The Start Of Great Things

image: quotesgram.com

We all know that the journey to greatness starts with small steps but the one thing some of us do not know is that the initial steps are not always perfectly calculated steps.

Yesterday, I read about Joe Mansueto, one of the richest people alive. A billionaire. He still drives his 1988 car; he lives in a one bedroom rented apartment and lives a very simple life (no longer correct, thanks to Solomon who brought this to my attention at the comment section of this post). But what drew me to him is that he is the founder Morningstar, the very investment research company I am trying to replicate here in Nigeria. For four years I have been working on my idea of creating a similar investment research service here for the Nigerian market. So Joe Mansueto, by founding Morningstar, is the source of my stock analysis and investment services ambition. And it was just natural that has I read more about the company, Morningstar, I want to emulate I would end up also reading about the founder and its founding story.

He started Morningstar as a series of many small steps and never intended to be a billionaire of it which is why he still lives like he did when he started the company decades ago. It is easy to look at him and his creation and consider them great but what is not easy to acknowledge is that it all began as a series of imperfect steps and a small goal.

I also read the story of Michael Bloomberg, who is the one sponsoring the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa training program I attend 3 days a month from April to September, and it is a similar beginning for him too. He was of out job but got a lot in severance payment (actually, the company sold out to another company and he was paid off). He felt very bitter about it and unfairly treated. Then he took his severance pay and started Bloomberg. He started with small imperfect steps. Now the company is the biggest in its niche globally and Michael Bloomberg is the 8th richest person in the world with a net worth of $48.3 billion. In the book, The Bloomberg Way, he admitted to not being sure everything will work out as great as they did. 

And that is it about life and greatness in general. You start with small unsteady steps and end up surpassing your expectations. 

So please don't stop taking small imperfect steps towards your goal. Start something small that matters in the direction of your big dream. God-willing, you too will achieve greatness.