The plane was jerking rigorously on my way to Enugu and for a split second, I thought the end had come until I remember that I really had nothing to worry about: I was on purpose to once again teach on financial freedom. The night prior to this event was unusual because I discovered something crucial while talking at Glory Christian Center (GCC);

Dipo: How many of you want to wealthy?

Response: 99% of the crowd stood up.

Dipo: Who can define wealth for me?

Response: All the responses I got were fuzzy save one.

Now, this particular response was an issue for me because if you don't have a picture of where you are going to or where you desire to be, when you get there, how would you know? I realized this was not an issue with GCC youths alone but with the Youth Corpers in Enugu. So I decided to define wealth as when the asset you acquire takes care of your expenses. Now, most youths do not understand and identify what asset is;

Dipo: As corpers, there is a common asset you all have; who can tell me what it is?

Response: Not a single person can identify the common asset.

Dipo: Well, I had to tell them; a graduate degree

Most youths can't identify their assets, so it would be difficult to maximize what they have. Financial wisdom is not about acquiring assets but recognizing the assets you have and maximizing it. I have 2 different messages for the two talks; the one for GCC was «understanding the assets to invest in» while the other one for Enugu Corpers was «selling the assets you have». I borrowed inspiration from one of Jesus parable (parable of the sower) on the best place to invest in;

1. The Way Side: So many people have way side sowing like workers that place their money in the stock exchange hoping that miraculously they will become rich by doing so and entrepreneurs diversifying without putting much focus on the business; from Jesus prophesy, external bodies will steal your investments away.

2. The Underlying Rock: This particular medium of expression is common amongst entrepreneurs who are opportunistic; anywhere it is happening, they jump there. Today, it's FOREX; tomorrow, it's MLM, next tomorrow, its buying and selling. Their roots don't go very deep although they get along fine, as soon as challenges and persecution begin, they wilt.

3. Thorny Ground: This particular medium is great; it fulfils both the spiritual and physical yearnings of its actors but the problem lies when attractions and delights of wealth take the profit away. Attractions like the latest car, the jimmy shoos, female pleasure, friends and relatives comes to take what you have achieved away.

4. Good Soil: This is the medium of expression that produces a safe haven for others to develop in; it produces thirty, sixty and even a hundred of what was produced. It represents the stand that projects your light and the stand that the world will gravitate towards.

I submitted to them that the only good soil is your GIFT; your gift is anything you can do that others find difficult to do. Investing in your gift is paramount especially through crisis; your job can not sustain you during a war or a financial meltdown, it is only your gift that can create room for you. It is important to invest in your gift and sharpen it; it is about the only thing that can guarantee you financial freedom. If you go through the process of sharpening your gift correctly, so many people would feed off it. The process of sharpening your gift can be compared to the growth process a maize plant (Inspiration also drawn from Jesus parable);

The Blade: When you start sowing, you have to be patient especially when you are in the good soil. The first sign that shows is the blade; the blade is the thin leaf of grasses or maize plants. If you are into trading, the blade may be the first 3 customers you will ever have. You have to treat them very nicely even if you do not get others to come at the moment. If you are a worker, it may be a promotion without pay; increasing your responsibility with no pay. If you are a graduate, it may be working as an intern for your dream company for free. Most people give up at this stage of the protocol because it does not align with the dream they envision. Whatever, it is, the blade is an important protocol you should not miss. Most people refer to this time as the trying time because you sow without seeing the fruits.

The Ear: This is when it looks as if things are going well for you; you have to be very careful at this stage. Finally, your customers are growing in an astronomical state, your company recognizes your effort and increases your pay, if you are a graduate, and you finally get that dream job you have been hoping for. This is actually the time you need to be very careful because you may develop blind spot and get unnecessarily pompous. This is definitely not the stage you want but you may be corned to belief so. The trappings of the results may fool you but if you don't wait for the full grain in the ear, you may abort the process prematurely.

The Full Grain: This is when the grain starts growing in the ear; this is not time to leave the business for an entrepreneur or time to expand; this is not time for workers to start changing jobs. This is the time to consolidate your effort and make sure your brand is ripe enough to withstand any pressures.

The Ripe Grain: This is the time to move on to another project or you may end up playing politics in what you have built and ruin it. This is the time to seek another place because you may eventually become a nuisance for those who have been praying for promotions. The bible says the reapers immediately put in the sickle for the harvest. It has to be immediate or you may regret ever venturing into the project or ever working for the company

It was a different message for the Enugu Youth Corpers centering on the first chapter of my unpublished book; «JESUS SELLS» which was also quite enlightening but hanging around the same theme. I cannot seem to shake the mixed feeling I had this weekend because I realized that financial education is really lacking amongst our youths. However, I am too tired to proffer a solution to all these issues; I am glad to provide as little light as I could on the subject and I pray they would be provoked enough to seek more knowledge. Thanx for reading and have a wonderful week!

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