5 Habits Adopted By Winning African Entrepreneurs

What we gather from the ‘Law of Attraction’ or ‘The Secret’ is a simple and straight forward answer- that we are what we think we are.

All people desire to win or succeed at something. Not many though, have the burning desire to want something so much that they keep their eyes on the price despite the obstacles on the way.

Life coaches and motivational speakers insist on the power of ‘manifesting’ the destiny we desire.

So how can one attract success? How have the African entrepreneurs been able to utilize the law of attraction (LOA) to their advantage? Well, successful people have one thing in common: they remain focused on the goal even when they are disappointed.

Passion for increasing knowledge

Strive Masiyiwa is one of the wealthiest people in Africa. He is also a generous humanitarian who uses his wealth, and power to support young Africans to study. Every year, he offers scholarships to thousands of youth through his foundation.In essence, he believes in the power of knowledge acquisition. To succeed in business, or anything in life, you need to dedicate time and other resources to learn something new.

“If you are working, or you are running a business, you have to set aside time and money to invest in your continued formal education and skills acquisition,” Masiyiwa says.

Burning desire/motivation to succeed

Motivation is the fuel that keeps entrepreneurs going even when challenges crop up. For some people like Chris Kirubi- Kenya’s business mogul- his motivation to achieve what he has today was majorly poverty. Since he detested poverty, he worked hard to avoid being poor, and it worked for him.

Even with a burning desire to succeed at something, sometimes, challenges can way you down. It is advisable to talk with like-minded individuals, read or watch motivational content. Always remind yourself why you need to work extra hard every day.

“Motivation, backed by good planning and correct action leads to success,” Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote says.

Employ glass half-full mentality (avoid negativity)

One of the best approaches to life is viewing challenges as a bridge to success rather than a destroyer of achievement. Business people with positive attitude towards life are far more likely to succeed than those filled with negative attitude. Also, recall the LOA? Negative thinking makes one get vulnerable and lose focus on the goal. Stay away from negative people and thoughts.

“I have learned that if you face the challenges with positive energy, you are most likely to get better results,” Adenike Ogunlesi, founder of Ruff 'n' Tumble a leading designer, manufacturer and retailer of designer children's clothing in Nigeria said.

Accept and learn from challenges

Alfredo Jones, founder of Alduco in Equatorial Guinea said: “There will be a lot of obstacles on the way. But I never look at failure as failure – I look at it as: ‘What have I learned from what happened – so that next time I can do things better?’”

Successful people are daring enough to accept challenges and sometimes even failure. Accepting challenges makes one stronger, and more confident to deal with similar situations in the future.

Never miss opportunities

It is said that opportunity knocks once at every man’s door. Successful winners know how to identify an opportunity and make the best out of it.Jason Njoku, Founder of iROKO, and an African start-up investor believes in the power of grabbing opportunities. He advises: “Spot an opportunity, make a plan and run with it. I definitely had the right idea, in the right place, at the right time and I knew I could do it. I learned from my mistakes, but still kept true to my own vision. You need to have that kind of confidence to make these things work. Don’t hang around waiting for things to happen.”

There are many principles and habits adopted and implemented by many entrepreneurs across the globe. Factors that lead to success, however, are mainly those that enhance discipline. In general, self-discipline is what will guide an entrepreneur to identify an idea, plan for it and succeed.