On the Wealth on Your Terms Podcast, hosted by Tobi Adekeye, Group Chief Executive Officer of Springwells Group of Companies, Wesley Ogude, shared deep insights on wealth creation, risk, and financial discipline, framing money as a structured game with rules and players. According to him, most people enter this game without awareness or preparation, operating as unconscious participants who focus on earning and spending rather than understanding how wealth is built and preserved.
He emphasized that his ability today to afford premium designer brands is not the result of luck but of disciplined learning and consistent application of financial principles. Winning the money game, he explained, requires strategy, emotional discipline, and long term thinking rather than impulsive consumption or short term gratification.
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One of the most powerful concepts he highlighted was asymmetric risk, a principle learned from thought leaders such as Tony Robbins. Asymmetric risk involves taking calculated risks where the potential upside is far greater than the downside, a strategy particularly valuable in the early stages of life when time works in your favour and losses can be recovered.
Ogude also reflected on his background, describing his upbringing in one of the poorest environments in the world, a slum area between Victoria Island and Ikoyi in Lagos. Basic infrastructure and economic opportunity were scarce. His father, who worked in a support role within the Nigerian Air Force, believed education was the pathway out of poverty, shaping Ogude’s early focus on academic excellence.
He excelled academically and became one of the top students in the country, pursuing professional qualifications with determination. Education opened doors for him, but he stressed that academic success alone does not create wealth. The real turning point came when he realized that earning an income is different from building, multiplying, and preserving wealth.
Ogude described life as a series of financial quarters. The period between 0 and 25 years is preparation. From 25 to 35 is the first quarter, 35 to 45 the second, 45 to 55 the third, and 55 to 65 the fourth. After 65, he described life as injury time, a phase where financial options become more limited. He warned that the first quarter, ages 25 to 35, is often wasted on lifestyle upgrades and appearances rather than financial education and asset building.
Many individuals, he noted, become spectators in the money game. They consume information, attend seminars, and get inspired but fail to act. He referenced leadership lessons from John C. Maxwell to illustrate the difference between intention and execution. If five birds are on a tree and four decide to fly, all five remain until they actually take action. Decision without execution produces no change.
Mentorship was another central theme in his discussion. Ogude stressed that every major wealth builder benefited from guidance and learning relationships. Examples such as Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and Mark Zuckerberg illustrate the importance of mentors who have achieved what the mentee aspires to accomplish. A true mentor, he explained, is someone whose results and experience provide practical wisdom, not just theoretical advice.
During the first quarter of life, he recommended prioritizing financial education, identifying proven mentors, practicing delayed gratification, and avoiding lifestyle inflation. Investing early in assets such as real estate and exploring strategies like house hacking can build equity while reducing living costs.
Time, he stressed, is the most valuable asset in wealth creation because it cannot be recovered once lost. Financial progress depends on learning, discipline, and consistent action.
Using the metaphor of Henry and Judith, he illustrated two financial trajectories. Both begin as passengers, but Henry eventually trains as a pilot and gains control of direction. Judith remains a passenger, dependent on external decisions. In financial terms, employees without asset strategies remain passengers, while those who build knowledge and ownership become pilots of their economic future.
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Ogude concluded with a message of empowerment. Background does not determine destiny. Despite extreme poverty in his early life, disciplined learning, mentorship, and strategic action enabled him to transition from economic vulnerability to financial agency.
His final message resonated with the core theme of the podcast. Wealth is not accidental. It is governed by rules, and those willing to learn and play by them can win. You may not control where you start, but you can control whether you learn the rules and choose to play to win.
The material presented in this publication is drawn entirely from insights originally shared by Tobi Adekeye through his platforms, Wealth on Your Terms and the High Income to Wealth podcast. The ideas, interpretations, perspectives, and commentary featured here represent the intellectual work and broadcast content of Tobi Adekeye and his media channels.
