Why Anyone Can Make Money

 “If we are born poor, it is not our fault, but if we die poor, it is!”…… Bill Gates

Chief M.K.O. Abiola, a popular Nigerian politician and businessman had before his untimely death in 1998 banished poverty from his life. His story makes an interesting reading. At a very young age, he is reported to have watched his dear mother pass away because his father could not afford 8 pence for her medical bills. The extreme poverty of his father created so much fear in him at that early age that he vowed never to be poor in his life. He started by taking any and every job that came his way including being a back-up singer. He built on his strengths so much that at a stage, his businesses spanned Newspaper Publishing, Oil and Gas, Real Estate, Bookshops, Bakeries, Telecoms and many others which spread through many continents of the world. History records that at the time of his tragic passing in 1998, he had accumulated so much wealth that the media started referring to him as a “billionaire business mogul.” His rabid fear of poverty and his clear choice to beat it were largely responsible for this feat not because of his black color or his being a Nigerian.

Statistics indicate that a new millionaire is created every fifty-eight minutes in the United States. In that land of opportunity, people make money successfully by taking advantage of the abundant opportunities. The success rate of these people has nothing to do with the color of their skins or their nationalities. The contents of their character play a major role in how much service they are able to render to enable them to make money. Money is therefore not in short supply. The ability to make it is what is in short in supply. Among the many millionaires made every few minutes in the United States, are predominantly immigrant Japanese, Chinese, Hispanics or Latinos, Arabs, Jews, African Americans and many others. They make it faster than Native Americans because they seize any and every opportunity that comes their way. This attitude is usually a fall-out from the deprivations they suffered back in their native countries before they decided to emigrate. This land of opportunity provides a fairly level field for all persons irrespective of their nationalities. Those who make it work hard to make it as a matter of deliberate choice not because of their nationalities or ethnic stock.

 

7 Timeless Lessons About Making Money

I always argue that money-making is not a modern science. The principles have been with us since ancient times, and they are as valid and reliable today as they have always been right from ancient times. Why then do many people find it difficult to make and grow money using ancient wisdom? Fact is, anyone can make money so long as they follow the rules. These here timeless lessons which our grandparents used can also be used by us for similar results.

01. Increase your ability to earn. No matter what business you are doing, it is within your power to increase your ability to earn. This is rather very obvious. The better your ability to earn, the more money you make. If you want to increase your income, you must increase your ability to earn. If you want to increase your ability to earn, you must increase your value to society. This you can do by improving yourself and learning more skills relevant for your increased productivity.

02. Control your expenditures. This you can do by striving to spend less than you earn. Somehow, earned money never seems to be enough for spending. It takes real discipline to keep expenses down while striving to increase your earnings. This is one very potent way to grow your money. If you are sincerely keen on making money/building wealth, it helps to get on a budget, and to start spending less than you make. The balance left can go into savings and or investments.

03. Guard your money from loss. Even if you are able to build up a lot of wealth through the careful investment of your money, you will discover that it is far easier to lose money than to gain it. What to do! Just explore ways to guard your money from loss through careful vetting of any investment. What that means is that you should not be reckless or stupid with your investments. The wisdom of the ancients says, "Guard thy treasure from loss by investing only where thy principal is safe, where it may be reclaimed if desirable, and where thou will not fail to collect a fair rental. Consult with wise men. Secure the advice of those experienced in the profitable handling of gold. Let their wisdom protect thy treasure from unsafe investments."

04. Insure a future income. You may be aware that your entire life is divided into three distinct segments namely, your learning years, your earning years and your yearning years. Naturally, as you age, your ability to earn income will drop. You won’t be as ambitious, your health will begin to fail and there is a very real possibility that you’ll someday die. That is inevitable anyway. Therefore, the smart thing to do is to plan ahead for the day that you will no longer be strong enough to be able to work. That is, during your yearning years, what can sustain your income will be returns from long term investments. Making profitable long term investments is a great way to “insure a future income.”

05. Make regular savings. This is what the ancients refer to as “make thy gold multiply.” In modern terms, you make real money through savings by way of “compounded interest.” That happens when you put your savings to work to earn more money. Habitually saving a percentage of your earnings, say about 10% over time accumulates somewhat and with compounded interest, your money grows exponentially.

06. Earn from investments. This is what the ancients refer to as “start thy purse to fattening.” It is one smart way to allow your money work for you. You can do a variety of investments, from stocks to real estate investing to gold. All of them yield money for you in a variety of ways even with a one-time investment. With good investments, you earn income around-the-clock 24/7 even if you do nothing else but watch.

07. Make where you live a profitable investment. In ancient times, this was the same thing as “make of thy dwelling a profitable investment.” In modern times, when it comes to matters relating to where you live, it is better to take a mortgage than to pay rents in perpetuity. Rents do increase over time, but mortgages remain relatively stable over a prolonged period of time. Therefore, with mortgages, you are making a profitable investment in the home you domicile. That is one great way to save money and to grow your wealth.

As you can see from the foregoing, making money/creating wealth is not rocket science. The principles may be very old and have been around since ancient times but they are just as important today as they were back in ancient times. Wealth creation and making money is not a mystery. It is not luck and it is not a secret. It is a repeatable process, something anyone can do if they are discerning enough. In fact, you can find all these principles in my favorite “little money book” published in 1926 by George Samuel Clason. It is named “The Richest Man in Babylon.” With it, Mr. Clason tells his wealth creation stories with a collection of parables which are as relevant today as they were in ancient Babylonian times. Get a copy of that little book for yourself today.