Take initiative

In 2018 I decided to start blogging about personal finances. I started posting on my personal Facebook page. Eventually, I created The Money Engineer page. I went on to build a website to hold all the content. I started a YouTube channel and also setup up a Twitter account. Eventually, I registered The Money Engineer as a trademark and also registered a financial education company. The dream was to contribute to people’s financial well-being through financial literacy.

I started speaking at Rotary clubs and other events. I held a few physical financial education sessions. I used to call them Money Breakfasts. I recall the first breakfast was at Cafe Javas. I did a few free online webinars as well.

Then I wrote and self-published a book called Take Charge of Your Money and sold a few copies. I also created a savings kit and savings box for children.

Today The Money Engineer brand has a following of about 24,000 people. I have started a coaching service to help people with their finances. NSSF and other organizations have called on me a couple of times to train their members about investments and money. I have published over a thousand articles so far. And I have made some additional cash running this project.

Now I did all this while still employed full-time. No one told me to take on this responsibility. No one gave me a clear job description to follow. There are many other finance professionals who would probably do a better job but neither have the time nor interest. The only difference is that I took initiative to put myself out there.

I took the risk of being publicly criticized and ridiculed. I took the risk of offending some people. I took the risk of exposing my incompetence. I took the risk of leading a group of online strangers.

Any professional out there can do what I am doing. But most would rather not. Taking initiative involves risk. It involves creating change. It involves leadership. You can take initiative at your job, in your family, and in your community. Societies transform when a critical mass of people start taking initiative.

Taking initiative is hard but may be the very thing needed to propel you to your destiny.