The wealth
of a man is not the material things he possesses. The true wealth of a man is
the treasure that lies within him. A man can possess all the material things in
this life and still be poorer than a man without a dime. True wealth is able to
create, sustain and spread goodness and comfort. Material things in themselves
do not engender this. It is what lies within that produces and spread great
sense of well-being.
The
resources required to walk through the path of success lies within you. The
things you need to make your dreams come true are the things within you. Some of
these resources are inborn while most are developed. They are resources that cannot
be stolen from you. They are part or have become part of your essential being.
Growing up,
these friends of my brother seem to always have a lot of cash to spend. They
drive the latest cars, wear the latest expensive fabric and style in clothing
and almost seem to be partying every weekend. It was clear they were doing
well. So it seems.
They all
have something in common; they were custom officers. At this time in my
country, a lot of consumer goods are on import ban list or attract very high
custom tariff. Smuggling was thriving and corruption was rife in the custom
service. A custom officer on the field has it made. He swims in cash from
bribery. In custom service, then, it is a punishment to be sent to desk work.
Then there came
a change of government. There was a restoration of democracy from military dictatorship.
The civilian government brought along with it liberalization of the market.
Smuggling reduced, cash from bribery are hard to come by and my brother’s friends'
source of cash dried up. In order to keep up with their lifestyle they got
involved in illegal business and were caught. Some were sacked from the service
and the others sent back to the office.
Life became
hard to live. They sold their properties to survive. Since they did not have
any worthwhile investment, the money they made from the sale of their
properties was soon exhausted. They beg for money to eat, wore tattered cloths
and live in penury. Since they do not know how to earn a living apart from
working as a civil servant not to talk about creating wealth, they lived in
this state for a long time.
We lost
touch with them for some time and we almost forgot about them apart from the
reminiscent of their extravagance. Then one of them came back. It seems the
tide has changed for him again and the old times are back. He now drives a good
car again. He adorns nice clothes and his skin shows that the good times are
back. He told us how he got into money through his share of the family property
that was sold. While we are still rejoicing with him, he disappeared into oblivion.
The next time we set our eyes on him he was back in penury.
Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will –Nelson Mandela
What is the
point of this story? Money does not guaranty success, your greatest resources
lies within you. Your ability to imagine a solution to a problem, creatively
apply your skills and wisely convince others to go along with you is worth more
than a million dollar in your account. Your ability to diligently apply
yourself to a worthwhile course, enduring through the challenges and persistently
holding on to good values will eventually yield a wonderful result that will
bless others more than a gift of diamond. Your active faith, undim-able hope
and acts of love will create more wellbeing than all the access to great
finances can give.
Don’t
misunderstand me. Money has its place in creating wealth, but money without all
the necessary inner resources will bring destruction rather than wealth. But
with these resources you can create wealth and share it with others. There are
inner strengths you need to build. There are skills you need to acquire. There
are principles you need to know and apply. As you start this great journey of
success, let your focus be on becoming and not on having. Let your focus be on
adding value to life and not on acquiring material things. As you fix your
focus and begin to develop your inner gifts and resources, success will
accompany you and with it will come money, material things and above all this
fulfillment.
A CHECK LIST
1. Your divine source. The
acknowledgement of your divine source is the beginning of true awareness and
genuine operation of your inner resources. Without a connection with your
source, murkiness and eventual cease of flow of energy and power will result.
Your inner resources depend on your divine source, God. Connect with Him and
you are guaranteed the power to succeed. ‘But thou shalt remember the LORD
thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He
may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers. As it is this day.’
Deut.8:18.
2. Knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The first and basic resource of life that drives the
quality of life is knowledge filled with understanding and deployed through
wisdom. Every venture devoid of required understood knowledge and used with
wisdom is definitely destined to fail. It is essential that we are educated as
we embark on the journey through success and express such education by wisdom.
This education do not have to be formal, but whichever way it is acquired,
acquire it as you start your journey. There are principles and laws of life to
be learnt and applied, wisely. ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get
wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.’ Proverbs 4:7.
3. Faith, hope and love. Faith helps you vision your life and receive the
reality of it even before it manifest. The possibility brought into your life
by faith help you to stay passionate and enthusiastic through the work that
needed to be done. Hope helps you stand through the challenges and opposition
without giving up. When the challenges and opposition brings darkness hope
shines a light that allows you to still see your vision. Love help you keep the
right perspective and give you the purest of motive. It helps you to keep the
essential value in life. It helps you to overcome evil and live above hate. ‘For
now there are faith, hope and love. But of these, the greatest is love.’ 1Corinthian
13:13.CEV
4. Diligence. Every mental and physical skill (wisdom) acquired without
‘working’ them cannot produce results. Wisdom need to be applied diligently.
Diligence is what bring results and attract great patronage and support
required for a life of continuous success. ‘Seest thou a man diligent in his
business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean
men.’ Proverbs 22:29.
5. Relationships. There is no success achieved alone. There is no fulfilled
life lived alone. Successful living is based on a structure of both vertical
and horizontal relationships. A vertical relationship with God who sustains you
and horizontal relationship with men who complement you. True success is
shared. True success is lived in a community. Your wealth and success will be
greatly enhanced by your relationships. ‘Two are better than one; because
they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one
will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he
hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have
heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall
withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.’
