. Somewhere down the journey when you’ve made a lasting impression, then is when you can share your little white lie with a sense of humor.

Still not convinced? When you are on social media liking people’s pictures or doodling over their lavishing lives, they are selling you an image. You don’t know anything else about them but you hit the follow button anyway (Whelp this is my opportunity: Facebook: Charity Gachenge Instagram: iQueenCharity and Twitter: Charity Gachenge).

I’ll give you one more example just to drive the point home. I had a professor named Mr. Foster who shared a story about a student of his that sold high-end real estate. The student made an aggressive decision to live at home and purchase a Mercedes Benz. He would leave his parents home and pull up to home showing in that fancy car. His clients thought, wow this guy must know what he is doing if he can afford that car. The point I am making is that perception is key.

Remember: Education is Power, People are Money and Perception is Key! So get out there and make your dreams happen.

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