And when he was full forty years old, IT came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. – Acts 7:23
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs – ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive” – Harold Thurman Whitman Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. – Matthew 13:44
When you hear the word investment, what immediately comes to your mind? Cash?
I get different types of questions from people who feel exasperated about their inability to raise capital for any kind of business. Let me declare emphatically at this juncture that investment is a principle of life and financial development that goes beyond cash outlay on a particular business deal. Even though our lives consist of series of transactions, our reason for being is bigger than the next transaction or its attendant material benefits.
Among the many words in the English Language Thesaurus that define investment are three key words: asset, deal and venture. Keep these three words in mind.
The general problem that many people claim to have with the pursuit of their life goals and projects is a lack of capital. However, if we agree on the basic definition of money as a means of exchange (which may or may not involve cash), it means that once we have anything of value (asset) that we can give in exchange for something else we desire, we are not as short of capital as we sometimes think! Contrary to popular belief, everyone has something unique to invest that will ultimately guarantee maximum returns into his life.
For a moment, imagine Bill Gates having to make his living as a teacher. How fulfilled or rich do you think he would be? He voluntarily left Harvard University in his sophomore year when he found out that the education that he was being offered would not enhance the music that his life was playing!
Imagine Warren Buffet, doyen of Wall Street and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. trying to make his living playing golf or Tiger Woods, the world’s Golf icon selling computers. Try to imagine Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature, playing professional football or Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, the world’s largest online retail platform as a chef! They might still go ahead and make money, but they definitely would not be the icons that we know them to be today in their chosen fields. At best, they would be average – unknown and uncelebrated.
What is the common bond to all of them? Each one of them discovered his ‘music’ or as the American would say, his ‘juice’. I call it the hidden wealth. It is the hidden treasure, their own acres of diamond. If you can lay your hands on it, I advise that you read Russell Conwell’s Acres of Diamond.
There is untold wealth inside you waiting to be manifested. The success software was put in you at creation, but just because a software is loaded on your computer does not mean it is self-operating. You will need certain skills to operate each programme.
The successful operation of your success software begins with RECOGNITION and the subsequent journey of DISCOVERY.
When I facilitate Personal Growth seminars, one question I ask is, “How many people here want to make it?” Without fail, every hand in the room goes up. Then I follow that by asking three to five people in the audience to define what the “it” is that they want to make. For the most part, because they are caught off guard, each of them gives a generic answer that is more descriptive than specific. Yet, unless it first becomes specific, it can never be dynamic. Everyone dreams of making ‘it’ even if they cannot define what ‘it’ is. When we see someone who has managed to acquire a fleet of cars, dresses in designer wears, and who probably lives in a big house, we conclude that he or she has made it! The big question is this: is that all there is to ‘it’?
So, what is ‘it’? Simple. ‘IT’ is nothing other than what you were born for, the very reason for your existence. That is definitely and infinitely bigger than material acquisitions.
You were born for and with a certain ASSIGNMENT. That task is the ‘IT’ that gives meaning to your life. It is the reason why you are kept alive. It is the vision or dream of your life that refuses to let you go – no matter how much you try to run away from it and no matter how successful you are doing something else. It is that which keeps you going with joy and zeal even when the very ground around you is shaking. It keeps you awake at night when others are snoring away. It makes you spring out of bed in the morning even when your body is saying it needs more sleep. It supplies the MOTIVE for all that you do and that is what gives meaning to motivation. Nobody and nothing can successfully motivate you without the prior existence of a compelling motive in you.
The ’It’ of your life is your greatest asset, your number one investment capital. It is what life rewards you for because it is the platform the Creator has provided for you to be the answer to the questions someone is asking and is willing to reward. Inside your ‘it’ is the ultimate answer to your greatest questions and the ultimate resolution of your greatest dilemmas.
From the moment ‘IT’ entered into Moses’ heart to visit his compatriots in Goshen, he was no longer the same person. What he found and subsequently did in Goshen was to alter the course of his life forever. He was willing to forsake the comfort of the palace and the perquisites of royalty to take sides with his people against the oppression of the system that raised him!
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What is Cash? My favorite definition of cash indicates that it is the material representation of the reward that you get for solving problems. Money is what money buys. It is what you get in exchange for value provided. When you solve enough problems, you are rewarded with enough cash.
According to Zig Ziglar, you can get everything you want if you are willing to help enough people get what they want. People may extend temporary generosity to you, but no one makes you rich because you are handsome, tall, beautiful, light or dark-complexioned.
Your assignment brings you into the position in life that enables you to fully develop and express your unique talents in the service of the greatest number of people. This in turn brings you into incredible financial prosperity. The closer you move to this position, the greater your likelihood of untold success… continued.
Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!