Dreams Come True

“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride”. How many times have we not heard this English proverb re-echoed in our ears?

Most often, it is repeated to our dismay when we are unable to attain certain heights. Occasionally, it is a tease for dreaming too big, I guess. Hooking onto a girlfriend’s waist and whispering into her ears, ‘Girl, I want to own a Bentley’. ‘Saa, she laughed, hehehe, if dreams were horses, Suzy, beggars will ride’. However, the fact remains. That our dreams will come true if we take action (Roy Bennet). So, I can own my dream Bentley, you know.

This is the story of Aku Sika who admired a female facilitator at the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). Back in 1998, 22years ago precisely, she whispered to herself, ‘I will teach at the GSE one day’. At the time, Aku had great admiration for Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi (currently, the 2nd Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana) for many reasons. Mrs. Awadzi came across as a self-assured facilitator for the ‘Legal & Regulatory Framework’ course on the capital market. Her signature scarf, ‘OMG’ could not be missed around her neck. Again, she carried herself with so much grace during her lectures and to say she was on ‘point’ with her outfits – mostly in trouser suits – would, perhaps, be an understatement.

With this far-reaching dream of Aku Sika, 22years ago, she put in action, just as Roy Bennet recommended, to make her dream come true. It may not be as obvious it is now as a point of reflection, but successive educational and career engagements firmed up the desire to become and now it has been actualized. Yes, it has!

A Professor’s Advice

One admonishment I vividly remembered shared by a Professor two years ago - that, if you ever dream about ever becoming a Vice-Chancellor in any of the Universities in Ghana, you must become a Professor first. True, as we have it in Ghana now, if you ever dream of being part of faculty with any highly recognized University in Ghana, you need a terminal degree – PhD. The principle is equally applicable in other disciplines– if you ever want to defend anyone in court one day, you have to become a Lawyer. So simple yet that’s the truth. And if you want to save lives and care for the sick, you must have what it takes - become a Doctor or a Nurse. So, my dear friends, some things are not negotiable in this world. Never! We must wake up from our slumbers and know that it is not enough to just dream. Those dreams must move out of mere wishes and a plan of action must be immediately put in place.

The surest way to have our ‘dreams come true’ is for us to live out the dream (goodreads.com). We must believe in ourselves; we must not wait or hold on too long on our dreams; and we must know that, where there is a will, there is a way. As the inspired Aku Sika observed, the in-depth knowledge required to stand in front of potential experts; and to prepare them to participate in the financial services sector of the Ghanaian economy; she knew she needed to upgrade her knowledge. Not even a first degree in Economics & Sociology could get her close to her dreams. She needed additional relevant knowledge in Accounting, Finance and Investment coupled with extensive practice in the investment banking space, to bring to life the lessons to be taught in class. Hmmmm, a tall order.

How Long?

It took 22years. Yeah! That long. Aku Sika is now a facilitator with the Ghana Investment and Securities Institute – GISI. GISI is a collaboration between the industry Regulator – Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the capital market - Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), the depository for financial assets - Central Securities Depository (CSD), and the Association of licensee companies within the investments and securities industry – Ghana Security Industries Association (GSIA). As of August 2020, if you have the desire of becoming an expert in the financial markets in Ghana and beyond, the route is through GISI, for certification. GISI has collaborated with CISI-UK (Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment) to roll out two major paths to investments and securities certification in Ghana. These are revised versions of the GSE securities courses. The first cohort is being onboarded. I urge you to be part of history. Let it be said, that you read this article and took a bold decision to acquire additional knowledge and become an investment expert. (Check GISI out at http://www.gisinstitute.org/).

Was it Greek?

To accomplish great things, we must dream, believe, and act (Anatole France). When we dream, as Peter F. Drucker admonished, we must remain committed to our plans. Aku Sika was at sea in 1998. The whole concept of money and capital market, primary and secondary market, derivatives, stock trading, etc. all sounded like Greek to her ears. She was at war with her intellect just trying to understand the legal rights of the buyer and the seller as concepts in business law, insider trading, initial public offering (IPO), market manipulation, memorandum of understanding, etc., eish.

To please her conscience, sometime in the lectures, she just stopped trying hard and simply focused on Mrs. Awadzi’s outfit, especially her scarf.  This is to say that achieving this dream took some hard work of studying and examinations. As a national service person at the time with GUNSA, located at the Workers College – Adabraka, Aku Sika will walk in her red high heels shoes through Total House to 6th Floor, Cedi House. Nevertheless, the pain paid off and the ‘dream came true’ after 22years.


Question. At what point are you, in actualizing your dream? Are you sure you have followed that single dream for up to 22 years? Need I say, you have no excuse, if your answer is No? Dear friend, as I did, keep trying. On the other hand, if you have done more than 22 years, you have come too far, don’t give up. Because some ‘dreams do come true’. For how long? That I may not be able to tell.

Ten Thousand Hours

The common rule of thumb, as explained by Malcolm Gladwell in his bestseller -  ‘Outliers: The Story of Success’ says, “it takes 10,000 hours to practice and become an expert or master in a given field”. Did I make my 10,000 hours in investment banking? Maybe I did with ease, as I had an end in mind. 20 hours a week over 10years, seems unattainable. I missed the first decade but I made it by the second decade. One thing I have realized over the years is that anything you work at persistently and consistently you will definitely succeed at it. The most important lesson on this journey to acquire knowledge and skills and transfer the same at some point is that - we should not abandon any journey we start to transform our lives. That’s the key. “If you can't fly, then run; if you can't run, then walk; if you can't walk, then crawl; but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Certainly, Martin Luther Jr was right. Let us stay the course once it is our dream, because some ‘dreams come true’. As I made it, so can you too!


ABOUT THE WRITER
 
Dr. Suzy Aku Puplampu is the CEO of OctaneDC Limited – a Fund Management and Investment Advisory firm regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a finance and investment professional, Suzy has an in-depth knowledge and experience working in the finance industry in Ghana spanning two decades. Fifteen (15) years of her work experience have been dedicated to investment banking and fund management and five years, to accounting, financial reporting and management consulting.

Dr. Suzy holds an international certificate in wealth and investment management (Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment, UK, 2020) and earned her Doctorate of Business Administration in Finance (with specialization in Wealth Management) from Walden University – USA). In March 2015, Suzy was awarded a Fellow with ACCA (UK) and she holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Ghana, Legon.  Suzy is a Toastmaster who loves to write on finance and other social issues. Her feature articles are published in the Business and Financial Times and Business 24. She blogs at https://suzydotblog.wordpress.com/