Why do some people feel a perpetual state of lack and fear about money, while others feel genuinely prosperous, regardless of the size of their bank accounts?
Why do some people tremble when it comes to setting financial goals, while others embrace them with enthusiasm and confidence?
What makes the difference? Could it be in their relationship with money or something else?
People who enjoy a healthy relationship with money share common habits and traits. Therefore how do they think, and what do they do differently? Are these behaviours hardwired in an individual’s consciousness, or can they be learned?
Today we shall learn how each of us can develop a thriving relationship with money and create a rich and rewarding life. I am sure you have come across stories of people who have faced adversity with courage and created extraordinary lives and stories of those who have not. And you wonder what was the defining factor between these people.
We live in a trying economic environment. Every day, popular financial advisors urge us to play it safe and protect ourselves from an uncertain future. They constantly project fear and doubt into our lives.
When I started this column, my intention was to help women develop a new way of thinking about wealth, about prosperity, and thereby improve their lives, empower themselves and plan for their loved ones even in the midst of uncertainties. In the midst of this hardship, some women face issues around gender parity, access to formal education, self-confidence, and self-empowerment.
In the process, I have also learned more than I could ever have foreseen. I have come to understand that even though men and women are different in their perception of life, both desire wealth and prosperity. Everyone desires a stress-free life of wealth (abundance of money, good health, peaceful family, and all).
In my many years in the legal profession and financial services, I have met, advised, and learned from people in a wide variety of financial situations. Through listening to people with affluent portfolios, to those who live from paycheck to paycheck, I have been privy to cases of people with woes and joys of having and not having much money. While managing some of these well-to-do clients, I have observed that a percentage of them are still not comfortable with their financial status. Their relationship with money is troubled with the fear that their riches may disappear or that they may be exposed as impersonators.
I used to assume that it was perfectly natural for people with inadequate financial resources to worry about money; while people with more than enough should be relaxed. This has however not been the case. The question is why were the seemingly rich folks not feeling the benefits of their enviable position.
Some of the issues resulting from this could be their unending desire to accumulate wealth, crave for more money, source of their wealth, greed, lack of understanding of the fact that lots of money do not equate to wealth, never-ending search for happiness, misplaced priorities and many others. The list is endless, I’m sure you can add more as well.
Just as mobile phones and computer systems have OS –operating systems, so does every individual operates according to a set of spoken and silent procedures. Research shows that nature, as expressed in each person’s genotype, has the upper hand in defining one’s biological individuality.
Such that one’s operating system may strongly influence how one thinks and behave. This helps to program one’s beliefs, attitudes, skills, anxieties, and expectations; consciously and unconsciously.
This may be clouded by one’s family background and environment in which one was raised. This system specifically affects one’s attitude and belief about money, wealth and financial success. The programing one received can greatly condition the degree of monetary gain or financial wealth one is likely to achieve. The good news however is, one can still “learn and unlearn” whatever one has previously learnt.
That is why the converse seem to be true that many people who were born with a silver spoon sometimes fail miserably with every opportunity; even with encouragement and resources, they do not seem to achieve their greatest potential. While some others from humble beginnings who have achieved a rich and rewarding life; seem to carry within them a sense of abundance that manifests itself in success, regardless of their financial origins.
A popular story that is now familiar with many of us begins with an idealistic young father who nonetheless abandoned his wife and his baby son, forcing them to live with relatives in very modest circumstances. When the boy was six, his mother remarried, effectively uprooting the family again- this time moving to a distant and unfamiliar country. Within several years, that marriage also failed, and the mother, the boy, and now a baby sister retreated to their relatives home again. When the boy was in his teens, his mother again left the United States, this time alone, to pursue her career. By now you may recognize this boy as Barrack Obama, the first African American president of the United States.
Despite coming from a broken home with little stability and inadequate financial resources, young Obama had a mother who loved him dearly. Barack Obama’s story is one of many that illustrate the concept that true wealth is not based solely on one’s financial status, circumstances, or resources. Personal values regarding success, motivation, and self-confidence can be the building blocks for a wealthy mindset.
So whether you think you can, or think you can’t…You’re right. {Henry Ford’s famous quote}
IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
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“Businesses are suffering. How can we be losing over 95 per cent of oil production to thieves? Look at the Bonny Terminal that should be receiving over 200, 000 barrels of crude oil daily, instead it receives less than 3,000 barrels, leading the operator @Shell, to declare force majeure.
“Why are we paying taxes if our security agencies can’t stop this? It is clear that the reason Nigeria is unable to meet its OPEC production quota is not because of low investment but because of theft, pure and simple!
“Meanwhile, oil producing countries are smiling as their foreign reserves rising. What is Nigeria’s problem? We need to hold our leaders more accountable!”
Elumelu urged Nigerians to be more vocal and demand accountability from government as the 2023 general election draw closer. He added that only leaders who can deliver on their mandates can change Nigeria’s trajectory.
“Elections are coming – security and resources need to be everyone’s agenda – let’s be vocal for our nation’s priority.
“Evil prevails when good people are silent. We need to be vocal about 2023. Let’s focus on Nigeria. Demand and advocate for leaders that deliver. In 2023, Nigeria must be on a strong trajectory for progress and development,” he said.
and then