BRINGING up children in the Diaspora, like executing a successful financial plan, has its own set of challenges particularly in our Zimbabwean sense. The only news they hear about their country is that their nation is this back of beyond place where everything generally tends to go wrong.

The reality of every person under the sun is that we have a bit of our nationality’s DNA in us whether we acknowledge it or not. To build a future winning nation, we have to collectively build a stronger national identity based on winning values that bind all of us.

When our children only hear the bad news about their nation of birth or ancestry, it begins to take a toll on their self image. In my household, I am always identifying any morsel of good news from home and highlighting it to our children.

As a sport-loving household, on Saturday I was pointing out to them merrily during the Nedbank Cup final between Orlando Pirates and Leopards that the man in charge of Leopards, Sunday Chidzambwa, was one of us and he was going to do us proud. His team scored first and in typical Chidzambwa strategy, he tried his defensive formation and managed to hold on to his slender until the 71st minute when the cookie crumbled.

By the following day, I really needed a good sporting story out of the “house of stones” when Steven Muzhingi came to the rescue. The Comrades Marathon is one of the premier athletic events on the South African sporting calendars. The grueling 87 kilometres from Durban to Pietermaritzburg is a clear test of endurance which is analogous to a well followed financial plan.

A number of people started their 2011 financial goals with vision of an Usain Bolt dash but this does not really happen with financial objectives unless you win the lottery or come into a significant inheritence. A successful financial plan is an endurance run not a sprint.

Deep down, we all know what our short and long term financial objectives are. The more daring among us have re-committed them to paper at the beginning of 2011. We are almost half way through the year and we can clearly measure if we started with specific objectives how far we have gone towards meeting them.

In an interview broadcasted on SABC 2 during the day of the race on Sunday, Muzhingi explained how he started training for this year’s Comrades Marathon in September 2010. The five hours and some minutes he ran the marathon is really a product of more than eight months of training. His coach put him through a specific regime commensurate with the objectives.

As part this plan, he even ran the Two Oceans marathon earlier in the year in Cape Town. The preparation is not limited just to the physical exercise but extends to the mental attitude as well.

Many of us were swept off our feet by how Messi weaved through the defence of Manchester United in the Champions League cup final over the weekend. The ninety minutes we see is the culmination of weeks and weeks of daily preparation. Financial goals should require no less preparation and effort.

If you consistently miss your financial objectives year in year out, perhaps it is time you consider having a financial coach to help focus your financial performance. Even those who have met their goals can also benefit from the input of a coach to surpass them and endure the course. The coach does not run the race for you. But he just looks at how you are running it and gives you pointers on how to run it better. If we pursue our financial goals with the same diligence as Muzhingi, we can see our financial goals also become a reality.

Muzhingi has not been just a once-off phenomenon. He has nailed the Comrades Marathon for three consecutive years such that we can now extrapolate success principles from how he runs his races. When the Comrades Marathon began, thousands of runners went into a full blast sprint. There were a number of athletes who revelled in being temporary leaders in the first 20 kilometres who later fizzled out. Muzhingi did not try to compete with the speed of the early leaders. He maintained his game plan even when they were whizzing past him.

Consistency and persistence are essential for running a marathon, so it is for executing a viable financial plan. If you chose a certain amount you were going to put aside for saving and hopefully investment, stick to the plan throughout the year. Stop competing with your neighbours as you do not know their specific financial circumstances. Just because they have bought the latest top of the range vehicle does not mean you also have to divert from your long term goals. They say it is always important to begin with the end in mind.

By the time Muzhingi had gone past the 50km mark, he had gathered sufficient momentum. He was virtually in cruise control and had built up a constant speed. I stopped watching after the 60km mark when he was comfortable in an unassailable lead.

If you have consistently and persistently followed through with your savings and investment plan since January, it gets easier to put aside that monthly amount to drive your ambitions forward.

There are countless witnesses who cheer on and motivate you to continue, but ultimately you have to cross the finish line to win. Stephen had family and friends waiting at the finish line including Olympic champion, Kirsty Coventry. If your medium term financial plan was to build your own house or start a family business, we will also celebrate with you when you open the doors to your dream.