BATTLE IT OUT WITH POVERTY!

People who lived in the continent of Europe in the 1700s and prior to that had a vicious way of settling disputes whenever there were disagreements between parties on many issues, trivial or otherwise. The offended party would challenge the other to a duel, a pre-arranged combat using deadly weapons, such as swords or pistols based on an accepted code which could be the death of the loser without any repercussions to the winner. This method was popular for settling disputes among gentlemen.

In the 21^st century we must recourse back to dueling to combat and mortally finish off an enemy that all of us should detest totally. This enemy continues to assault and insult many of us like he did to our forebears who did little or nothing to eliminate it. That enemy is poverty.

FIFTY THOUSAND MILLIONAIRES BY 2025!

 Can our societies exist in the kind of utopia that makes it possible for everyone to be millionaires? Leaders in African societies are good at making promises of better life using slogans like Housing for All, Education for All, Prosperity for All by a certain date that I thought I should coin my own – Developing Fifty thousand Millionaires by 2025.

It is practically impossible for everyone to become millionaires in a society. It is however possible for a country like Nigeria to be able to nurture and groom an additional fifty thousand millionaires by 2025! Nurturing and grooming means the input and impetus of the government has to be felt  in making this goal possible.

Now government exists to provide it’s citizens with the enabling environment in order for them to grow wealth. Government is not an avenue to wealth, rather it is an enabler when it gives the people all the support, encouragement and tools that they need to be wealthy. This tends to benefit them in the long run because more jobs would be created, more taxes will be paid, there will be less crime amongst other things which leads to a better quality of life for Nigerians. Fifty thousand new millionaires can be achieved if we do the following:

FINANCIAL EXPECTATIONS

 Legend has it that nearly five thousand years ago a weary traveller met Bansir, a wise old man at the outskirts of Babylon. He said to him, ‘Sir, I have heard that the people of this city are unfriendly, wicked and inhospitable to strangers.” The old man replied, ‘That is correct. These are the kind of people you will meet here.’ The traveller continued on his journey.

Several hours later another traveller met Bansirat the same spot. He also enquired from him, ‘Old man, I am new to this city and I have heard that the people are caring and compassionate towards strangers.’ The wise old man replied, “Yes you are correct. These are the people you will meet here.”

Now Bansir’s response to both travellers was correct because this story highlights an extremely important aspect in our race to wealth and success, which is expectation. In the above story each person had a different expectation about Babylon’s citizens, and what they expected was definitely their experience…

MASTERING THE ART OF SPENDING MONEY

Money is the most sought after commodity in the world today. Everyone needs it for what they can exchange it for – be it goods, services, needs, wants or ideas. We live in an inter-dependent world where we rely on one other to provide what we cannot produce by ourselves. We therefore need to spend money by giving it in exchange for what we want.

Spending is an area where most people come up short on the road to wealth and fortune. They fail to understand that there is an art to it. The rich spend and still have plenty leftover, while the poor spend and have nothing left. Those who have mastered the art of spending normally base their spending decisions on one or more of the guidelines below:

Firstly most people believe money is meant to be spent. Rather money is meant to be multiplied. Those who have mastered the art of spending disburse a major chunk of their money on things that can be multiplied into more wealth while most others spend on what can’t produce further hence they lack as a result.

Those who have mastered the art of spending expend money on their needs, not wants. Needs are those things you cannot do without while wants are the opposite. They constantly ask themselves – Do I need it? Do I want it? Then they act to spend on what they need. This frees up funds that could have been frittered away on wants that could be diverted to better uses.

RESEARCH ON BUT DON’T RESENT THE RICH

The rich and financially successful are worthy of emulation. The very few who have been able to acquire wealth through dint of inspiration and perspiration have worthy experiences and tales that could be extremely useful to those who intend to become like them.

Unfortunately those who are not wealthy do not seem to want to emulate the rich. They tend to be envious and detest the successes and progress that the rich have made. Granted the rich can be obnoxious, lousy and extremely arrogant, but this does not change the fact that they are successful. Those desiring to replicate their success would do well to focus on the tips,strategies and skills deployed to produce success, instead of on their inadequacies.

LESSONS LEARNED: ULI HOENESS

-          Uli Hoeness was a former footballer and became President of German Football Powerhouse Bayern Munich after his career ended

-          His tenure  as President was characterized as the most successful in the Club’s history with the club winning many German league titles and the UEFA Champions League

-          The club’s financial profits stood at over 400 Million Euros during the last financial year

-          Uli was truly a role model for charity and generosity, often helping former players and other German league teams undergoing rough times. Due to his “achievements” in turning Bayern’s fortunes around many politicians sought to get close and identify with him. He thus became very influential