Looking to up your financial life and escape debt? or an entrepreneur seeking breakthrough in finance here are five all time hottest financial books.
NUMBER 5
The Millionaire Next Door
Through research into U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, authors Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko identifies most individuals as Under Accumulators of Wealth (UAW) who have a low net wealth compared to their income. They then provide advice (like take skimpy vacations) to help people achieve a higher net worth compared to their income.
"A goal is a
dream with a deadline" - Napoleon Hill.
Welcome to the last quarter of the year
(2016), time really does fly. I cannot believe its November already. Good thing
about this is that it is a time to reset. A time to plan ahead. A time for a
new beginning in 2017.
At the beginning of the year, it is common
for people to make new year resolutions. However, a couple of weeks or months
after, these resolutions are quickly forgotten and at the end of the year you
are exactly where you started off. A major reason for this is that resolutions
are easily forgotten because they lack time frame for execution. What then is
the difference between a goal and a resolution?.
For example, a resolution is - "I will lose
weight in 2016" however a goal is "I will lose 15kg by the 30th of November
2016.
So here are 5 financial goals we need to set
in life.
If you don't have savings, this is a good
time to start. The key thing is to save before you spend. Create a budget to
determine how much you have available for savings. You may thinks that you
don’t earn enough and that when you earn more you would start saving. Well the
thing is that if you can’t save when you have little you won’t be able to save
when you have alot. It is also important to create an emergency fund.
PAY OFF YOUR DEBT
If you are in debt, its important to be
determined to be debt free or to start working towards paying off your debt
before the end of 2016. Being in debt is like carrying a heavy luggage on a
long journey. Whilst you may reach your destination, debt hinders your progress
and may delay the process significantly. No matter how large your debt is, you
can pay it off. The key thing is to start and to start small and build up.
Fear – A strong, uncontrollable,
unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat. “Fear is the
master spirit that satan uses to do his dirty work.”- Joyce Meyer.
Watch out for fear and face it with
boldness and confidence in God. Don’t let fear make you ineffective. We all
have a deep desire to be needed, useful, productive and to have a good effect
on the lives of other people and the world we live in. often times, we don’t
share our faith with others due to fear and we don’t participate in something
due to fear of being rejected or failing. Fear holds back but faith urges us
forward.
Fear is indeed a formidable enemy and
one that we must learn to confront.
God designed and created us
perfectly, to be accepted and not rejected. Being accepted is something
everybody craves for because it is an in inherent need in us. No matter who
rejects us, God accepts us and that is enough to enable us to be successful in
life. Jesus was rejected and despised but He didn’t let the rejection derail
Him from the purpose for which He was sent. He focused on God’s love for Him.
We should focus on God’s acceptance
rather than people’s rejection because we are made acceptable to God through
Christ (Eph. 2:6). God doesn’t love us because we deserve it rather, because He
is kind, gracious and wants to love us. The craving we feel for acceptance can
be truly met only in Jesus. He doesn’t give only when we are good and withdraw
when we are not, NO!!
God accepts us because we believe in
His son Jesus Christ, not because of what we do or don’t do. (John 3:18)
Acceptance breeds confidence, a lack
of confidence equals a lack of revelation concerning who you are in Christ. Our
confidence must be deeply rooted in Christ, in His love and commitment to us.
As we learn to feel good about ourselves and safe in our relationship with God,
we are able to step out and do amazing things in life, even if we have to
initially do them afraid. This is possible because we know it is permissible if
we strike out occasionally as long as we keep getting up to bat. Fear of
rejection is a deep rooted fear that affects many. When a person lives afraid,
he/she might disapprove of or reject them, this fear seeps into the very pores
of who they are. They hesitate to trust others or engage in relationship
because they doubt they will be accepted. The bible gives great hope to the
person who has been rejected and unwanted. Jesus understands that pain because
He experienced it Himself, He understands the feelings that come when people
push you away and make you feel devalued. You need not fear the rejection of
man because you have a friend in Jesus, He accepts you, delights in you and He
is with you always. Knowing that you have complete acceptance from Jesus will
give you confidence to anything you need or want to do in life. You can live a
free, full and exciting life in you will refuse to settle for anything less.
NEVER LET
FEAR ROB YOU OF THE LIFE JESUS CAME TO GIVE!!
I was with my mentor (David Daniel Abiye) on
Thursday 19th may 2016 in his house at Port Harcourt, and then two visitors who
had called earlier that they wanted to see him walked into the house. One is
Mr. Paul Arkwright, the British high commissioner to Nigeria and the other is
Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, a London-based Zimbabwean business man, entrepreneur and
philanthropist.
He is the founder and executive chairman of diversified
International Telecommunications group, Econet Wireless. What they came to
discuss is History and not much of concern to you but this is what I noted and
learnt. "To my surprise, the British High commissioner Mr. Paul brought
with him catalogs and brochures of businesses in his country. He urged my
mentor to consider Investing and buying services and products from his country.
I must confess I was totally amazed. Also while they were at the discussion
because I was at the dinning close to the palor listening, Mr Strive Masiyiwa shared
3 IMPORTANT SKILLS IN BUSINESS. According to Mr. Strive are first; THE ABILITY
TO READ, THE ABILITY TO COUNT (WORK IN NUMBERS) and thirdly, is THE ABILITY TO
SELL.
After this secret encounter, while I was
back home pondering on the 3 skills, my instincts made me choose the one I
think is the most Important. That's the reason I wrote this article and titled
it THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL IN BUSINESS. Which is THE SELLING SKILL( The
Ability to sell).
* NEVER STOP SELLING.
Every businessman must be a good salesperson.
You must never stop selling, even if you're the richest man in the world.
"I remember listening to Bill Gates sometime talking passionately about
one of the products from Microsoft. I thought to myself, wow, he is the richest
man in the world but still interested in selling his products." This
business strategy is not just employed by just Bill Gates; every great entrepreneur
has this skill.
Bill Gates said this in his award winning
and most inspiring New York best #10 and international bestseller book titled
the Road Ahead, "When I was about eight years old, my mother gave me a
packet of sweets to take to school. I sold the sweets one by one over launch
break. After that, I bought another sweet and sold them to my friends using my
profits. Before long I had a little business but it almost became a disaster
when I took to the streets and got lost whilst trying to sell my sweets. The
cops got up with me and returned me home to my mother who reported me missing.
She stopped me from selling sweets and channelled my Energy into more creative
things, but she did not kill my entrepreneurial zeal".
There are a lot of people who dream of
getting into business but think it's beneath them to be seen trying to sell
something. Never look down on a street vendor because from their ranks will
come great entrepreneurs than from most business schools.
Whatever it is you're trying to do, whether
it's a product or a service, you must know how to sell. There are millions of
people who work for organizations even in very senior management positions who
could not even sell an alcoholic beverage to an alcoholic.
(Am not a fan to Alcohol, Alcoholics are
liable to die young) but if a salesperson or whoever cannot convince an
addicted alcoholics, then you need to learn the art of selling.
Lack of selling skills is bad. There is an
old adage amongst military planners which says "a battle plan is only as
good as the first contact with the enemy". In business, it is interpreted
to "a business plan is only as good as your ability to sell to a
customer." The ability to sell is the skill we all need and it goes beyond
selling something to a customer. It includes " making a proper pitch"
to an investor and bankers. It also includes “Selling your Vision" to potential
and current employers, employees and partners. It's all about the ability to
sell.
You should become conscious about what it
really takes to sell something. Once you become conscious of selling at its
most basic level, you can move onto things like marketing.
One of the greatest sales person, I have
ever known is an American. I have such admiration for his practice of sales and
marketing in the United States. Imagine for a moment the guy who invented
Coca-Cola, Dr John Pemberton was looking for a quick cure for his headache when
he concocted the Coca-Cola formula in May 1886. Now Imagine, how on earth did
he persuade people to overcome their thirst by drinking a black liquid? How
could he? I imagine people would have had a second thought at the idea of
drinking something that looked dirty. You need to think consciously about how a
product or service can be sold or is being sold. However, you must remember
that it does not matter how good you are in sales, if the product or service is
bad, you will not last.
*AFTER THOUGHT
I learnt that every year members of the
BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY travel around the world promoting british companies and
products. They are not ashamed to go out and sell products and services
developed by companies from their country. They do not consider it as something
beneath them but something of high honour. They know that when British
Companies are successful, it creates wealth and jobs in their countries. We
should all be passionate about promoting and defending products and services
produced by companies from our various countries and so should our leaders.
Everyone in a leadership position, who does not take time to sell products and
services from his country does not appreciate the Modern Wealth Creation Model
as stated by the Commerce Secretary of The United States during a meeting of
the World Economic Summit in Nigeria some time ago, which states that " I am the chief marketing officer of all
industries in the United States". Wow, we must be on the lookout for
opportunities to promote products and services from our countries and continent
at large. This is where wealth, taxes and jobs come from, it is not Rocket
Science.
Why the Rich Dad way of budgeting always beats the standard way
It's no secret that the average American isn't good with money. As "The Motley Fool" reports, almost 70 percent of Americans don't have even $1,000 in the bank. And "almost half of Americans claim that to cover a $400 emergency, they'd need to borrow the money or sell something quickly to round up the cash."
"The Motley Fool" goes on to share a U.S. Bank study that states only 41 percent of Americans budget their money. This, writer Maurie Backman thinks, is a big reason why money problems are so big in the US.
I agree that having a budget is an important first step to gaining ground in your personal finances. But having a budget alone won't fix the underlying problems that most Americans have when it comes to money.
First and foremost, there is a great need for financial intelligence. The problem with most budgets is that they cater to the old rules of money that simply don't work anymore, like save money, get out of debt, and live below your means.
Ultimately, budgeting, as it's usually taught, is a vehicle for cutting expenses, not making money. I wrote a while back on how budgeting like a business can turn a budget into a vehicle for growing your assets, not saving your expenses.
Ultimately, your budget is a plan. As such, it can be a good plan or a bad plan. A bad plan is one that requires you to cut expenses and save money. You don't enjoy the things you're used to enjoying and you make little to no money on the money you save. Ultimately, it won't get you where you need to be financially.
A good plan, however, is one that spurs action for the better. And a good budget is one that will inspire you to make more money so you can do what you love and grow your money exponentially.
With that in mind, here are three tips on how your budget is a helpful a tool to grow your cash flow the right way, through investments.
1. A budget shows you your monthly outflow
A common exercise we do when working with people who want to be financially free is to have them write down all their monthly expenses in one column on a piece of paper and then write down their salary on the other. Then, we have them cover the salary column with their hand.
"What," we ask, "would you do if you didn't have your salary?" The result is often a momentary flutter of panic.
This is helpful because it is a quick splash of reality-that is, most people have a lot of expenses and are reliant on a salary to pay for them.
But how great would it be if you had passive income coming in every month that covered your living expenses? What would you do then? Would you retire? That's what Kim and I did when we reached that point in the 1990s.
But to get to that point, we had to know how much we were spending each month. Why? So we knew how much we'd need to make in cash flow to be financially free.
2. A budget helps you understand what kind of cash flow you need
Once we understood our monthly expenses, we then were able to make a plan to acquire the assets we needed in order to cover those expenses. And here's where things got really interesting. Instead of cutting expenses, we created a new one-an investing expense. We called this paying ourselves first, the financial golden rule.
3. A budget inspires action to get your cash flow
By making it an expense to invest each month, we made it a priority to grow our assets. We worked our butts off to make the extra cash we needed. We started teaching classes on the weekends. We got creative in how we paid our creditors. We dreamed up and launched new products. We found amazing real estate deals. All of this was made possible by shifting our mindset when it came to budgeting away from saving money to making money. Our budget gave us the roadmap to financial freedom, and we were inspired to make it happen.
So, if you're ready to begin your journey towards a better financial future, then yes it's time to start with budgeting. But don't do it the old school way; do it the rich dad way. Only then will you be really successful.
Welcome to Monday motivation for this week,
i would be focusing on effective and the four D's to achieve it.
One of the factors i always look out for
when working is seeing successful result and i guess you also desire that,
after putting in your effort on task.
Being effective is the ability to produce result. This ability makes you
relevant and outstanding in your field of work and business l. It is important
to know that there are four major keys that drives your effective and they are.
Desire
"The start point of all achievement is
desire"- Napoleon Hills.
You need a definite wish to accomplish that
goal or dream not minding where you are now or the present circumstance
surrounding you. As long as you have the desire to accomplish a task, focusing
your attention and time on that task your mind will find a way to scale through
all the obstacles and possible challenges. It is that burning desire that
creates the will power in your.
Decisiveness
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”
Indecision is one major cause of failure,
that is the ability to choose what you want before time. People who have
enjoyed success created the habit of reaching decision promtly and change this
decision slowly, if and when the are changed. Your effectiveness is neer
complete until you decide definitly to complete the given task or goal at
hand.
Determination
" Never go back attempt, do it with all your might. Determination is power. "
Many failures in
life came as a result of people quitting when they were faced with challenges,
when the suffered temporary defeat. Effectiveness in work and business can not
be attained without facing challenges. Determination characterize your
effectiveness.
Discipline.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Jim Rohn
Self control is one neccessary tool for
effectiveness l. In as much as you now have the desire to work and be
effective, it is your level of self control that determine how far you bring
that task to completion. Know when to act and when to react, condition your
mind and body to achieve maximizimal accomplishment. This is one very paramount
trait that is sometimes neglected by many, but as we speak discipline is
raising empirrs and building successful men and women of the society. Take charge of your life and chose to
discipline your mind and body as this will aid in maximizing your effort and
make your effective.
It
will amaze you to know that when we talk about resources in Nigeria the common
man only thinks of crude, precious, stones, bitumen and other minerals. It has
come to my observation that over time citizens of this great nation Nigeria are
yet to uncover one of our most precious, valuable and economic transforming
resource which is HUMAN RESOURCE.
The
polls from 2014 shows that Nigeria is the 7th most populous country in the
world and yet individuals are yet to understand that they are the most
important resource this country have and due to this ignorance so many have
just decide to sit out their lives not adding and developing themselves.
Individuals must come to the understanding
that hidden potentials are no potential and at such show case and display this
potentials, the next question is how can I as an individual develop this
potential (even in my field of work and business)?
Understanding Your Potentials:
You must learn to view every passion as a gift or potential; some people are passionate in writing, some in singing, and some in swimming, others in talking. Your view about those hobbies must change and your must begin to view them as potentials.
2.Articulate Those Potentials:
The next step is penning down those potential, those thing you can do even if you are paid or rewarded. By penning them down it becomes easy to understand which and which can be monetized. And those that are not easily monetized can be ruled out of the list.
Then you can decide which you do best and which is more comfortable for you as an individual.
3.Improve On It:
It is not just enough to pen down you potentials, you must now work on yourself to improve on it. You need to start taking classes and training to improve that potential in order to stand out in the crowd. Read books, watch videos and attend seminar on developing that potential, also conductor individual research to improve you.
4.Marketing It
This is one complex part for some people; the inability to present their money making ideas to the world. Look for a problem that potential of yours can solve or an innovation it can bring, also tell people about it and find out how it can help people grow or benefit from that hobby.
"One of the principles of making money is not focus on money but on the value you can add to the society at large." -GODWIN JIMMY
The current economic challenges have left CEO's and senior management with no choice than to review their personal traits by which they have worked in time past. This is very important
now more than ever given the fact that what brought results for our organizations and CEO’s in the past may not function anymore. Conversing with leaders during an executive management program I attended, one will easily decipher how unease most leaders feel when it comes to receiving "OPPOSING AND CONTRARY VIEWS" from the lower rung of the hierarchy.
This is why most CEO's and managers often find it difficult to gather candid advice from their people as they have been made to always tell the CEO's what they want to hear and not what will make a difference and ultimately stir a turnaround for the organization.
The unusual trait every CEO and senior management should have in these challenging times that will set him or her apart is "THE ABILITY TO HOLD CONTRADICTIONS". This means having an uncanny predisposition, ability or capacity to hold in their heads two opposing views or ideas at once without hounding any. I deliberately referred to it as an unusual trait because most CEO's and senior management are not used to having people hold contrary views or oppose their views and ideas. They often see it to mean that their powers, expertise and intelligence are being undermined and not recognized. GENUINE REQUEST FOR CONTRARY AND OPPOSING VIEWS. Come to think of it, CEO's are hardly told the truth even when they genuinely request for one, let alone getting them to see that their views and ideas are not seen to be superlative.
My mentor (David Daniel Abiye) told me when firing me up with TOP BUSINESS SECRETS FOR SUCCESS THAT ARE HIDDEN “that as the CHIEF RESULTS OFFICER which we call CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO) of my company BIG DADDY EMPIRE WORLDWIDE, I have been known to be a PROPONENT of don’t tell me what I said makes sense rather, what do you have to say? So with this, my associates at work will always come up with their views and most at times, opposing or contrary views. He advised that I must have a large heart to accommodate all their views”. Years back, I asked someone a question during a retreat I attended in an OIL AND GAS Company. The young man said "I support what the young man (Me- Daniel Onyekachi) has just said". I insisted he aired his own idea. Lo and behold, his views were better than mine. With that culture, everyone sees himself or herself as a superstar. No CEO, Executive or Manager will be a superstar without employees that are superstars.
One way to make them superstars is to allow them to come up with their ideas and often opposing views on how best to make things work.
Few months back, I had a discussion with a newly appointed CEO in Nigeria, and I deliberately said to him, you are not made the CEO because you are the smartest or brightest. That applies to every CEO or senior management. Having in mind that you were not chosen because you were the smartest goes a long way to tell us that smart ideas reside in everyone. Of a truth, CEO's and Managers should be adept in harvesting their people’s ideas and views. Yes, I understand in time past we have been told to categorize people's views or ideas to be bad or good, triggering the mind to hold just one idea or view. Anyone that goes outside what we believe or our way of thinking is termed contradictory or at worse opposing. CEO’s should hold dear those that will always come up with views that are quite different from yours.
What you know might not be enough to drive your organization to the desired destination. Interestingly, what others know are also required. So encourage your people to come up with their views and you will see amazing results. During meetings, tell your people that you are the CEO and not the CUSTODIAN of WISDOM.
Encourage them to be free and always come up with ideas and suggestions that will give your company a competitive edge. In this present time, a good trait that will stand-out great leaders from the rest is his or her ability to CREATIVELY APPREHEND two or more opposing ideas or views, coming up with a superior one containing elements drawn from others. These unique CEO’s or Leaders know that all views matter.
With this, employees are eager to come up with ideas that can transform the organization. The CEO must be weary of apple shining sycophants who want to appear loyal out of their selfish reasons, not possessing any mind of their own.
Your personality is bigger than you think,
your strength is bigger than you think, the possibilities to succeed in life
for you are bigger than you think. Your career, company or business is worth
more than you think. By now you are probably wondering where am driving to.
"The world as we have created it is a
process of thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking"
-Albert Einstein.
There are limitless opportunities, worlds
untouched, adventures yet to be felt and partaken of but our thinking creates
the limitation. Most of us have succeeded in creating the biggest barriers to
success in life through our poor thinking, being extremely cautious in taking
decisions and actions and end up not taking any at all. Now you are wondering
how do i expand my thinking. Take these 3 Major Steps..
If you were to be
asked to give a thousand Naira to a fifteen year old or a two year old, i
assume you will feel much obliged to give it to the fifteen year old, not that
he can do something meaningful with it but he is better off handling it over
the two year. As such despite all the knowledge one can amass if you do not
have the right CHARACTER to back it up, that knowledge could be misplace.
Character may be defined
as "a distinguishing feature; a complex of mental and ethical traits
marking a person or a group. Think about it , would GOD give a child of His
what he can not handle? You have to prove to GOD that this wealth you aim for,
the good living or whatever drives you to be successful can be handled by you.
I charge you you to be self discipline. The
seemingly little things could matter more than you think. That out burst of
anger, that weakness for food, females and etc. These things need to tamed and
brought under subjection, you can control your flesh. Imagine you own a
restaurant and your reception has temper, I can tell you that your business is
on the verge of collapse because of an employee's weakness. Life leaves no
chance for the weak, whatever loose parts of your life needs to be tied up.
Even JESUS CHRIST claimed he was not ready
for a long time, took thirty years to prepare for a three year work that has
left its mark two-thousand years now. That says now that we have the chance,
lets work on ourselves.
More so, i have always said that its
possible to call someone an idiot and the person to not feel insulted, words
have an amazing way of being structured close to perfection. Learn how to talk:
when to talk and what to say in every given situation. Education trains the
mind to think, it isn't about learning concepts (Einstein). Therefore take
education seriously.
In conclusion, i would like to emphasize on
humility when learning, a wise man said there are two types of ignorant people,
those who know they are wrong but refuse to change, and those who do not know
at all the errors of their ways. Both very deadly but urge you reading this
piece, you fall it and fright it: i say this because no one ever learns
completely growth occurs everyday.
Finally, why are all these necessary? You
might desire respect and recognition or acknowledgement from people, irrelevant
but it might exist in your heart.
Prove to the world why you should be
respected and no better way than to act it. A wise man said giving a man gold
without character is like giving money to dogs, they have no way of taking care
of it. Grow mentally, emotionally, financially and spiritually you need it.
That's what seperates the best from the rest.
It is the desire of every individual to experience financial abundance. Nevertheless, very few can proudly boast of it. It has come to my notice that people dedicate their time and resources chasing after money, doing five to six jobs, saving and not minding the stress all in the bid to attain financial freedom. Financial freedom cannot be attained by hard work alone, to attain financial freedom you must understand “The Cashflow system” , that is how money works, how it comes, how it goes out, how to manage it, how to generate it and more. This is to say that you must acquire financial education. There is no school in the world where people are taught how to make money, however, you can acquire all the financial knowledge needed to break free from poverty. Here are steps to access limitless financial freedom.
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
The inability to differentiate between assets and liability has kept the poor, average and middle class where they are today. While the rich invest their resources on assets, the poor and middle class invest their money on liabilities like expensive jewelries, luxurious cars and style of living. The rich understands more income equals more investment while poor and middle class spend more on liabilities when their income increases.
HOW TO DIFFERENCIATE BETWEEN AN ASSET AND A LIABILITYAssets are factors that bring in income while liabilities are those factors that do not add in terms of income rather they subtract resources from you. The first step to financial freedom is to understand and differentiate between these two.
Action Point
Write down your entire properties then group them in terms of assets and liabilities, try to cut down or drop them and use the recovered resources to invest.
ASK THE EXPERTS
Why dive into the unknown when you can ask questions? you may not be privileged to come in direct contact with successful people in a particular field but you can relate to their thoughts, know their takes and learn from their mistakes by reading their books, CD’s, Videos and attending seminars where they speak.
Action Point
Connect your success to successful people and work hard to study that individual and know him/ her in-depth.
PURSUE KNOWLEGDE
The world is evolving from the industrial to the information age where knowledge, diligence and smart work rules the finance. Successful people know this that is why they invest so much in study, information and growth.
Hosea 4 verse 6 highlights that fact that most people perish or suffer in poverty because they lack knowledge and at such they have no mind of their own. This is one big difference between the rich, poor and middle class. While the rich depends on information and knowledge to excel, the middle class and poor depends on rumors and gossip, this is why the middle class and poor are easily affected by discouragement that comes their way.
Action Point
Invest your resource in information and knowledge.Finally, the quest to attain financial freedom requires your concentration in buying income generating asset as no man can get rich via savings. Your focus must shift from luxury and comfort to income generation as this assures your financial buoyancy of not just now but years after. ‘’the map has been made available to you, the first step depends on you’’
