INCENTIVES MATTER

The fourth principle of Economics according to Gregory Mankiw is that people respond to incentives. The first question one is tempted to ask  is: “what are incentives?” Incentives are the driving forces of actions. The reason why you carry out an action is embedded in the incentive you hope it brings you.
Incentives could also be seen as the incremental change in a course of action. This is what Economists describe as the margin.
While we live in a world where information is sometimes asymmetrical, it is however incumbent on us to enquire about the incentives a particular course of action will yield, as much as possible before embarking on it. The price of not doing this is very high.
Listening to a panel presentation yesterday on passion, I heard one of the panelists say it is better not to pursue a career in your area of natural giftedness because according to him, it amounts to commercializing the gift God has freely given you, he rather posited that career paths for people should be in such areas that are outside their place of natural strength. I found his position very misleading because there can not be a better place to have greater spiritual and physical returns than in such areas that one is very strong at, especially naturally. Knowing this will immensely help you to chat a proper career path for yourself. Imagine if Ben Carson, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson, Albert Einstein and so on did not pursue their careers in areas of their natural giftedness, perhaps they wouldn’t have been as much a blessing to mankind as they turned out to be.
Incentives matter, it drives the kind of person you go out with, the type of church you attend, the kind of friends you keep, the school you attend, and everything about you.
You see,  I have personally made a conscious effort to engage in Ventures that will add value to my overall wellbeing and that of the people around me (that is my incentive). I am not saying I do not care about monetary returns on my investments – visible or otherwise (by the way, Monetary returns and other forms of returns will usually follow right investments) however, you will agree with me that money alone, is not the driving incentive for action- the feeling of contentment, joy, satisfaction in oneself and a sense of peace are priceless. While these may look unattainable in the face of the daunting challenges that we face daily, strife as much as you can to face these challenges doing what you love doing and being where you love being.
Incentives do matter. Define what yours is but make sure it tallies with who you are.

Be Inspired!
Remain Motivated!