Go Where The Average Is Great

image: greentribunal.in

What makes one land greener than the other is that the same seed given the same care will flourish better in one than the other.

It is more difficult to become a rich farmer than to become a rich politician. And it is because the average politician is rich while the average farmer is poor. The same goes for education -- it is way easier to become a rich educated man than to become a rich illiterate. 

The main reason Lagos is overpopulated is because almost everyone knows that an average Lagos hustler makes more money than the average village hustler. And it's same for why the US embassy is flooded with visa applicants. People know that the same diligence will bring you way more financial reward and a better life in the US than in Nigeria.

Without the skewed influence of TV, Radio and the entire media industry, we all know that it is better to go where the average is great. That is why, while growing up, our parents would rather starve than not have us go to school. They knew the average is better for the educated child than the uneducated one.

But the moment we take in too much of television and movies, we begin to lose our judgement of where the average is great. We begin to want to become a footballer, a musician, a newscaster, a journalist, an actor/actress, a heist expert and a super rich employee. Our thinking becomes clouded by the strong visuals from the TV and movies. We forget that the average footballer is not one of those playing in european leagues; the average footballer is one unknown and not-rich guy. We forget that the average musician is not among the few you see on TV. We forget that the average journalist is not at all rich or even famous. We forget that the average actor is all hustle and little to show for it guy. We forget that the heist movies we watch are far from the typical reality; robbery isn't lucrative, it is public fund looting that is lucrative. And the big one -- an average entrepreneur is several times richer than the average employee.

Albert Einstein said, "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

People in the US aren't all wiser, smarter and more hardworking than us. It's the few nutheads deciding our national fate up there who have made us all look stupid. They have made the average for us worse and well below the average for the americans by privatising the national wealth/resources and nationalizing the resulting problems. They steal and go; we bear the pain. And it is a powerful illustration of how real the influence of difference in average can affect even an entire nation.

The sad part is the one we inflict on ourselves, by our individual choices. When a student decides to quit school and start trying to get Don Jazzy's attention hoping to be the next Godwin; he needs a math lesson on average. When you take a decision that puts you in the terrible average category, you are robbing yourself without keeping the loot.

Just like in business, you need to have your payback analysis right and your average success rate right. You have to go where your chances are better and the payback well worth it.

In summary, you should always go where the average is great.