The Tides of Wealth

Wealth is like an Ocean, little drops of water make an ocean. An ocean makes waves with its water, when the tide is high the waves are bigger and come in stronger; when the tide is low, the ocean makes little to no waves; When the tide is high the water rises above its normal level, and when the tide is low, its like the ocean recedes and the water goes below its normal level.
Now what does all this have to do with wealth? In my own thinking, I see wealth as an ocean. (An ocean of wealth... How cool that sounds). The build up of wealth is just like the build up of any pond, stream, river and ocean. Little savings kept aside over time, reinvested over time, and more savings continuously kept aside results in the accumulation of wealth; sometimes also a large influx of cash, that is properly saved, invested and reinvested over time also results in a quicker accumulation of wealth. Now whether the wealth was quickly built or slowly built, it is clear that like an ocean, its a never ending process; Water empties out an ocean by evaporation, and refills it again by rainfall, basically the ocean never dries up. Accumulated wealth like an ocean, gets spent up, and keeps getting refilled by the perpetuating savings and investment vehicles in place, from the start of the wealth accumulation process.

Wealth like an Ocean makes strong waves when its tide is high, and little waves when its tide is low. Wealth waves are like income streams, and like investments maturing. When the tide is high is like when business conditions are good and favorable just like harvest times; and at such times wealth can really make strong waves as in income streams can multiply, income flow can increase greatly; investments can mature with really good profits, in fact everything can just blossom and bloom. When the tide is low, is like unfavorable economic conditions; income streams tend to dry up, leaving maybe a few resilient streams to fall back on; income flow tends to decrease, so much money doesn't go around anymore; investments mature with small profits and even losses, it may in fact seem like the wealth has hit a bad turn.
You may now observe that as these events are like what happens with the ocean, the ocean to our eyes remains as if undisturbed by it all, nothing seems added to it, nothing seems taken out of it, and it still remains as daunting and spread out as it always has been.

In the pursuit and build up of wealth, we should have it at the back of our minds that wealth like an ocean has tides, sometimes high and sometimes low, so whatever waves we come across as the tides change while we build up wealth, we should never be distraught or disturbed by it all, but should remain focused on our wealth building activities which are: to always look for new ways to increase our income and income streams; to always keep money aside in savings and increasing the saving as our income increases; to always put part of our savings into trusted, reliable and profitable investment programs; to always re-invest all or part of the profits from investments when they mature.
Sticking to these simple activities, will make the wealth you build up be like an ocean indeed. All people see in an ocean is a large expanse of water, no one can measure the increase or decrease in its water levels, and no one can sure say the ocean will dry out someday.

Join the wealth builders today, and start building up your wealth.

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The Keys To Wealth

The keys to wealth are a collection of principles which must be applied, attitudes which must be developed, and guidelines which must be followed to successfully unlock the doors of wealth and riches; these keys cannot be used independently of the other, but must be used alongside one another so as to successfully unlock these doors and walk into the wealth and riches they hold.
From my studies and research, I have been able to draw up a list of the keys to wealth I think are very important, however if I have left out any from this list that you know of, please feel free to make a comment on it.
The Keys to wealth and riches as I know them are as follows.

• Key #1: Overcome frustration
Frustration is a dream killer, it can change a positive wealth-oriented mind set to a negative, defeated, failure-prone mind set. Successful people handle frustration very well, by using the frustrating event as a learning experience to do better next time.

• Key #2: Overcome rejection.
Everyone of us has been faced with rejection in one way or another, but how we handle it determines how far we go in the pursuit of our goals. Successful people handle rejection very well, they see it as a learning point to be better at what they do.

• Key #3: Do not bow to financial pressure.
Having a financial budget and sticking to it helps to fight off financial pressure. Successful people train themselves to be financially disciplined, they know how to earn and save.

• Key #4: Do not become complacent
Complacency is a feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better.
Being complacent is the beginning of stagnation. Successful people do not give room to complacency, they always review their goals regularly, set new goals for themselves, and stay focused on achieving their goals all the time.

• Key #5 Become an asset owner
Owning assets such as owning a business is far much better than being an employee in a business. This key is a very important principle in generating wealth. Asset owners have better tax advantages over employees.
Asset owners get more from dividends income and company profits, than employees.

• Key #6 Use other people's money
People generally see running debts as a bad thing, but there is an advantage to debts, that really helps in wealth building. Other people's money when responsibly used and properly managed, can significantly increase your investments and rates of returns on investments such as dividend incomes from stocks. This helps to build up wealth more rapidly, than if investing on your own.

• Key #7 Two are better than one
A wealth-oriented couple will achieve better results faster than a single wealth builder. A couple with common goals can easily pool their resources together to build up wealth faster than just one person doing it alone.

• Key #8 Do not become obsessed with wealth
Wealth obsession is dangerous, because it can make you focus on the wrong things, and worry about things you normally should not be bothered about. Achieving goals takes time, planning, dedication and persistence. There will be periods things may not be looking good, and worrying over short term market fluctuations may do more harm to your investments than it should if you become too obsessed with your present wealth status. It may lead you to make wrong decisions that will affect your investments negatively.
It is better to stay focused on accumulating assets, carefully using leverage and considering high growth investments, rather than be obsessed about the effects of the markets on your investments.

• Key #9 Have patience
In building wealth, patience is a must. it is the most important trait to acquiring wealth over a lifetime. It takes time to make money work for you to the point where you become financially independent, so having patience as a wealth builder is very important.

• Key #10 Perseverance is key
Perseverance also is very important. The Markets always fluctuate, the key
is managing how you react to the fluctuations. When the markets drop is a good time to look out for opportunities that abound with public companies on sale. It is a time to persevere in looking for good investments, and not despair as others do about the market fluctuations, and investment losses they are making. It is interesting to see customers line up to shop huge sales at retail stores. But when those same sales happen in the stock market, many investors are afraid to buy. You need to have perseverance in tough times to stick to your long-term investment strategy even when it doesn't look fantastic.

• Key #11 Be Frugal
It is important to exercise a healthy level of frugality in your finances.
How much money we spend out of our income affects our ability to build wealth as well as we should. We must exercise moderation in our spending. Spending money is so much easier to do than making money, hence our spending habits must be closely monitored if we are to put aside enough for saving to build up wealth.

"Wealth is not acquired through addition. It is acquired through multiplication."

You cannot build up wealth by adding up paychecks and doing overtime at jobs. You can only build up wealth by consistently saving, investing and allocating more funds to higher return investments over the years. To build wealth and be financially secure in life doesn't require so much income, it only requires you to start saving on time, and investing too, and then consistently adding to your investments.

I hope you have found this article to be helpful to you. Till you hear from me again. Let wealth and riches be in your homes.

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How Important Is Savings To You?

I have come across all sorts of people in my journey to attain my ideal wealth status, and so many people I have met have no clue what is really important about savings, some do not know how to start, and a lot of them are not interested in the business of saving. Some have said savings doesn't work for them because they always end up spending the money even before they have saved enough, so why bother anyway?
Well I have also met quite a few, who do not joke with their savings, and take it as seriously and religiously as waking up in the morning, brushing teeth, and taking a bath. Believe me, these are the people I really envied, who made me take a deeper reflection on the importance of savings, and the benefits it has on the individual. Observing the lifestyle of these savings-oriented people really helped me to see savings in the proper light, and understand how important it is for everyone.

Some people have asked me why do they have to save if they make enough money to pay for everything they need already? There are many proper ways to answer the question, and all answers have this basic truth, that savings provide financial security, while no savings provides none.

Having established the value of saving, it is important to start saving early, and to save more with time. Starting to save early puts time on your side. the longer your funds are working, the more the power of compound interest works for you. You earn on what you have saved and also earn on what you have already earned.

Personally, I think it is good to have the equivalent of three months' salary set aside to cover for unforeseen and unexpected events such as medical emergencies, job loss, property damages etc.
Such emergencies can come as a complete surprise - and without savings, you may find yourself in a most difficult situation.

Saving doesn't come easy for everyone, especially for debt-ridden folks, the repaying of debts may take priority and it's only possible to save when they have 'spare' money.


It is good to establish a Consistent Saving Habit. One of the easiest ways to do this is to participate in a contribution plan. A second way is to consistently save with an automatic debit instruction from your income accounts to your savings account with your financial institution.

Also how much you can earn on your savings will determine how fast your money grows. Therefore it is good to work with a financial advisor, who can wisely advise you on good investment programs that can yield good and high returns on your invested savings.

In view of all I have said so far, let me still list out some reasons why you should consider saving your money.

1. Save for emergencies
Having an emergency savings fund to cover unexpected expenses is very critical. The unforeseen and unexpected such as car breakdown, job loss, medical emergencies etc. can happen anytime and your savings will be a saving grace at such times.

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2. Save for Retirement
You are not getting any younger, soon age will tell on you, when you can't go out to earn a living anymore as you used to. The sooner you start saving for retirement, the less you will have to worry about your finances in the future.

3. Save for a House
A third reason to save money is for buying a house.

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4. Save for Vacations and Other Luxury Items
A fourth reason to save money is to have fun. You can save up for your tour of Europe or that Caribbean cruise, or for an expensive item you have always wanted.

​5. Save for Sinking Funds
A fifth reason for saving is to set up a sinking fund. A sinking fund is money you set aside for future repairs or improvements on your car, home or other possessions. This planning can help you to stop dipping into your emergency fund every time.

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6. Save for Education
A sixth reason to begin saving money is for the education of your kids and to further your own education.

Now that we know how important having a savings culture is, how do we go about implementing a savings strategy in our daily lives? I think the best way is by drawing up a budget plan and sticking to it. Drawing up a budget plan for your finances will make you use money more effectively and also improve your savings ability. We will discuss the really important steps to drawing up an ideal budget plan in another topic.

Until I write you again, let wealth and riches be in your homes.

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THE 10 KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU CANNOT HELP!!

By Dr. Ope Banwo

In my many years in business and interacting with people, I have come to realize that it is a fact that no matter how good you are and no matter how patient or good you are as a teacher or mentor, there are just some types of business prospects you simply cannot help.

Many business people waste their business resources and time in trying to cultivate prospects they just cannot help.

It is important to understand and identify the type of people or prospects you cannot help with your business so that you do not waste valuable resources in marketing to them or trying to mentor or help them improve themselves or their business..

The 10 types of prospects or people to avoid trying ot coach, market or mentor at all costs include:

1. People who believe they do not have a problem- People who don't believe they are sick will not take your medicine no matter how good it is. You may have the best product in the market or you may be the smartest cookie since sliced bread, it will not matter when you meet someone who believes he has no need. Even Jesus proclaimed that he has only come to save the lost and heal the sick. He left the Pharisees and Scribes alone because they believe they knew it all. I have learnt to be careful not to waste time with those who are not hungry for solutions. Only look for those who are looking. Somebody who is not hungry for extra income is not likely to be excited about going to try your 'awesome' business opportunity or proposal.

2. People who believe you are the problem- You cannot help somebody who believes you are the stumbling block to his progress. When people view you as the enemy to be vanquished, there is no idea you can sow into them that will germinate. Sometimes we waste time trying to get people who do not like us to consider our help or take business advice or opportunity from us. Someone who believed that you gave him a bad deal in the past is not likely to be excited about your current deal. Leave the dead lists behind and look for new territories to conquer. Focus on those who see you as the solution to their problem rather than those who see you as a problem in the marketplace.

3. People who believe they are smarter that you are – Do not be tempted to waste time on people who scoff at your efforts to achieve financial independence simply because they think they are better than you at what you are doing right now. People who think you are beneath them are not likely to listen to anything you have to say or sell. It is waste of your time to try and help or mentor somebody who thinks they should be helping or teaching you. Just move down the street or on to the next business prospect. Someone who considers himself a guru is not likely to run after a newbie. Leave him or her alone

4. People Who Will Not Take Responsibility For Their Own Future- No matter how smart you are, you are not the Messiah. You cannot help anybody who does not care enough about his own future. There is a reason addicts cannot be helped until they make a conscious decision that enough is enough. Often, we spend too much time and resources trying to force people to make progress when they obviously could care less. In the end we end up with heartbreak, insult and ingratitude. Your job as a loving mentor is to help those who are making the efforts but who just need some help. You are not called to love your neighbors more than they love themselves. I am talking about people who may need your help but cannot seem to find the time to meet with you. They cannot find the time to attend business training meetings or watch a 30 Mins training video. They expect you to adjust your schedule to fit their own schedule or people who would not sacrifice towards their own needs, yet require you to give them handouts.

5. People who cannot recognize the value of the Opportunity You Are Presenting – Even Jesus himself could not do much miracle in his own hometown for the simple reason that the people simply do not recognize his value. All they could see was a carpenter's son. It was therefore pointless for him to continue trying to help the sick in that village. He moved away! Same thing with you. Don't throw your pearls before swine who do not appreciate the value of pearls. Do not waste time trying to get people who do not believe you can offer them anything of value or who do not believe you have anything good to offer. You can only have an impact in helping people who celebrate you and not those who tolerate you!

6. People Who Refuse To Take Action Or Follow Your Instructions The only proof of genuine desire for financial breakthrough is action. When you have needy people who require your help but are unwilling to follow your instructions for helping them or who refuse to take decisive action, you will be wasting your time by spending time and energy with them. You cannot help them until they learn to follow your directions and take action. You cannot lead those who wont follow. Shepherds cannot corral goats. That is a job for goat herders. Shepherds only lead sheep that are willing to follow their direction. In your business, focus only on mentoring or training those who will follow your instructions to go to the next level

7. People Who Refuse To Reach Out For Help- There are many people who are too dumb, too proud or just too lazy to ask for help. When you try to force yourself into their lives, all you are going to get is resentment. Every seed of time, energy and resources poured into such a group of people cannot produce desired harvest. Blind Bartimaus could be helped by Jesus because he cried out for help. When he was told to keep quiet, he cried out all the more. His crying out for help was what qualified him for the attention and the miracle from Jesus. You cannot help people who do not know and too proud to ask for help. You will have to keep motivating them for the rest of your life.

8. People Who Are Not Willing To Work Hard For Results – There are far too many people who are still content chasing after every shinny dollar and who still believe that one can get rich overnight if only they could find that perfect product. As long as they still have that mentality, it will be a colossal waste of time for you to even try to help them. They are not ready for the systematic approach to success and it will be a waste of time to try until they come to the realization that hard must precede durable success.

9. People Who Want You To Make A Bigger Investment In Their Success Than They Are Willing To Make – Believe it or not, there are still people out there who believe that you should be more invested in their success than they are. I am talking about somebody who needs your help but wants it at his/her own convenience. They want you to meet with them or provide assistance at their own convenient time and not your own. These are people who expect you to do regular follow-up with them or chase them around just so you can help them. They are people who expect you to give them products cost you money for free. They are the kinds of protégés who expect you to spend time preparing training for them but are not willing to get up and show up at live trainings or webinars. These people cannot be helped as long as they still think you owe it to help them. The burden of pursuit is on the needy not the giver

10. People Who Have Given Up On Themselves And Their Situation- It took me a while to reconcile myself to the fact that you cannot help anyone who does not believe in himself. Motivation can only go so far but unless someone really wants to succeed, and is ready to do what it takes, you are wasting your time trying to help them. Many people have simply given up on themselves. They have bought into the 'it is impossible' mentality. The more you try to convince them, the more they give you excuses why your proposed plan to help them cannot work. They are not willing to take a leap of faith or try again after many failures. These kinds of people first need to go for serious mental and spiritual counseling before you can even make any headway with them. Don't bother helping them in that state

Dr Ope Banwo is an Attorney, Motivational Speaker, Personal Internet Business Coach and Business Connsultant. You can reach him at his blog www.opebanwo.com or contact him through his company www.afrinetsolutions.com

http://www.opebanwo.com/

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How To build Wealth Effectively As A Wealth Builder

The question these days on most people's minds is how does one build wealth? Well after much study and research on the matter, i will tell you what i know about building wealth effectively.

First, you must have a good source of income, or multiple income streams. This is important because the primary requirement to be a good wealth builder, is to be a good saver. You must be able to account for how much you make, and how much you spend, and plan how much you can comfortably keep aside in savings every month, it does not matter if its N100, or N10,000 you put aside in savings, developing the habit of keeping money aside in savings is what is important. Drawing up a simple budget like this that you can stick to is a major step towards your financial independence.

It is important to have the right perspective towards savings. As hard as it may seem sometimes, it is the paramount priority of every wealth builder. Saving is actually deferring present financial pleasure for future financial gain. It takes discipline, courage and resolve. We will discuss How to save effectively in another topic.

As you start saving, you will see your savings grow over time, and soon enough you will realise that just savings alone is not enough to get you to the level of wealth you aspire. So the next thing to do as you build up your savings, is to seek good investments you can put it into that will yield greater returns over time. As the saying goes "it takes money to make money". At this point you have two options. You can either improve on your financial literacy and tackle investments head on by yourself, or enlist the help of a financial advisor. Though the second option will cost you money to hire a good financial advisor, yet it is the preferred option because of the amount of experience the financial advisor will be bringing on board, the risk of going into any bad investments or poorly performing investments is greatly minimized. Financial advisors are trained to seek out most profitable investments for their clients, and hiring one can only be of benefit to you.

Investments you can consider doing are:
1. Investing in the stock market
2. Investing in index funds
3. Investing in mutual funds
4. Investing in foreign or emerging markets
5. Investing in real estate

Also personal habits must be carefully observed, to avoid squandering the wealth you are building without realizing it. Here are some helpful tips on some pitfalls to avoid.

a. Learn to live within your means. It is a hard lesson to learn for a lot of people dealing with their personal finances, but the idea is to live within your means now so you can live above your means later.

b. Never make purchases on an impulse, especially expensive items. Always think it through before making purchases, is it of a major benefit right now? Do you really need it? Give it a waiting period of at least a week, before making that purchase, that way you have had all the time to think wether its really worth it or not.

c. When shopping for items for the home, always make a list before hitting the shopping mall, and stick to buying only what you have on the list.

d. Be ready to learn more to increase your earnings potentials.

e. Learn to use your money. money isn't an end in itself. It is a means to an end, and its true value lies in what you can buy with it, not in how much you have by the time you die. So learn to enjoy life while you're living it.

f. Read a lot, read about almost everything. know what's going on in your industry (trends, new concepts), learn what's going on in the World. This is a global economy and likely whatever is happening in the world is affecting your industry.

How To Build Wealth

The question these days on most people's minds is how does one build wealth? Well after much study and research on the matter, i will tell you what i know about building wealth effectively. 

First, you must have a good source of income, or multiple income streams. This is important because the primary requirement to be a good wealth builder, is to be a good saver. You must be able to account for how much you make, and how much you spend, and plan how much you can comfortably keep aside in savings every month, it does not matter if its N100, or N10,000 you put aside in savings, developing the habit of keeping money aside in savings is what is important. Drawing up a simple budget like this that you can stick to is a major step towards your financial independence.

It is important to have the right perspective towards savings. As hard as it may seem sometimes, it is the paramount priority of every wealth builder. Saving is actually deferring present financial pleasure for future financial gain. It takes discipline, courage and resolve. We will discuss How to save effectively in another topic.

As you start saving, you will see your savings grow over time, and soon enough you will realise that just savings alone is not enough to get you to the level of wealth you aspire. So the next thing to do as you build up your savings, is to seek good investments you can put it into that will yield greater returns over time. As the saying goes "it takes money to make money". At this point you have two options. You can either improve on your financial literacy and tackle investments head on by yourself, or enlist the help of a financial advisor. Though the second option will cost you money to hire a good financial advisor, yet it is the preferred option because of the amount of experience the financial advisor will be bringing on board, the risk of going into any bad investments or poorly performing investments is greatly minimized. Financial advisors are trained to seek out most profitable investments for their clients, and hiring one can only be of benefit to you.

Investments you can consider doing are:

1. Investing in the stock market

2. Investing in index funds

3. Investing in mutual funds

4. Investing in foreign or emerging markets

5. Investing in real estate

Also personal habits must be carefully observed, to avoid squandering the wealth you are building without realizing it. Here are some helpful tips on some pitfalls to avoid.

a. Learn to live within your means. It is a hard lesson to learn for a lot of people dealing with their personal finances, but the idea is to live within your means now so you can live above your means later.

b. Never make purchases on an impulse, especially expensive items. Always think it through before making purchases, is it of a major benefit right now? Do you really need it? Give it a waiting period of at least a week, before making that purchase, that way you have had all the time to think wether its really worth it or not.

c. When shopping for items for the home, always make a list before hitting the shopping mall, and stick to buying only what you have on the list.

d. Be ready to learn more to increase your earnings potentials.

e. Learn to use your money. money isn't an end in itself. It is a means to an end, and its true value lies in what you can buy with it, not in how much you have by the time you die. So learn to enjoy life while you're living it.

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f. Read a lot, read about almost everything. know what's going on in your industry (trends, new concepts), learn what's going on in the World. This is a global economy and likely whatever is happening in the world is affecting your industry.

 

Prepare Yourself For A Financial Windfall

A financial windfall is what happens when you suddenly come into a large sum of money. This may come about in various ways, but I will only list a few here. A financial windfall may come as a cash gift, it may come as a large bonus for work done, it can come as a retirement payout, or a severance package, it may be from an inheritance, or the sale of a business, or a winning lottery ticket, it can even be a compensation for winning a court case. What am I trying to say? A financial windfall can come from anywhere, and at anytime. You can either be expectantly awaiting it, or it can take you by surprise, when you least expect it.

Now let me ask you a straight question, what would you do if you suddenly came into a whole lot of money? I know what some of you would say... You would probably buy landed properties, or buy yourself a new car, or maybe start that dream business, or you may put it away for your retirement, or pay for an exotic vacation, or simply do what comes easiest, go on a shopping spree.
Whatever you do decide, the fact is that a financial windfall always presents you with unique opportunities as well as challenges. It is a given that every facet of your life will change as you are faced with so much options on 
What to do with the money. Sometimes this can be really overwhelming, this is why its important to be prepared, to know what you can do to help you make the most of a financial windfall when it comes.

I will list out a few advices most  financial gurus have pointed out that can really help to put you on a sure footing.

1. Do not rush to spend the money. Take some time out maybe a month to 3 months after receiving the cash windfall to adjust your mindset to this new financial status, and to effectively plan and map out a strategy for putting the money to good use.

2. Deposit the money in a money market, for the period of time you are still thinking how best to use the money, so the money can be earning interest for you rather than lying idle.

3. Start educating yourself financially, read books that will help build and structure your finances, the more you learn about how to manage your finances, the easier it will be for you to preserve and nurture your wealth. Talk with financial advisors, seek expert help and opinions on financial matters. Truthfully speaking most people do not have the time and expertise to manage their personal finances properly. It is wisdom in such a case to have financial advisors handle that. Financial advisors have that unique ability to take your objectives and priorities into consideration, and help develop financial plans to suit you.

4. Make long term plans for the funds. Plan and implement strategies for the funds that will help it to appreciate over time, such as long term investments in land, government bonds and treasury bills


Other things you should not overlook when you come into a lot of money, but should handle very carefully I will also list out. They are also important, and it is good to pay attention to them too.

A. Pay off your debts, or reduce them as much as possible. When I talk of debts, I mean personal loans from family and friends, bank loans and mortgages

B. Help out less privileged loved ones. Be wary of family and friends that suddenly come up with business plans and ideas for your money, make sure you do a proper background check, and thoroughly scrutinize their business initiatives before financially involving yourself.

C. Have a plan for your estate. Prepare a will if you do not have one, or update your existing will. Work with a lawyer specialized in estate matters, to have this really important area of your finances sorted.

D. Give your life a sense of purpose by helping others. Think of people you wish to help; it may be family, friends, or doing philanthropic acts

E. Enjoy yourself and spend some of the money on yourself. Don't be too impulsive, budget how much you are willing to spend on yourself, then make a list of the things you really want, and go out and get them.

Do you know that up to three-quarters of people who suddenly receive huge financial windfalls usually end up losing it all within just a few years. What am I saying? A financial windfall if wisely handled can grow into a lasting financial legacy for the receivers of the funds to many generations after them, but if poorly managed can be very disastrous to such receivers of the funds, as they will most likely end up far worse than before they received the financial windfall. 

A financial windfall is waiting for you just around the corner. So be wise and be prepared.

Till you hear from me again, let wealth and riches be in your homes. Bye

Wealth: Why are few wealthy, many seeking wealth, and a lot having little to no money?

Now let's take our time to delve further into this great topic called wealth. There are so many facets to it. It can be approached from any angle, debated upon for many hours, but the truth of it still remains the same. It does not change. The fact of the matter is this, wealth continues to remain in the hands of the few, while many seek for it, and even many more have little to nothing to live by. This may sound a bit harsh and maybe too blunt coming from me, but its the truth. This is what is happening in our present world. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I am not happy making this statement, but in the spirit of truth and realistic assessment, it is always good to start with a real, undisguised, critical evaluation of ourselves, our environment, our situations, and our conditions, and then work our way up from there. This way we are sure to be starting on a sure footing, and we can hardly ever go wrong as we work our way up to the ultimate goal of life on earth which is to be wealthy. Yeah!

So what am i saying in essence? Well its simple. If you are wealthy you are in the class of the privileged few, if you are not wealthy, then you are either seeking to be wealthy, or you have accepted your humble condition and have no desire for wealth whatsoever. I personally prefer to be found in the set of wealthy individuals, or at least in the set of wealth seekers, but surely not in the set of those who have resigned to their fate, or given up on the dream to have wealth and riches. I think that is a loser mentality, and i sincerely pray that those who have given up on such lofty ideals as being wealthy indeed, and have resigned themselves to this sad fate will indeed truly catch the fire, and let the spark return to their eyes. Being wealthy is an ideal that everyone should go after. After all it is God's will that his people should be wealthy. When God chose Abraham, he made him wealthy, When he was with Isaac and also with Jacob, he made them wealthy. Jesus himself wore a very expensive garment, such that the soldiers after his crucifixion rather than divide it amongst themselves, preferred to cast lots for it. God himself says it in the book of Deuteronomy that he is the God that gives us power to get wealth. It is also a promise of God to those that fear him and delight in him, that wealth and riches shall be in their house. Why am i saying all this? So that we can truly know that being wealthy, or seeking to be wealthy is indeed a lofty ideal worth going after. It is nothing to be ashamed of, or feel guilty for. But what we must watch out for as we embark on our quest for wealth and riches, is to be careful how we get the wealth (ill gotten wealth can never do you any good, rather it will cause you more harm), and to be careful how we use the wealth. Above all we must guard our hearts strongly, so that we do not exalt wealth more than it is right to do. Remember, the love of money is the root of all evil. money should be seen as a vehicle and a means for achieving an end, and not an end in itself. We must understand that money is our servant, and we must make it work for us. Money is not our god, and so do not worship it, or exalt it above its necessary use.

Now to answer the question this topic poses that why are few wealthy, many barely managing to have money, and so much more not even having at all is simple. The wealthy and rich few have already grabbed and assimilated the principles of getting wealth, and have been passing on the practical applications of it to their generations after them, hence the rich get richer. The people barely managing their money, are those who know these principles of getting wealth, and are struggling with the application of these same principles. Then we have those who have the opportunity to learn and apply the principles of getting wealth and choose not to know them or learn more about them, such people have resigned to their sad fate, and then they start criticising the efforts of those who are wealthy and those who are earnestly seeking after wealth. These are the worst sort of people to associate with, because they will only be dreams and vision killers, and will always discredit any money making venture you want to go into, because they do not believe in making money or building wealth. On this note, i leave you with this advice, if you want to be rich and wealthy, associate with the rich and wealthy, or at least associate with those who have the rich and wealthy mentality. The saying indeed holds true that the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. So if you want to be rich and wealthy, start thinking like a rich and wealthy person.

 Till you hear from me again, let wealth and riches be in your homes.

Wealth: What Happened To It?

       I have always wondered what it would be like if everyone was wealthy. The world would be a better place it would seem at first thought, but then again maybe not. So then I ask myself again; why are the majority of people poor, and the wealth of nations in the hands of the minority? There is a common saying that 80% of the world's population are poor and 20% are rich. Basically, there are fewer rich people than there are poorer ones, and this 80/20 ratio is a real cause for concern if u ask me.

    What happened to wealth that its so unevenly distributed? Has it always been this way? Or is it the product of modernization and techno-innovation that has limited the potentials of many, and empowered the abilities of the "privileged" few? The saying that the rich only get richer, and the poor, poorer holds so true especially now in this technological age. Why is it so? There are no exact and correct answers to this. Many schools of thought on wealth and riches would propose and stipulate to know the right answers, but in my own opinion the real answers lie in the heart and mind of God. As the saying truly goes "man proposes but God disposes".

    Ultimately if we must know what happened to wealth, we must know without a doubt that wealth and riches belong to God, and he has given unto us the power to get wealth. Therefore a greater understanding of God, his operations and his power, should result in a greater possession of wealth right? I leave you now to think over this for a while; feel free to comment and air your opinions and take on this matter of getting wealth. We will try to delve further into this in my next blog post. 

Until you read from me again, let wealth and riches be in your homes. 

Bye!

Wealth Building Questions & Answers

What is money? it is simply a vehicle or a means of translating your dreams and aspirations into forms with economic values. Money does change the opportunities in life and the lifestyle of people. Here are answers to questions people ask regarding wealth, I believe this will assist you in taking your wealth building potential to a new level of financial returns.


Q. Some people never obtain financial independence, why is that?
A. Usually the reason is because financial independence is not the most imporant on their value list. Many times you will find someone who's top priority is to ensure that they have an education, or their top priority is their children, socializing or their religious beliefs, even though many people may say they want to be wealthy, if it is not on the top of their value list, they sadly never get to achieve it.


Q. Does having a plan for what you want to do with money help you build wealth?
A. Yes it does. Studying wealth and what you are going to do with each naira you earn allows you to have a clear vision of how you will manage it, and what you will do with it. You can quickly grasp money making opportunities, when you have a clear picture and well thought out plans on what you will do with money, and how you will use it. Opportunities will simply pass you by when you lack financial planning and managerial skills to put money to good work.


Q. Do you have to have money as one of the top three values if you truly want to be wealthy?
A. If you do not make building wealth amongst your top priorities in life, you will most likely never achieve the financial independence you dream of. The same goes for having a savings. If saving is not a top priority on your list, you will never get around to saving. because you will rather spend the money that should be saved on things which you have considered to have a higher priority than your savings. You will find financial independence slipping out of your grasps each time you fail to make it your top priority.


Q. Why must you have a cause for wealth?
A. There must be a driving force, a compelling reason, a motivating factor for you to want to get Wealth, that is what having a cause for wealth is. The greater the cause, the greater the wealth. If you have a small cause for example to just want to survive and have enough money to just make ends meet, then forget wealth; you're not going to have financial independence, you are just going to have enough food to eat. But, if you have a big cause for example to build a park in your community and buy a piece of land and build a park for all of the kids so they don't have to walk across the busy intersection to go to the park; now you are going to rally more energy and boost to building wealth for that cause. If you are going to build an organization for a health concern that is a city or statewide venture, you are going to build even bigger wealth. So, the size of your cause will decide your motivation and the size of the wealth that you can accumulate.


Q. Why is it essential to resolve guilt to build wealth?
A. Feelings of guilt usually arises when people dont feel worthy of something. This type of feeling is dangerous, because it sets up traps that sabotage and interfere with your wealth building potentials. It's wise that you deal with this feeling. Do not let yourself feel guilty for building wealth, unless if maybe gotten illegitimately, but otherwise reject such thoughts and build up your self worth. You deserve to earn every money you make. Do not feel bad about it.


Q. How should one handle debt?
A. One way to look at debt is to see it as somebody who has invested in you and therefore deserves to be thanked. Rather than see the naira value of the debt and get all bent out of shape and frustrated about how much you owe, turn your debt into service and focus on the service. Don't focus on the debt, focus on the service. For example Let's say you owe 100,000naira and you need to repay 10,000naira per month for it. Then calculate how much you will need to pay each day which will be 10,000/30days = 333.3naira so you need to make that amount each day. Now find out how many products, service or ideas you have to make 333.3naira a day and concentrate that much more on your service. When you focus on converting debt into service and concentrate on serving people, the debt goes away. If you concentrate on the debt and not the service, the service goes away.

These are just a few questions and answers that hopefully will put you on a surer footing to wealthbuilding. Always remember that what you think about the most, is what you reproduce most easily. Therefore it is important to have a control on our emotions. Money is made from strategies not emotions, so it's best to have strategies that override emotions. To sum it up here's what Warren Buffett said, 'Until you can manage your emotions, don't expect to manage money!'

Parting Tip:
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This is your season of building wealth. Do it with Joy.