Most people tend to think that when you are rich, you have a lot of money. You can look rich – drive flashy cars, own houses and be worth hundreds of millions but be broke and struggle to pay your bills or your children’s school fees. I know some people a while back who looked rich but used to shake out their trouser pockets in the wardrobe to look for money to buy petrol for their car. People like this are referred to as asset rich, cash poor. They do not have enough cash.
Most people look for capital gain when it comes to investing. Net worth is based on estimated value rather than actual cash flow hence one can be rich and still be broke, worth millions but at the same time, contending with past due bills. A minor financial crisis can cause them to dispose off their assets at a giveaway price. Negotiating property price with an owner who desperately needs the money is every buyers dream. When they sense the desperation, they lower their bid. The buyer calls the shots. He who has the gold makes the rules.
Cash flow is the lifeblood of every business and personal finance. The moment a company runs out of cash, it is headed for bankruptcy despite projected earnings and profits for that year. You get to hear about terms like “paper profits”, profits not backed by money in the bank. The moment the company cannot make payroll, pay its suppliers and catch up loan repayment, the company is gradually going out of business. In mergers and acquisitions, the cash rich partner dictates the terms. You find seemingly smaller companies acquiring bigger companies or becoming the senior partner in a merger. It is a matter of cash. Smaller cash rich Exxon became the senior partner in the ExxonMobil merger (Mobil was asset rich and cash poor). Here in Nigeria, smaller cash rich Standard Trust Bank (STB) took over asset rich but cash poor UBA and retained the UBA name for brand recognition purposes. It also holds true for individuals. When you are cash strapped, you negotiate from a position of weakness. When there is no dime in your pocket and your bank account, your self esteem suffers, no matter how exotic your automobile or which neighbourhood you live. You live life on the edge, always afraid that something will give. You are not far away from embarrassment.
The real rich invest for cash flow while the poor and middle class invest for capital gain. More often than not, capital gain is outside your control. Capital gain is often a perception driven my market sentiments. Capital gain is on paper, an opinion based on what the market is saying at that point in time. It is only realized when you cash in. Since the value placed on an asset is often an opinion, the reality is that you often get less when you cash in. Opinion is often worlds apart from reality. In the real estate market, the true value of your property is the best offer a buyer is ready to pay. Until you see the colour of the money, you cannot say for sure what your asset is worth. Even in the stock market where published stock prices are not opinions unlike the real estate market, a stock may be this price today, but the moment you ask your broker to sell, the price may drop at the point of executing that order. You can feel on top of the world that you are worth this much, but the moment of truth comes when you actually convert your assets to cash. For household items, the rule of thumb is to assume it is worth 10% of purchase price. This is one of the key reasons net worth is not a true indicator of your financial health. The value you put on your asset is an opinion. When you invest for capital gain, you are investing based on opinions, not facts. The price movement is not under your control. You can only hope and pray that the market sentiment favours your projections. Your financial plan is based on hope.
When you focus on investing for cash flow, you have control over when you exit the investment. You negotiate from a position of strength. If the price is not right, you can afford to walk away and wait for when the price meets your exit parameters for the investment. While waiting, you still enjoy the cash flow from the asset. When you invest for cash flow, you usually get capital gain as a bonus. For example if you own a rental property, you get cash flow from rents, and the property can also appreciate in value. You are not under any pressure to sell. That goes back to the common sense definition of assets – anything that puts money in your pocket, in essence eating your cake and having it. If your investment does not generate cash flow, you are putting yourself in a financially weak position. When you invest for cash flow, you hardly go wrong. Cash flow is king. Do not run out of cash.
– Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
We are all self-employed, whether we realize it or not. Very few people realize this until after retirement, when they scramble to get their act together and learn new tricks in old age, or after a job loss. For many, the outcome is catastrophic financially – the retiree and his gratuity soon part ways. Unless you are a partner or a major shareholder in the company, you are simply rendering services to the company whether in your name, or in the name of your own company. Your contract with the company has an end date. If you are not self-employed, you may be stranded. Your future is in your hands.
You are in charge of your life – your time, finances, career, relationships, you name it. You are the CEO of your life, whether you are an employee, employer, businessman, clergyman or whatever your vocation or calling, that is why minding our business is our primary responsibility.
Everyone is a business man or woman. Everyone is doing business, whether you own a business or working for a business or charity. Businesses can be broadly divided into two – manufacturing and services. Employees are into the service business, they provide services to their employer, using their time and skills. They get paid based on productivity and value added.
A good way to illustrate this is to imagine an Accounting/Auditing firm which sends some of their staff to work for another company, auditing their books for a certain period. The auditors are not employees of the company they are auditing, but they work for that company. They resume work in the morning and close in the evening. They have a certain task they are to complete to the satisfaction of the company paying the bills.
It may look like I am trying to play with words, but the issue is the mindset which ultimately determines the outcome. If you are self employed, you are working for your own company (though may not yet be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission), rendering services which is paid for monthly as salary. That means you are in charge of the quality of service you are rendering. To command better fees/salary etc, you want to add more value to the services you are rendering, exceeding customer expectations – the customer being your employer. You get paid more through salary increases, including promotion. Because you are in charge, you do not wait for the company to push you before you step up your game. You seek to improve your skills on your own by seeking out and attending courses relevant to your current job function to improve your performance on the job. Since you are self employed, you don’t mind spending your own money to attend some of the courses either home or abroad, to give you the competitive edge (if such training opportunities do not exist in the company). You are in effect working for yourself, not the company hence it does not matter if your new skills are recognized and rewarded by the current company. You have an idea where you are going, and if it means changing jobs to get there, you have the skills needed at that level.
Since you are self employed, you get to choose the jobs you do. If the job you are currently doing is not taking you where you want to go or is not what you really want to do, you can discuss with the company to move you to another job function, and if all fails, go work for another company. You take control of your career and professional development, not necessarily having to wait for the HR Department of the company you are working for – remember you are self employed. Your skill set is not tied to the company you work for, but what you want to do with your life now and in the future. You do not wait for the company to promote you – you promote yourself by acquiring the skill set of the position you want to be, and start performing at that level. Soon it will be obvious to all that you are a candidate for that position.
As a self-employed person, you do not wait for the company you work for to manage your finances. You don’t wait for your salary before you give your wife her housekeeping allowance. If the company delays in paying salaries, you have a Plan B, as your life is not tied to the company. You don’t wait on the company for gratuity and pension, you plan your cash flow down to your old age, by investing in portfolios that will generate fixed income, returns and growth. What the company offers, if any, becomes a bonus.
Also as a self-employed person, you do not wait for the company to tell you when to retire. You can choose to work as long as you want, doing what you love and loving what you do. If you love the company you are working for, you can stick with them till the mandatory retirement age, and then offer your skills to same company or another company as a consultant, if that is what you love doing. What that means is that you have registered your own company somewhere down the line and learnt how to run a business and not wait until you get notice of retirement.
As self-employed, it means you are in the driver’s seat of your life. You do not want someone driving you. No one knows where you really want to go more than you do. No one cares for you more than you do. In a business down turn, the company down sizes and no matter how much the company loves you, you may be let go. If you are financially illiterate, your gratuity may soon become history too. That is when it dawns on you that you are really on your own – truly self-employed.
Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
We can make 2013 our best year ever. It is a matter of choice in paying the price in doing our part. A lot of things have been written about 2012. For many, it was the worst year in living memory. For me, it was my best year ever. I have seen God crown my efforts with success in an unprecedented way. The year of course had its own challenges, including personal and national tragedies. There are certain things we do not have control over. I remember growing up, the serenity prayer whose rhyme sounded fascinating but whose import I never grasped until much later in life:
God grant me
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference
For most of us, especially in the area of business, finance and relationships (communication), we lack the wisdom to know the difference. We ask for serenity to wait for the things we can change to change by themselves. According to the late Jim Rohn, acclaimed as America’s foremost business philosopher;
– If you will change, everything will change
– To have more, you need to become more
– Don’t wish for things to get easier, wish that you get better
– Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills
– Success is something you attract by the person you become. Success is not something you pursue. Success is something you attract by becoming an attractive person
The summary is that you have to set yourself up for success by working on yourself. You prepare for war in time of peace. The outbreak of war is not the time to enrol in the Defence Academy. That is too late. God will pass the ball, but it is your responsibility to score the goal. If you are not ready and prepared, no matter how beautiful the pass, you will miss the shot.
Let me give you a simple illustration. A building contractor believes God for a financial breakthrough, and daily bombards Heaven with his request, doing all he knows how to ask. Let’s say the opportunity presents itself and he messes up the job. He becomes an embarrassment to the person who linked him up to get the job. He will not be given other jobs, and no amount of prayer and fasting will change things. A story goes that when the male lion wakes up in the morning, he stretches, announces his presence with a bone chilling roar and prays a simple prayer:
God, show me the animal that is my lunch today and leave the rest to me.
Our success in 2013 will depend on how much we cooperate with Heaven. Prayer, giving and confession alone are not enough. Faith without work is dead. We have to roll up our sleeves and change the things we can.
We need a new mindset, new thoughts, attitudes and beliefs about ourselves. We need new goals – spiritual, mental, physical, financial, relationship, career etc. We need new skills, new habits, new information, and new way of looking at things. What we have so far has brought us this far. We have reached the last bus stop and the bus is not going farther than this. To move forward, we have to leave the old bus and join a new bus. We have to leave the old behind and embrace the new. We cannot do the same old things and expect a new result. We have to raise our standards. We have to go where we have not gone before and do what we have not done before. We need to go the extra mile. We need to exceed our former limits. We need to move to the next level.
Our best years are ahead of us. They will not manifest through slogans for the year only. It is when opportunity meets preparation that miracles happen. The supernatural happens when the super meets the natural. We have encompassed this mountain long enough. It is time to blow the trumpet and move camp. We can make 2013 the best year of our life and 2014 even better. Happy New Year!
Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil according to 1 Timothy 6:10 (NKJV). Also the lack of money is the root of bitterness and the cause of most marital squabbles. Love it or hate it, we need Money to enjoy life to the fullest and make our unique contribution. Money becomes very important when we don’t have enough of it. It then dictates what job we take, where we live, what clothes we wear or cars we drive, what schools our children attend, and if we allow it, who we marry. Money then becomes a master rather than the slave it ought to be. The lack of money can push a good man or woman to do something they never imagined under normal circumstances.
Many, in an attempt to appear spiritual, avoid the subject of money. Rather than learn sound money management principles, we resort to prayer, hope and expectation of a financial breakthrough. Rather than back our prayers and faith with wisdom, understanding and hard work, we do whatever comes to our minds whenever money gets into our hand, and pray for increase. The result has been that there is lack in the house. When it comes to financial matters, we seem to be the tail, not the head. We consume our seed and pray for open heavens and a bumper harvest.
Money is just a tool to have our needs met, give to others and make a difference in our world. We are simply stewards of God’s resources. Like the parable of 5 talents in Matt 25:14-30, we are supposed to invest and multiply what comes into our hands, so that there will be enough and to spare. When we align ourselves with financial principles, we get the right results. These principles are no respecter of persons no matter how holy or committed we are.
The principles or laws of financial independence can be summed into 2.
1) Pay yourself first
2) Spend less than you earn
Paying yourself first means saving before spending. This savings is not simply to sit in a savings account and stare at you. It is to be invested for returns, the simplest being simple interest from fixed deposits, treasury bills, bonds etc. This means you decide how much you want to save each month, come rain or shine and just do it. By spending less than you earn, you make do with what you have left – cut your coat according to your cloth. When you save every month, you become richer every month and move closer to your financial goals. If you save nothing every month (eating with 10 fingers), you will be left with nothing at the end of the year, each year. So the question is; do you want to become richer every month, or keep marking time at the same spot?
If you master your finances, money becomes your slave. Rather than keep working hard for money, your money starts working hard for you. At a point, your interest income will grow to exceed your monthly expenses. At this point, you have achieved financial independence – you can do without your salary. You can decide to keep working or go do something else with your life. You now have a choice, something very few employees have. You are no longer afraid of being fired or laid off.
There are two types of money problems:
1) Not enough money (most are used to this)
2) Too much money (where you ought to be)
When you get to the point of more than enough (mentally and physically), money ceases to be an issue in your life. You are free of financial worry and anxiety. You can do what you want to do, how you want to do it, when you want to do it. You can spend without being scared if your cheque will bounce. It starts with financial education and financial intelligence – learning how to use what you have to create the abundance you desire. It will not happen overnight. It takes prayer, hope, learning, wisdom, hard work, focus and never giving up.
-Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
Every time we spend money, we are making a choice whether we are aware of it or not. Each choice takes us down a certain road or destination. Each spending choice we make has financial consequences, either now or further down the road. Most people are not aware of this fact, hence they do not take time to think through those spending choices and weigh the financial consequences to see if they are heading the right direction or moving towards the desired consequence. According to Rich Dad (in Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki), with every dollar we spend, we make the choice to remain poor, middle class or become rich. This means we are voting each time we spend, we are voting for an outcome.
We spend according to our money reflex, money habits, feelings and emotions. We are hardly aware at the conscious level that a transaction is taking place, a choice is being made and consequences are sure to follow. There is a consequence for every choice we make. Some refer to it as Law of Consequences or Law of Sowing and Reaping. You cannot break this law no matter how highly connected you are, nor get a waiver because of ignorance. You cannot sow bad seeds and pray for crop failure. Each seed will germinate and bear fruits according to its kind. It is a trap many have fallen into without being aware.
Most of us think in the short term. We are only concerned about the here and now. The reality is that most consequences show up further down the road. They hardly manifest immediately. Very often, we are not aware what the consequences of our actions are, hence when they show up we are unable to link it to actions we took in times past. That time delay between actions and consequences makes us feel we have gotten away with our financial recklessness whereas the consequences are waiting for us down the road. This is the main reason we do not consider the consequences when we take actions. It is very easy to fall into this trap, when we make dumb choices and seem to get away with it. When the consequence is not swift, we tend to continue doing the wrong things.
When I was in secondary school up to when I started working after graduating from the University, I was always having issues with peeling palms. The skin of my palms was always peeling off. I did not link it to the detergent I was using to do my laundry. This went on for years and years until I became aware that my palms were reacting to the detergent. The moment I linked the effect to the cause, I changed the detergent I was using and my palms have stopped peeling since then. Until we link our current financial situation to the way we handled money in the past, we may not be motivated to change our money habits so as to change our financial reality down the road.
We spend most of our money on stuff, things that are here today, gone tomorrow. Buying stuff makes us feel good, lifts our spirit, makes us feel we are in step with current trends. The latest phones, gizmos, fashion, latest cars etc. We hardly stop to consider the impact of our spending 5 to 10 years down the road. We get so caught up with the present that we leave tomorrow to take care of itself, and it usually does. We end up perpetually broke and overweight etc. If you have been working for more than 10 years and still depend on pay day to live normally, it means you have been spending money on wrong things, stuff rather than assets.
The best way to escape this trap is to adopt strategic thinking – think long term, think ahead. See beyond your nose, lift up your eyes and look further down the road. Develop short term and long term financial goals. Have a plan and save to invest in assets. Assets generate cash flow. That means the more assets you accumulate, the stronger your cash flow. This means you have multiple sources of income. You don’t depend solely on one source.
The more you spend on stuff, the less you have available to spend on assets. You have to change your sequence of spending, save and spend what is left, rather than spend and save what is left. This means you have to pay yourself first, take your monthly savings first before paying your bills and other expenditure. It is from your savings you invest in assets to generate cash flow. If you are totally clueless what to invest in, you can put your money in money market instruments like fixed deposits, treasury bills, bonds etc where you get fixed but predictable returns. At the same time, you need to invest in your personal growth, development and financial education. This puts you in position to know what to invest in, and the ability to work your plan when you are ready to start.
Taking a long term view allows you to make better choices, weighing the consequences and its impact on your expected outcomes. If you have a one year and 5 year financial goals and plan, it is easy to see whether you are on track or veering off. We get bombarded with demands and pressures to accumulate more stuff from all directions, aso ebi, new shoes, jewellery, new fashion, latest phone, laptop, iPad, TV, game console, gizmos etc. It does not matter if we own a similar item already or if we can do without it for a season until we can truly afford it without jeopardizing our financial goals.
When we don’t think through our choices, we leave the outcome to chance. It takes discipline and courage to say NO, delay gratification and follow our plan. There are financial consequences for every spend decision we make. We are creating our financial future whether are are aware or not. We are making a choice either to be poor, middle class or rich.
– Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
As simple as this question sounds, many of us do not have an idea of what we really want. At age 35, I had no clue. At age 40, I was beginning to have an idea, but I was all over the place. I was not sure. Now 6 years later, I am crystal clear what I really want. It might change later, but for now, I am not double minded. If you wake me up 2am in the morning and ask me what I want, I will tell you without blinking. I am tempted to tag the 15 plus years I wandered in cluelessness and financial wilderness – the wasted years. I have come to realize that they are not indeed wasted. Who I am today and the passion I feel about this subject is as a result of the pain of those years of going round in circles. I feel I have a duty to warn others that we do not have to wander 40 years (age 20 – 60) in the financial wilderness. There is a better and shorter route to our promised land instead of the traditional aimless wandering, retiring poor and wondering what our life is about. You may have noticed that a disproportionate number of retirees die within 10 years of retirement. Without a job, they start to wonder what is there to live for. Their job was their life, literally.
One amazing thing I have discovered is that when you know what you really want, you start to move towards it – often unconsciously. Scientists, psychologists, motivational speakers and folks in the personal development industry have all come to one conclusion – we move in the direction of our expectations. It should not be amazing, because the Bible stated clearly that the expectations of the righteous shall not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18, 24:14). If you aim for nothing, you will achieve it. If you are going nowhere, you will get there surely. If you don’t know what you want, you will have no clue what you will get.
When it comes to personal finances (as in other areas of our lives), we need clear unambiguous goals. It has to be explicit. You have to know what you really want, and why. How do you know when you get there, if you don’t know what you really want?
How do you see yourself in the next 5, 10, 15, 20years? Which city do you want to be living in? What kind of house do you want to live in? Do you have a clear picture? What type of car do you want to ride in? What income do you want to earn per month, per year? What will you do with the money? Which lives do you want to impact? What problem do you want to solve? How will the world become better because you achieved your goals and dreams? What impact do you want to make? How do you want to be remembered? What do you want written on your tombstone? At what age do you want to take a bow? How do you want to be at that age? – Bedridden? Using a walking stick? Overweight? Fit and agile? What do you really want?
God has given us the awesome power of imagination to create the future we desire. We have the power of memory to replay the past, and imagination to pre-play the future. Only humans have this ability. What are we using our imagination for? To imagine vain things?
We can literally use our imagination the way children use Lego blocks to create things – to create a compelling future, the future of our dreams. We have the power to declare things, and they will come to pass. We have the power to plan and get to work. We have the power to focus and persevere in the face of adverse circumstances. We have the power to rise up each time we fall. What more do we want?
What is your dream?
What are your goals?
What do you really want?
God has given us a blank cheque to write what we really want, what have we written?
What have we done with our power to choose?
After all is said and done, the expectations of the righteous, whatever that is, will surely come to pass. It will become a self fulfilling prophecy.
-Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
One of my most profound discoveries I have made in my journey to financial freedom is the truism of the saying – as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23: 7 KJV). What truly amazed me was that I have known this in my head all along, after having been a Christian for donkey years. Why I never believed it and walked in that knowledge is a mystery I am still trying to unravel. Was it because of over familiarity with the Word? Was it unbelief? Was it the fact that it seemed too simple – think and that is it? I knew in my head that the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut off, but how come my wishes were not coming true?
It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that it fully dawned on me the impact my thoughts were having on my life. My thought pattern was my worst enemy. I ruled so many things out of my life because I thought I could not do or afford them. I was shooting myself on the foot daily. From thoughts come beliefs, words and actions – action brings results, often of the unintended variety.
I have come to know that poverty is not the state of your bank account, but your mindset. Lack of money is a symptom of poverty, not the cause. If you have a poverty mentality, you will become poor. We move towards our expectations.
A poor man believes:
He cannot afford it
Times are hard
There is no money
He is managing
His salary is not enough
He is trying to make ends meet but they never seem to do so
You cannot have everything you want
Resources are limited and human needs are insatiable (there is not enough to go round)
The rich are crooks (which is the reason he will not be one of them)
The list goes on and on and on.
The amazing thing is that whatever you think is right is usually correct. It is a self fulfilling prophecy. A poem by C. W. Longenecker captures it beautifully:
If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.
I have come to realize that most arguments are of no use. People argue out of their own reality, and they are correct. Some people say financial principles do not work and they are right – it does not work for them. You cannot prove to someone that his reality is incorrect. He lives and breathes it. Change can only come when one’s eye of understanding opens. Whatever you say is correct. As you think, so you are.
If you think you cannot, you are right – you can’t. If you think you can, you are also right – you can. Whatever the size of container you use in approaching God’s sea of abundance will be filled to overflowing – tea spoon, table spoon, soup bowl, bucket, bath tub, tanker, pipeline – whatever you come with will be filled. There is more than enough. If you choose to abstain from abundant life through your mindset of scarcity, lack and unbelief, you will do just fine with the little you get used to. When all is said and done, what you think and speak consistently will ultimately manifest.
-Usiere Uko is editor at http://www.financialfreedominspiration.com/
The Bible is full of financial blessings which we have claimed, and claimed some more over the years. Years down the line, we begin to wonder if God’s word and promises are indeed true. We know God is not a liar, but we wonder what we are doing wrong to end up broke month after month, living from hand to mouth, claiming we shall be the head but feeling like the tail when we look around us. Where are the financial blessings?
Each year, we get a word from the Lord at the beginning of the year – This shall be your year of breakthrough, exploits, flying on eagles wings etc. We have stickers to show for it. They end up on our cars, doors, bibles and what have you. I know a brother whose cars’ rear windscreen was so full of stickers I was concerned if he could see through the rear view mirror. He was literally blinded by God’s promises down the years. If you look at the back of his car, you can trace all the promises down the years. He did not remove any, but simply added to it until he finally ran out of space.
Where is the manifestation of these promises? Has it come? Is it coming? When?
These are all valid questions. We are not bold enough to question God, but we have questions all the same. Whatever happened to Matthew 7: 7-8?
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receive, and he who seeks find, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Not only have we been asking, He by Himself has even gone ahead to promise without us asking – this is your year of financial breakthrough, still nothing. What exactly is going on? Why is there so much need in the house?
Let me tell you my story.
I used to think that after asking, or receiving the yearly promise, all I needed to do was live holy, pray and attend all programs. Then one day, as I was leaving church for home, or as I was getting home from church, someone will run up to me and grab my shoulder:
“Brother, I have been looking for you, where have you been? The Lord laid it on my heart to give you something but you were nowhere to be found. I am so relieved that I finally found you”.
Then he will lead me towards the trunk of his car, open it, lo and behold, a “Ghana Must Go” bag (apologies to my Ghanaian friends) almost bursting at the seams, filled with naira notes – millions upon millions of naira. That was my picture of financial breakthrough.
I have since learned from the school of hard knocks that God does not work that way, except in some instances He sends money through others to pay for what He has specifically ordered, not to pander to my greed and laziness.
Another one was my employer sending me abroad for years on assignment. I will earn dollars while my salary is running back home. I have experienced this severally, but have come to realize that this is not the financial breakthrough I was looking for. I will return home awash with dollars, and six months later, I will be back to being broke again, praying for another assignment.
Yet another way I expected the breakthrough to come was by someone bringing me a very sweet deal, maybe LPO, contract, etc. I actually registered a company to prepare myself for this scenario. I will win a contract, or someone will bring me a contract with such a juicy upfront payment that I will execute it easily and will be rolling in millions afterwards. Of course this never happened.
I have come to realize after wasting more than 15 years wandering in the financial wilderness, that when God gives a promise, it is not time to hope, pray and go to sleep. It is time to hope, pray and go to work. A farmer does not hope for a bumper harvest my praying, fasting and attending night vigils. He hopes for a bumper harvest by praying, fasting, attending night vigils, getting good land and good seed, clearing the land, cultivating it, maintaining it by clearing weeds or using herbicides, applying fertilizers as necessary, hiring labour for the harvest as required and getting a good market for his products. His faith is expressed by working harder than his peers, putting more land under cultivation, doing more because he believes God will answer his prayer for a good harvest rather than cut back due to fears of drought or market slump which means inability to sell his excess produce.
God will not answer his prayer by raining down harvest from the sky. God will answer through a good weather, access to alternatives if the rains are not coming as much required, loyal and committed workers, friendly bankers, access to markets to sell his product etc. Even then, these things will not come by themselves. The farmer has to get up and go knock on doors.
This is when Matthew 7:8 kicks in – For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
A lazy farmer will ask but will not receive, seek and will not find, knock until his knuckles start to bleed and no door will be opened.
Like the story of talents in Matthew 25:14-30, the one who received one talent and buried it can ask all he wants, seek or he wants and knocks all he wants. It is by making what you have profitable that you can ask for more.
What has become of the money God has sent your way since you started working – your salary and bonuses? Can you give account of them? Is any left or you have consumed all? Are you accumulating wealth or you are giving it all away, eating with ten fingers? What business are you doing apart from your job? Which investment do you have that brings returns monthly, annually etc? Where else is money coming from apart from your salary? If you get laid off today, how long will you last before you start begging?
When God created the earth, He came down by himself to fellowship with Adam and Abraham. Then He sent His son Jesus, and when Jesus went back, He sent the Holy Spirit who has been here since. God has given us His all. What more do we want? More blessings? What have we done with what we have?
God has given us more than enough to multiply and have dominion. There is seed time and harvest. It will never cease. Are we planting or are we consuming? A farmer that eats all his seed will watch the next harvest from the sidelines as a spectator. You may be surprised that as you are waiting for God to move, God has been waiting for you to move. Until you move, all you may end up with is promises and stickers.
-Usiere Uko is editor at http://www.financialfreedominspiration.com/
Believe me, life changing moments and encounters are moments of obedience; Moments when we act in obedience rather than trying to rationalise things. Every increase is seed based, but spontaneous increase has in addition to the seed instant obedience to a direct instruction from God. Most times when we ought to give, we wrestle with the spirit, we think of a million and one reasons why we ought not to sow now. Giving won’t be easy unless you have an understanding. I am inspired by Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, but I am much more inspired by the reason he gave Isaac.
Heb 11:17-19 ‘by faith Abraham when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence he received him in a figure’.
- He had God’s word that in Isaac shall his seed be called and he knew he could stake his life on the immutability of God’s word.
- He understood he did not have Isaac until God gave him and from the deadness of their bodies.
- That same God was able to bring him back to life again from the dead from whence he was received in the first place.
Glory to God! It’s easy to give when you have Abraham’s kind of reasoning. Whenever you have difficulty giving, reason like father Abraham. Know that God for whom it is impossible to lie has given his assurance that it’s more blessed to give. We also have the assurance that our seeds will be multiplied back to us. Be quick to give because what ever you have was given by God in the first place, if he did not give it you won’t have it. If he gave you then you can give back at his word.
And finally there is plenty where what you are giving out came from. Giving only qualifies you for more of what you give out.
Stop the complicated reasoning, just give.
– emmanuel aladenusi
Years ago, making a journey was extremely stressful. If you went on foot, horse or train you were sure to spend hours, days, months or even years depending on the distance. However today, people travel in hours across continents by taking advantage of technology. People communicate and transact across continents from the confines of their homes by taking advantage of various communication options.
Now, God has given us grace to make things easier, to simplify cumbersome tasks and produce multiple and excellent results and we ought to take advantage of it. Every believer must do this. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh”. Though we are on earth and in contact with physical tools, we do not rely on their use, but we take advantage of Gods divine influence to achieve excellence. Grace!
It’s easier when you are GRACED.
Struggling and striving wont help outside of grace. Paul said “whereunto I labor, striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily” he worked according to grace. He worked in grace.
If you make a thousand bucks by your efforts, imagine what you will make if you take advantage of the grace that is given you in Christ Jesus. Allow yourself to be helped of God.
I refuse to struggle. Struggling is warring according to the flesh. “And Isaac sowed in gerar and received in that same year a hundred fold”. Grace. He was helped of God. To prosper according to scriptures you must take advantage of grace. Graced increase cannot be explained. When we plug into grace we can say like Paul “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly then they all”. Take advantage of grace. Don’t wait for customers to come, call them forth from the four wings. Don’t wait till you are due for promotion; be promoted now because you are favored. Let angels influence events in your favor. Take advantage of grace in all its ramifications. Let none be in vain. Allow yourself to be helped of God in your finances. With grace a dollar accomplishes as much as a thousand. With grace little effort produces great results. Don’t keep winding that generating set, use the button.
Don’t be passive in grace. “How much more those that have received (lambano) abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life…” “Received” here means to grab, to make yours, to take advantage of. Don’t let things ride its natural course. Dictate the supernatural direction. Take advantage of Grace.
-emmanuel aladenusi