I grew up thinking that it is wrong to aspire to be wealthy. Being wealthy meant for me that I earned and accumulated more than I need. Later in life, I did some serious introspection and realized that this mindset about wealth and money originated from the Sunday school lesson i.e. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” Matthew 19:21-24. I started understanding this passage a little better by reading it in the context of, “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible” Matthew 19:26, then my mindset about money and wealth started to change.
Today there are movements across the world taking an anti-rich stance because of global inequality which has grown. Zitelmann in his book says “I think we have now worldwide an attack on the rich and an attack on capitalism”
So, is being wealthy good or bad? To answer this question let’s first understand what wealth is.
Definition of Wealth according to the Oxford Dictionary:
- an abundance of valuable possessions or money
- the state of being rich; material prosperity
- plentiful supplies of a particular resource
- a plentiful supply of a particular desirable thing
Interestingly the archaic definition is well-being, which extends beyond just material possessions and can include health, contentment, etc.
My mindset journey regarding wealth
In 2018 I decided to leave the corporate world and start my own business, I became a business and executive coach with ActionCOACH. I want to use the insights I have gained over 40 years to awaken and inspire business owners to achieve their full potential so that they can excel as individuals and entrepreneurs but still have time to do the things they want to do. The added benefit of helping businesses to grow is the impact it has on communities by creating employment as their need increases with the growth.
During my certification training as a business coach, I was surprisingly awakened by Brad Sugars, the founder and CEO of ActionCOACH, to change my mindset on wealth.
At my age (and you would have gathered by my number of years of experience, that I am not young) I am learning something new every day about wealth and I often wish I had been exposed to this thinking earlier in my life. However, it is never too late to change and I hope you will think deeply about the following few points and take the necessary ACTION today.
We only have on average 4000 weeks in our lifetime, don’t waste this one!
- It takes 10 years to master money and build wealth if you are focussed and have a strategy
- Your strategy must include
- Leverage i.e., doing more with less
- Scalability e., the next sale costs less and is easier
- Opportunity size
- Marketability
- Never stop learning
- Rich is having a lot of money, wealth is having money and the time to enjoy it
- Money gives you freedom of choice
- Set your goals, write them down, and display them where you can see them daily
- There are 3 types of goals: Negative (try to avoid) e.g. I don’t want to be poor, Positive, and Leaving a legacy
- Real wealth is the number of days you can live and cover your bills for your needs without earning money – do this calculation and see where you are!
- If you want to build wealth, think of multiplication, not percentage increase i.e., 10x growth not 10% growth.
Take a few minutes to watch this 8 min video:
Brad Sugar’s Secret To Building Wealth At 30x | What Is Scaling In Business All About – YouTube
My opinion on wealth now is that the more wealth I can create, the more freedom of choice I have, and the more opportunity I have to help others and ultimately leave a legacy.
So, my answer to the question is, it is good !!!
If you want to take some ACTION, reach out to your ActionCOACH today for a free coaching session- https://inventivo.com.ng/
