Success Tips: How To Bullet-Proof Yourself From Poverty

POVERTY is a disease. It has ravaged the lives of many on earth. It is so prevalent and pervasive that those who should have been rest assured that they have tamed it constantly look back to make sure that it is not gaining ground on them.

 Yet, you can take the sting away from poverty by cultivating just one habit. Yes, form the habit of saving money, and you are sure to bullet-proof yourself from poverty. Is that an exaggeration? Not at all. This fact has been proven and tested by men and women all through the ages who discovered the secret and applied it. The result was that they became financially FREE. They never had to worry about money any more, or give thought to poverty.

 Let me cite some examples, starting with somebody I believe you should know. Chief Nathaniel Idowu is one of the wealthiest Nigerians today, although he’s not the loud type. His business interests cover banking, manufacturing, automaking, agriculture and real estate.

 Early in his life, he learnt a valuable lesson which enabled him to become financially free today. As he told SuccessDigest in an interview published years back, he and his friends were teachers, and they discovered that they were always running out of money before their next pay was due.

 Disturbed by the trend, they decided to consult an elderly man, because they suspected that there was a witch that was making their money to vanish. The elderly man asked them to get a piece of paper, and to then record all their expenses for the next month, and bring the paper to him at the end of the month for analysis.

 Dutifully, the two of them kept accurate records. As usual, their money ran out before the end of the month. So they went to see the old man, who then told them to add up the figures they had written down.

 It didn’t take them time to realize the ‘witch’ that was making them broke. They had been responsible for their financial mess!

“From that day,” Chief Idowu recalled, “I made up my mind never to spend above my income. As a matter of fact, I started saving a portion of my income from that day.”

 It was a timely lesson and quality decision that has transformed the life of Chief Idowu and removed financial worries from him.

Napoleon Hill, in The Law of Success in 16 lessons says something about Henry Ford which anyone who wishes to be financially free must not ignore. He writes:

 “Henry Ford never would have got to first base with his ‘horseless carriage’ had he not developed, quite early in life, the habit of saving.

 “Moreover, had Mr. Ford not conserved his resources and hedged himself behind their power, he would have been ‘swallowed up’ by his competitors or those who covetously desired to take his business away from him, long, long years ago.”

 He continues: “Many a man has gone a very long way toward success, only to stumble and fall, never again to rise, because of lack of money in times of emergency. The mortality rate in business each year due to lack of reserve capital for emergencies is stupendous. To this one cause are due more of the business failures than to all other causes combined. Reserve Funds are essential in the successful operation of business!”

 Savings Accounts are essential to the financial well-being of an individual as well. Writes Napoleon Hill:

“Without a savings fund the individual suffers in two ways: first, by inability to seize opportunities that come only to the person with some ready cash; and, second, by embarrassment due to some unexpected emergency calling for cash.

 “It might be said, also, that the individual suffers in still a third respect by not developing the Habit of Saving: through lack of certain other qualities essential for success which grow out of the practice of Habit of Savings.

 “The nickels, dimes and pennies which the average person allows to slip through his fingers would, if systematically saved and properly put to work, eventually bring financial independence.”

 Having read this far, I’m convinced that there is no doubt left in you that the smartest thing for you to do is to start saving today. But I realize that that is easier said than done.

So the BIG challenge is: How may you break the old habit of eating all your seed (assuming that you have not yet followed the habit of saving) and start to preserve them for tomorrow?

Think deeply about the ideas I’ve shared with you here.

by Dr. Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase