Ignorance is NOT Bliss...
“Our mind is of 3 categories: what we know, what we don’t know, and what we don’t know we don’t know. Not knowing is unfortunate; not knowing that we don’t know is tragic.” – W. Erhart.
More than a few words about myself...
I started life in banking, I then made my first BOLD step in October 2005, I quit my secure, graduate banking job at age 30 and started my dream of running my own business and literally from nothing, started my own brokerage company, working in the City of London. I had no ‘hook ups' or connections… I started from scratch…. it took me three years to see any fruit…but it paid off
Literally, I read a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad (You may have heard of it…), I remember it vividly because my wife was in heavy labor (4 days) with our first child, and when she was able to catch a wink or two of sleep, I literally devoured the book. It was that book that ‘pushed me over the edge' and I ‘fired my boss' and incorporated two businesses. The Financial Ansah ltd and the Property Ansah Ltd. And that was the start of my journey to reach financial independence and give my family everything.
What Is Wealth Guardian Education all About?
A Little bit deeper into my background
My father is from West Africa and my mother is from the Caribbean; however I was raised by my mother. I am the oldest of three siblings and pretty much .. I had to learn to be independant from a young age.
I was determined to make something of my life… and my number one priority (as I eluded to earlier), is that I was determined to be the best dad and the best husband ( I am trying)
Pretty much it was me, my mum and sisters throughout growing up, and my mum showed me the importance of working hard, and it was pretty much ingrained in me (it's a cultural thing i reckon) to go to school, get good grades and then go to university and then you will get a good job! In my opinion… that's a load of rubbish (another subject for another time) but in all fairness to my mum, she was only doing the best she could and I am very thankful for that.
So to date, I have been married for sixteen years and I celebrate my 17th wedding anniversary in January 2017.
I always say I was a ‘perpetual student'
I left University at age 28 with ‘half of a PhD' – (That's another story for another time)
I have two master's degrees in engineering, My MSc was in a subject called CFD (Can you guess what CFD) stands for?? My first degree, I read Mechanical Engineering with North American Studies.
I am a Sussex University and also a Leeds University graduate, and I believe I made my parents proud of my accomplishments in how much study I did. I was convinced that the only way to wealth and riches was by accumulating as many degrees as possible???? (like I said for before… the number of degrees or what you study is not commensurate to the financial success one will have)
Although my background was in engineering, I loved sales and I loved problem solving so I got involved in the finance industry.
I have over 15 years experience in Banking and Finance… I specialised as a Mortgage Consultant and was extremely good at being a broker! Made a lot of money, and gave my family a good life.. my wife didn't HAVE to work, she was able to focus on our family and give them stability (something that our government are trying their best to disrupt (don't get me started).
” I have two and a half degrees in engineering, My MSc was in a subject called CFD (Can you guess what CFD stands for??) My first degree, I read Mechanical Engineering with North American Studies.
I left University at age 28 with ‘half of a PhD'
Life was not always so 'Wonderful'
Then….
2008 happened – the Credit Crunch!
In 2007 I was so busy, I was in the position to grow my business and I recruited an Administrator and another Broker. Good times… however, in 2008 I had to ‘let them go' and liquidate the business!
My first MAJOR mistake – I kept all my eggs in one basket rather than spreading my earning risks.
At this point (fro memory) between my wife and I we had accumulated about 28 houses as part of a property portfolio… and I had real plans to expand my business and open another site elsewhere…. but those dreams ended.
Then the real bombshell hit….
Incidentally, in case you are still figuring out what CFD means, it stands for Computational Fluid Dynamics – it's a really exciting subject where I exercise computational modelling methods to predict behaviour of fluid flow.
So back to the bombshell!
So I'm stuck between a ‘rock and a hard place' – I accumulated lots of debt (which I thought was ‘good debt' because someone else was paying it) – but then I discovered some hard hitting facts that quite frankly got me REAL angry and left me feeling quit hurt.
Now bearing in mind, I said I was a very good broker, I won deals that most brokers failed to win, because I was very knowledgeable, I made it a matter of personal pride to be a subject matter expert in my field.
Then My whole financial world collapsed because I just found out (back of 2008) that:
1. Money was not real
2. banks do not have ANY money of their own to lend out (that's why they never lose!, they have nothing TOO Lose!)
So what?? you are probably asking…
Well, I wrote nearly £8M (milllion) of mortgage business in 2007/2008! That's a lot of mortgage and a lot of people! I am one of those sales people who care!
Everyone in debt! Back in those days you could get mortgage loans upto 125% of the true value of the home plus that was the back end of a massive housing bubble where price where astronomically inflated. That's a massive amount of leverage. The ones in the ‘know' got out before the bubble burst (2007 crash) – I couldn't see the wood for the trees back then!
I had people thanking me for helping turn their lives around and buying a bigger house, and smashing their fears of never being able to buy a house of their own… to then realise that the finance industry and money was just a game! It really hurt me. I guess it was a pride thing, I don't know… but I was flabbergasted.
So much so I decided to make it my mission to help others learn about money, debt and finances and launched a business called Wealth Guardian Education…
My mentors where people like Robert Kiyosaki, T.Harv Ekher and many others (I never could get into Donald Trump for some reason… bought his books but never read them… Explains a lot) and also a massive fan of the BIBLE!
Cutting an already long story short, I made it my life mission to help others financially. And I also made it my prerogative to destroy debt predators, bailiffs and corporate companies/ thieves that made a profit in harassing others for money. I was literally a ‘hard nut' and very unforgiving towards any type of bailiff or debt collector and even certain types of solicitors and Barristers and I took them all on… and won more battles than I lost – but at a cost!
That's why I felt like I was Beaten…
So now you can probably understand why I felt like a failure…perhaps???
Teaching people about money and finances – the real secrets that schools, banks and governments do not want you to know…
I had successes in eliminating debt and debt predators and I encouraged others to live without debt and eliminate fear of debt predators.
Then due to a technicality and a bit of ganging up (my opinion), the very same people who I enjoyed kicking to the proverbial kerb… got to me…finally –
Even today… my children (in their innocence) remind me of how the ‘horrible people' took mummy's car away – they are referring to a very dark night on January 2nd, the day after News Years Day in 2010, when a bailiff came to take away my wife's precious BMW X5 – I bought it as a birthday gift for her, it was her dream car. My children loved that car, my wife loved that car! It had a dvd player in the back and each child had their own head phones and screen to watch their favourite movies while mummy was driving. It was shiny black, with black leather seats and it drove like a dream.
And with all of the pleading and law and everything else I could plead, the police and bailiff with his massive truck, lifted the car from the road onto the truck in front of all the neighbors. If they had Facebook live back then, someone probably would have posted the Scene on their Facebook feed.
I was embarrassed! Needles to say my wife never spoke to me for days. My children were confused and wondering what was going on, to the point that they still remember to this day….
That's what gets me upset! That's one of the many reasons I would have left ‘me' if I was my wife…. she has put up with a lot and she deserves much, much more… But I never gave up.. in fact it made me even more determined.
I could share a lot more stories but you get the picture so far (I hope)
“I made it my life's mission to help others financially.”
What I have enjoyed the most...
However, let me tell you what I enjoyed the most about my journey with Wealth Guardian Education…
I always said to my wife, my friends and colleagues… I was living my best life now! obviously that was back then. I was in my element! I believed I was literally sent by God himself to help others from the injustice of debt and to spread the message.. there is a ‘higher way to live' (beyond debt).
I enjoyed two elements the most…
1. Teaching
2. Research or problem solving
I have always, dreamed of teaching in some way shape or form… and when I was either conducting webinars or conducting live workshops – man, I could do it for days and days. It was so fulfilling to be able to break down, complex problems into simple concepts. That was my gift. always has been, even when I was a broker, that is what made me successful!
I produced 11 products within Wealth Guardian Education focusing on financial intelligence and helping people raising their financial awareness and knowledge.
I was (may be still am) an expert in administrating an Expressed Private Trust and was at the cutting edge of a lot of financial technologies within the UK .. .it attracted a lot of attention both positive and negative… I was not afraid to put myself above the parapet, but going through the Bankruptcy made me re-evaluate some things….
Although I did blaze a trail in some respects (the main reason why I had a reputation because I never taught anything that I hadn't experienced and trialed for myself – this was unusual for many people) – it wasn't just me! My family experienced the highs but they also experienced the low's and I was not prepared to drag them through that pain any longer….
So once I was discharged in 2014 – I have literally kept a very low head and fallen off the radar… until now that is!
So What Now…
Well, now that I am fed up of being fed up… I am back!
I have pretended to be back on the scene for the last 12 months but I have already shared what was stopping me.
However, Wealth Guardian Education is not dead, in fact I have renamed it Wealth Guardian Education REVAMPED or WGE Revamped. And I am all about helping people realise their financial potential.
The system is what it is and I can't change it.
In fact my goal was never really to change it, but to help people realise they have a choice of how they interact within it.
As I said before, it's all a game, however, you have probably realised that many people are not aware of the rules… How can you play a game that you have no awareness of the rules… it means either you are not playing the game or you are being played i.e. used as a pawn.
You have heard the phrase –
“Either you have your own plan or by default you will be living within someone else's plan. That's what I believe is going on financially in this world.”
Returning Back to a J-O-B ...
After the bankruptcy, things were really, really tough!
I have lost count how many times I have been to court to stave off a repossession (of my family home) – Bearing in mind (I forgot to mention this part of my life journey) that 27 of the 28 properties that we owned had been repossessed by the banks (most of it was a business decision as I wasn't prepared to fund a business that wasn't producing an income) .
I got involved in a Direct sales role, helping to raise funds for Charities by becoming a Door to Door specialist – it was fun but I never really earned the income I desired and it was yet another dream that was too taxing for my family… they were very patient with me… I lasted 2 years in the direct sales industry.
Finally I had to swallow my pride and GET A J-O-B!
In terms of the cash flow quadrant and risk etc etc.. it was a short term quick fix but probably the worst way to realise a dream. I have nothing against JOBS or people who have JOBS but if you want to progress in life… I am super convinced it can not happen if you are employed!… You will always be living within someone else's plan and it stops one from dreaming, thinking big, taking action and taking control of their own destiny's
“Do Not Let Your Past Failures Dictate Your Future Success!”
It's been about 16 months, and even though I earn a reasonable income… I am still stuck!
So what Happened ‘Two Weeks Ago?'
Quite frankly, I reached the end of my tether!
I got to the point I just said…No More!
I looked at my life, I evaluated everything and literally reached a place mentally where I felt so dissapointed with myself.
Literally the days and weeks leading up to that point, all I was hearing, everything that was in my frame of reference: from church to books I was reading, to emails I was receiving…everything was screaming at me….
“Do Not Let Your Past Failures Dictate Your Future Success!”
And since then I have struggled to stay focused and motivated on my daily routine. Everything from my health, my family, finances…everything I have re-evaluated and something has to change.
There was also two deaths in my friend and family circles, and again, this opened my eyes and I really had to think about where my life was heading.
When my children read my Eulogy in sixty years time, I certainly do not want it to read…..'And Richard was a great sales person and he sold lots of van hire deals'
Really! No Way
I want to stand for something and it has to be on my terms.
I love teaching, I love helping others and I want to…
No, correction…
I will make a difference in my life and in others' lives too. For me it's about adding value and leaving an indelible mark on my generation that can not be erased.
I have realized that chasing money or commission does not define me and is not my standard to which I will define success. Making a difference, leaving a legacy that will proceed beyond me, that's what matters.
One thing I have learnt, is that money will follow those who are making a true difference in the lives of others and not the other way round.
So watch this space.
PS – As you have got this far (I commend you) Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Update – May 2018
I am happy to confirm I was able to quite my job on February 20th 2018
Since you got this far, please do me a favour and leave a comment below. Many thanks in advance.