If money wasn’t an issue, what would you do with your life? The question rings in my mind like bells in a church. The question is powerful because it forces one to be outside the rat race of chasing money and find meaning in your own existence. Of course, most of us want more money. The importance and need of money cannot be underestimated. However, legends and key players in the market such as Ray Dailo keep emphasising that money is not that valuable. Why is that?
Money as an asset, just not a valuable asset. Money loses power over time. Money in its physical cash form is probably the worst form of an asset you can have. Credit is much more powerful a tool of money than cash. Understanding this very simple concept leads one to journey deeper and seek to understand what then wealth is. More importantly, how does one create wealth that will stand the test of time. Again, taking a valuable lesson from one of the greats like Ray Dailo, being productive creates wealth. Money is an economic benefit that is by-product of being wealthy.
The way I understand the concept, being productive allows one to reap economic benefits. Economic benefits including wealth. Therefore, producing the resultant effect of producing money. Money is not a factor of production. Money is a tool, a lubricant to smooth the gears of productivity. The underlying principles remain the same. Jim Rohn once said that if the richest people in the world were to give each living person a million, those millions they gave would find themselves back to them. This statement is profound. Shows such as “I blew it” show how people who lack the financial IQ, discipline and habits can easily blow millions of rands in months. Shaq once recalled a call he got from his accountant. A life changing call. In this call, the accountant reprimanded Shaq about his spending habits. Apparently, Shaq had spent over 1 million US dollars in just 30 mins. The accountant made it clear that such spending habits will leave him broke. And so, Shaq changed his habits. He educated himself about money and wealth and now, Dr Shaq has more money to enjoy and leave for his children.
It is a fact that most of us do want money. However, what I’ve come to understand is that it isn’t the money we want, it is what we can do with that money that we truly after. Tony Robbins says that we are guided by six basic needs that motivate our need for money. Some want more money so that they can donate to the church. Some want more money to help their parents out and ease them into retirement. Others want more money to simply “ball out”. Whatever motivates you to get money, that’s what you truly after. Understanding what we after, opens new channels in our thinking where we understand that money is not the master to grant us the wish we desire. Instead, money is the servant we send to do the work for us. If you desire to give to the needy and give more to the church, we do not need to increase the amount of your tithe. You can serve more by collecting donations or serving more time in youth ministry or any other service that your church renders. If you wish to ball out, you simply ball out. This is easy for most people as most people start partying at very young ages. One gets to see that people are already living the lives that they desire and as the saying goes, money will only amplify that which you already are. Thus, money is an amplifier to boost the life that you already live today.
Money, however, has rules. Most schools do not teach these rules and most of us come from families who are not well versed in these rules. It is easy to see wasteful expenditure in the young male who goes clubbing every week. This wasteful expenditure can be seen as well in the young female who buys clothes for the needy. They are effectively living the life that they designed for themselves. Without a concrete financial plan, both are wasting their money. The difference is how they choose to spend their money. Let’s assume each as a salary of R8000. They live in the same apartment block and buy groceries at the same store. They drive identical cars as well and spend relatively the same amount in petrol and insurance. All factors of their lives are identical, the difference only arises that one spends weekends in clubs, the other spends weekends at different orphanages and retirement homes. If they do not have solid budgeting plan for their spending habits, they will go broke. If the young female does not work out exactly how much spends on clothes for the vulnerable, she will go broke clothing them. If the young male does not work exactly how much he spends on clubbing very weekend, he will go broke having a good time.
It is vital that we track and measure our spending habits and improve them to ensure that we have enough for tomorrow. As “cheap” cash is, it is very useful. A large cash deposit can reduce the instalment to new house or a new car. A large cash reserve is excellent for any emergencies that might come your way. Cash is king for a purpose but taking lessons for chess, the King is the most powerful piece- yet the weakest. Thus, having cash only is not ideal. The mistake is, most people want the cash and not the wealth that can be create the cash. Wealth is a by-product of being productive- not having cash.
So, it leads us back to ask the question: If money wasn’t an issue, what would you do with your life? The key question being how can you be productive in order to create the wealth that will build and sustain the lifestyle you desire? For the young female clothing the vulnerable, she could ask for donations. Donations from businesses, family and friends. She could also, to save her money, commitment her clothing drives to once a month as opposed to every weekend. The young male could talk with his friends to split bills every weekend. He could also perhaps save more money for annual road trips to visit clubs in and around the country. Because, at the end of the day, money is important. Money speeds the wheels of our lives. However, it is essential we understand the fundamentals of money so to ensure we have enough also for tomorrow. So that the life we live today, we can also live tomorrow.
No one has woken up and inspired to be broke.
There is no handsome broke man.
The moment we move away from wanting money, to understanding the lifestyle we want with the more money we want, it will enable us to think outside the box. This thinking will open our minds to higher levels of creativity that will tap deeper into who we truly are. This thinking, is the key to creating and most importantly, understanding our destiny.