Creating Abundance - Financially and Spiritually

What does it mean to create abundance anyway? Is it making a lot of money? Is it spending quality time with family? Is it having a lavish lifestyle? Is it having a great relationship with God?

THAT is a lot to discuss in one blog post, but allow me to give it a shot…

Continue reading Creating Abundance…

Myth 7: Money Is the Root of All Evil

A lot of people actually believe that money is the root of evil… that rich people are evil, greedy, etc… some actually believe that they can’t be ‘spiritual’ and rich.

I think one of the reasons that a lot of Filipinos have these beliefs is because of the teleseryes (television series) and movies. Most of the time, the lead star of the show comes from a poor background and the villains or bad guys are the rich ones.

Watching these kinds of shows or movies make you resent the rich and favor the poor.

Most people are not aware that their feeling of resentment for the rich villain takes root in their subconscious and when it does, they will live it out in their real lives. Even though you might say that you want to be rich, your subconscious will say you don’t want to be rich because rich people are evil,’ or ‘money is evil,’ etc.

This is just one simple illustration of how these beliefs are very hazardous to our financial health.

In reality, money in itself is neutral. It does have the danger to make one greedy and materialistic, but it can also be potentially used for the good. In Acres of Diamonds, Dr. Russell Conwell said:

“Money is power, and you ought to be reasonably ambitious to have it! You ought because you can do more good with it than you can without it. Money printed your Bibles, money builds your churches, money sends your missionaries, and money pays your preachers.... I say, then, you ought to have money. If you can honestly attain unto riches... it is your... godly duty to do so. It is an awful mistake of these pious people to think you must be awfully poor in order to be pious.”

Money is not the root of all evil… but I think the lack of money IS! So, get rid of these ridiculous beliefs, because God doesn’t want us just to get by, He wants us to have more than enough!

Myth 6: Money Is Not Really Important

Here is another myth that’s keeping Filipinos poor. There are those who say, “Pera lang yan… Hindi importante ang pera…” (It’s just money… Money is not important…)

My friend, let me ask you, if you say that your spouse or partner or friend is not really important, do you think they’ll be around you for long?

If you think that a car is not important, would you have it? No. Would you have a horse if it wasn’t important to you? Of course not. It’s the same with money…

T.Harv Eker said, “Anyone who says money isn’t important doesn’t have any!”

Some people would even argue that money is not as important as love. You can’t compare the two. It’s like comparing your heart with your lungs. Couldn’t it be that BOTH are important?!

Understand that money has its place in our society. Love does make the world go round, but money is needed to build churches, schools, to feed the hungry, help the poor, buy people’s basic needs (no matter how much you love your crying baby, he/she needs milk so you have to go buy milk!)

Now I’m not saying that money is the most important thing in the world, but it does affect EVERYTHING else that is important… basic needs, good health, time with loved ones, peace of mind, your ability to help others, etc.

So get these words (‘money is not important’) out of your vocabulary, because the more you think, say and believe it, the more you’re pushing money away from you.

Myth 5: Only Certain Lucky or Gifted People Get Rich

Many Filipinos do not believe in their own capacity to run a business or to be rich. You might say, “I don’t have the guts to… I am not good at… I am shy… I don’t have the skills to… etc.”

The truth is that most rich people are not special in any way – except that they have more money. They are not any smarter, and they are not necessarily famous singers, actors, actresses, sports stars, or inventors. They are just ordinary people who understand the secret of building wealth – and have put it to work.

And you can do the same… It's simply a question of making a decision and thinking the right thoughts.

If singing, acting, or sports are not your gifts, that doesn’t make you less fortunate. I believe God gave each one of us special gifts. There are things difficult for you to do but there are also things that you do effortlessly.

I don’t think God marked you and me as worthy or unworthy. We choose what labels we tag ourselves with. So if you think you can be a millionaire, you can. And if you think you’ll just be a “thousandaire” (I saw this in one shirt), you can too.

Ask yourself what you are good at, what you enjoy doing, and that will provide service to other people. These are your core gifts, and you can start a business with your core gifts. These gifts that make you special give you the opportunity to bless the world and consequently enrich yourself.

Author Marianne Williamson beautifully put it this way, “We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.”

Myth 4: I Don’t Have the Money

Another barrier to Filipinos is money…

You can check out Entrepreneur magazine, and you will read plenty of stories of ordinary people who not only did NOT have money but even started building their businesses in debt because they had bank loans to begin with.

Read Entrepreneur magazine and you'll find small business opportunities of your choice that you could start for less than PHP 100,000 or even less than PHP 50,000.

You can also join a network marketing business for about PHP 2,000 and above. It actually is a legitimate business opportunity where profits can be huge compared to the investment. It’s just that the industry has been tainted by unscrupulous companies and business owners.

Be very careful of scams.

Learning how to identify legit network marketing companies is another topic altogether, but you could already get a lot of information from the Direct Selling Association of the Philippines website www.dsap.ph.

You can also simply cut the cost of your dinner out or movie date and invest this money for your own online business. The internet, they say, is the greatest monetary equalizer. You don’t have to be a tech savvy, computer geek, genius to make money online.

Starting with less than PHP 1,500 a month, a reliable computer, an internet connection, and an idea, you can leverage on the speed, low cost and massive reach of the internet to attract customers and prospects to whatever product or service you offer, even from across the globe.

It’s that powerful.

There are many myths too about building your business online but that again is another topic. In the meantime, did you know that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, is a young internet BILLIONAIRE at age 25? Something to think about…it’s not because he had the money to start with.

To be continued…

Myth 3: I Don’t Have the Time to Start A Business

Ahh, the famous excuse…working for somebody can actually eat up quite a bit of your time. Add to that a significant other, kids, commute and where does that leave you, huh? Starting a business for people working more than 80 hours a week MAY be impossible, but for most people working full-time jobs, it IS possible.

If you have time to watch teleserye after teleserye (TV series), watch movies, go on a drinking spree every week or so, play Wii, PSP, or spend hours on Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, etc., I say you have the time to be rich. In fact, there are business opportunities everywhere that can be started on a part-time basis. You can also start by reading a book or magazine about starting a business or attend a course on money management. Spend 2 to 3 hours a day on your financial education, and you’ll soon find that you’re way ahead of the others.

I just read in a magazine a few days ago about the inspiring story of Gina Alexander, who saw her bag business grow from one kiosk outlet, which she ran after her night shift work at Starbucks, to a multimillion-dollar business today.

My friends, rich or poor, we all have 24 hours in a day. Who can say rich people have more? The question is, how do YOU spend your 24 hours? Do you spend it making yourself rich or making someone else rich?

To be continued…

Myth 2: You Have To Work Hard For Money

Here is another myth instilled in Filipinos’ minds...”You have to work hard for money.” A famous Filipino saying is “Kapag may sipag at tiyaga, may nilaga.”

Did you know that taxi drivers are hard-working? Some of them work 24 hours a day! What about jeepney drivers? The balut vendors? What about your neighbor, your officemate, your spouse, your best friend? Are they hard-working? “May nilaga ba?” Can they stop working today and still make money tomorrow? What about you, my friend, do working hard and being persistent on your job give you financial freedom?

We are too focused on working for money that we missed thinking about having money work for us! Speaking of taxis, I know a guy less than 30 years old who operates about 100 taxis with two partners. With about PHP 1,000 “boundary” per day per taxi, they make PHP 100,000 a day! They put PHP 60,000 back to their business for overhead costs, etc. and divide the rest. That’s PHP 13,333 a day without working hard…that translates to about PHP 400,000 a month! What actually inspired me with this story was this guy I was told just couldn’t get accepted to jobs that he applied for so he eventually ‘ended’ up operating taxis.

Yes, I do believe in hard work, but I also believe in smart work. I realized that “hard work” should not be a lifetime thing if you eventually make your money work for you. There will come a time when we only work because we choose to, not because we have to. We all deserve it, but this can only happen if you are “working hard” right now with the right opportunity and the right people.

If others can do it, you and I can do it. And, no, you can’t ask them to do it for you. ;-)

To be continued…