This is a space of TRUTH where you can get inspiration to Impact your personal life and the life of others, I chronicle some of the things I have done, I share my failures and successes in regards to personal finance, personal leadership etc. I also share other inspirational stories of men and women who have shaped this world in this area.
Your attitude and mindsets will be reset to start believing that you were designed to do more with what you have (I call it re-writing personal finance).
Proverbs 14:23– “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”
When we read the story of creation, it gives us a picture of how valuable man is to the things that God has created. He gave man dominion over all his creation.
***Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted***
There were two things that could not allow plants or shrubs to grow.
1. No rain
2. No Man to attend to (cultivate) it.
This is the account of Genesis 2:5
It is written in Genesis 2:15 " Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it."
We are created to work, there should be no place for laziness. When we diligently work, we reap the rewards as well. It is also written in Proverbs 12:11– “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”
Dave Ramsey says that the only way to beat being broke is by going to WORK, work isn't necessarily only a JOB, we have been blessed with so much potential and we only need to come out and do something. It is also written in Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."
So lets not ignore work, we are God's workmanship created to do good works. You reap what you sow, if it is laziness, then there will be no fruit.
The bible tells us that we don't wrestle against FLESH & BLOOD but against PRINCIPALITIES & POWER. Are you in a place where it's tough, where evil is the order of the day, you see things happening and it looks normal. Are you afraid of speaking against injustice because you think that your FAVOR will go away or you won't be considered for this or that opportunity.
There are times we are in a horrible PIT in our lives and it's only God that can take us out of it. Do you feel like you have been in a PIT for too long, have you waited and there is no rescue. May be you have been calling on man for help, may be you have been calling on your ancestors, may be you have been looking at your own strength. Remember the pit is not your FINAL destination.
In Psalm 40 verse 1 David said, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."
We can only learn patience through tough times, we can also learn that only God is the one we can DEPEND on, it is written in Romans that the hope that God has given us doesn't DISAPPOINT because God has shed his love abroad our hearts. Our fights are not to be faced with fear because Christ has made us more than conquerors, he has caused us to triumph. It is written that we shouldn't cast away our confidence that has GREAT REWARD, and I am also reminded of what God told Abraham in Genesis 15 verse 1 ....“Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”
I encourage someone out there with these words from Isaiah 41:10
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
May God set your feet upon the ROCK and may he establish your goings.
Discipline yourself through the PAIN (Hebrew 12:11)
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - it's painful! But afterward, there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
When a seed is buried in the grown, it first has to die before it can germinate, then it has to grow, for it to grow, it has to be cared for, fertilized, pruned and given the best care, so that after so many weeks, days, months or years, its purpose for planting is eventually realized, is it electricity poles, furniture, etc that you want, it will take patience and courage to wait, while you take care of it. Your faith and desire to cut will be tested, but if you wait a little longer, you end up appreciating because you are looking more at the END result (Future) than at the satisfaction of the moment.
I have had time to listen to people especially when we start talking about money, money touches everyone's heart. Personally, I have had to go through and continue to learn about money, I wish I learned somethings earlier but you can never have it all. The conversation normally stems from how money is not enough, how the economy is biting and prices of things are high, people keep talking about how they are paid little and that they aren't able to save since most of it is expended - we all are victims in one way or the other but there is a way around these things, they say it's not possible to budget with small money, even those who have a lot don't budget because they believe they have an endless flow, yet such money can be put to develop and transform the society, economy, people, etc.
You know our actual wealth isn't in money only, there is much more to that, we know very well money can't make us rich, we know that we have to provide goods and services to attain wealth and I also know from what the bible teaches me, its God who makes me rich and he has given me the tools that pertain to life and godliness. Other conversations I listen to as well stem from those who talk about investing money, and in such stories you hear about their failures, bad investment decisions and how careful people are, you also hear of how people have won with money and are making the right decisions in different ventures. It is important to humble yourself to learn, indeed those who are humble are exonerated.
I want to focus on SAVING, I believe many times when people hear of this, they just give up before they even start or try, you know what, I was like that before I started appreciating what this simple tool can do, its hard, takes a lot of discipline, sacrifice, delaying gratification and the willingness to come out of debt and be financially free and have peace at that. People have created a notion around them that this can't be done but the amazing thing is that there are people doing it and there is a lot of success in this area.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "If you will be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting it". This basically tells me that we have to work at it. You know you can choose to ignore such a message but if you put your mind to the truth and power behind such a topic, then liberation has already started in your mind. Remember as a man thinks so is he, if we think of saving then we shall save, if we don't think of saving then we shall not save. Dave Ramsey, Americas trusted voice on Financial matters said this,
"Successful folks don’t win at life because they have a magic pill or top-secret information. They win at life because they work at it for years."
Let us look at some of these reasons why people don't save. In light of some of the reasons, I want you to have this scripture in mind
Proverbs 21:20 (NLT) The WISE have WEALTH and LUXURY but FOOLS spend whatever they get (Each time I have read this, it puts me back to the drawing board)
let's see the reasons
I can't afford to Save
I can always save later
It's too complicated
I just need to get 'this' out of the way
I am waiting for less market volatility
It's impossible to get ahead
I'm afraid to face my financial fears
I'm too busy
It's too late
I'm too OLD
I just can't do it and many more excuses
There are many more reasons, but if you see all this, it really gets down to attitude, we need to change our attitude towards this concept of saving, I have come to realize it is very biblical
See what is written in Proverbs 6:6 (NLT) Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise. And let's see further what Ants do Proverbs 6:7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 8they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter 9 But you, lazybones how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?
Now to me, sleep means a state of inactivity, a state of no awareness or to be spiritually dead or suspended from something. If you haven't woken up, maybe this is the time, God told Joseph about the famine that would last 7 years and also about the 7 years of abundance, what he did in the year of abundance enabled him to serve not only Egypt but other nations and his own family. There is a serious lesson in this story, what do we do when we are making money? we all need to take advantage and do the right thing in such periods because its true seasons come and go, they do change but if someone is prepared they can be able to manage the changing seasons. Read Genesis 47:13-27 and look at the action he took in verse
26 Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. Only the land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh.
Here are a few things you can do to get you going and started on the saving journey.
From a personal point of view, I believe if you can learn the art of saving, then learning the art of investments becomes interesting because you get to appreciate that hard-earned money that has been saved for a goal should not just be squandered, you make calculated steps, even Jesus said that before you build a house, you must calculate the cost, so it is wise to know how to put money aside.
As a Christian, you know very well that everything we own is for God, even the money in our hands, so give to God first (10% or more), then pay yourself, then invest and budget for other things.
I have learned that the first thing to do with money is to save it first and not spend then save later, after saving it makes you appreciate the importance of budgeting (telling your money where to go, this is how Dave Ramsey puts it, "You have got to tell your money what to do or it will leave you").
First of all, start by changing your mindset and this means feeding yourself with literature about saving, the bible has wonderful scriptures and we all know the bible talks a lot about money,
Buy books of renowned men and women who have talked about money extensively, the total money makeover by Dave Ramsey, Thou shall prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Money won't make you rich by Pr Sunday Adelaja, Make sense of money by James Abola to mention but a few.
Research online there people who are blogging a lot about how to win with money and read those articles. listen to success stories like this one see video below
There are many stories out there and in Uganda as well. I encourage you to buy the book Make Sense Of Your Money by James Abola, it's simple, precise, and clear on what to do.
While still young and energetic, I encourage you to start early, have a goal in mind, be visionary and take advantage of one the best words in financial literacy that is called COMPOUND INTEREST (Interest upon interest). On a personal note, I have seen that work and having started not so early, my wife and I are already seeing the benefits, you can't believe it until you start seeing your dividends.
If you feel like you can't take that money to your savings account, then talk with your bank so that a standing order of a particular amount is created, and on a particular date that money is deducted into your savings account. Don't have excuses that you can't save, because you need the savings to enable you to invest that is if you going to build your own capital base.
If you manage to start self governing yourself, it pushes you to start planning for your children whether you have or don't have and Insurance has come in with good packages to help many people out there. This also puts you in a place to be able to give back to the work of God, family, community, church etc
We shall continue talking about this, I believe in financial freedom, financial peace, financial independence, God who owns everything. He given has the wisdom to create wealth, the question is Can we put that wisdom to Task, all the answers are found in the bible and I am on a journey of discovery as I read from it and see stories of day to day successful people.
I don't know what is holding you down or holding you back. I have come to remind someone today that God IS AT WORK. As a young man, a few years ago, my mum would drop me at Nakawa, there after I would have to head to Kyambogo College School, But that wouldn't be the case, I would wait for her to drive off and then go meet up with my peeps in Luzira and just hang out the whole day playing pool, drinking a few sachets with the pocket money and puffing some cigars.
The thorns of PEER Pressure had pricked so deep that it took sometime to pull them out. I wanted to STOP but just did not have the STRENGTH to. But the prayers of my mum and other saints went up before the Lord and at his OPPORTUNE TIME, he brought me back under the fold of Grace and Truth.
Sometimes we give up on people or even or our selves but I know that God always MAKES A WAY and does a NEW THING, Indeed he says we shall know of it as it springs forth. Have you prayed for too long and it seems like its taking forever, hang in there, GOD HEARS PRAYER, he will make a way, you don't have to know how but he will do a new thing. I have been a enjoying life in the Kingdom of Light since my S.6 Vacation and there is no way I can be convinced that life in the kingdom of God is boring, my life is more meaningful than those times I wasted [it was my learning ground]. I have a life of Purpose, Impact & Transformation.
LOOK BACK, EXAMINE THOSE FRIENDSHIPS & SEE WHETHER YOU HAVE GONE FAR OR ARE STILL STAGNANT
Relationships can take you far or destroy you, bad company indeed corrupts, Good company adds value, examine your friendships by seeing how far you have come with those friends.
If you have friends who have no vision, you will have no vision as well, if you have friends who keep complaining and doing nothing, you won't be any different, if you have friends who are pessimistic instead of optimistic, that's the same image you will carry.
I attribute many of the great things I have learned and continue to grow through just because of the people who are in my life, my wife is my friend, I have good friends from the church and their contribution continues to be immense.
Are you the kind of person people would love to hang out with because you will add value to them, take it as a plus, are you the type people will keep saying keep a distance from such a person because their influence isn't good, yeah relationships are great things but we need to know which type of relationships are the best.
For us to make it in this life, we need to know that people matter and that they are important in every journey, know who should be in your life and in what season, know when to leave certain groups because your time could be up, don't get dragged by those who don't want to see you move, those who don't want to impact society, those who don't want to be role models. It is really in your heart to decide who can come in and who can go out. Make meaningful relationships that are God-honoring.
When I started out my life after CAMPUS, I happened to get an opportunity to do Internship at one of the Good Working places in Uganda.
First of all, I wasn't supposed to be given internship since I had already finished University but I told the people I had gone to ask an opportunity, "All I Want To Do Is LEARN". After one week, I was called to go and start my internship.
As I started growing and learning so many things, I became eligible to get a mini contract to be able to work full time. While such an opportunity kept presenting itself, I got involved in lunch hour prayers at work and this would be done promptly within the stipulated time of lunch which was indeed an hour.
Then some day I was told by a few people within the HR department, that the Director HR did not like me because of MY FAITH in Christ Jesus [I hope its not true till today], However I was already getting even more popular because God had opened the door for me to share about the Kingdom at the work place.
So the mini-contract I was meant to get did not materialize because someone thought otherwise. It hurt me a lot but I had to keep trusting God for other opportunities, Nothing came easy after I left that place of work.
When I left, I searched and searched for other places to intern or train but nothing came, I dropped CVs in the places as I walked within town with the hope that one day they would call me but still that did not happen. It so happened that things did not come as fast as expected, I also learnt that having good results doesn't automatically guarantee you a place, skills are very important for a market place as those were some of the questions they kept on asking me, do you know this or that, it made me realize that I had to add on to my degree knowledge certain practical skills to be relevant in the market place.
I decided I would do anything even if it wasn't in line with my career because I just wanted to learn and understand the Market place. I worked in store where we sorted imported books with my friend Isiagi Moses Ish, I also eventually worked in a fumigation company with Isiagi and Fabian. Those were growth points for me because I happened to volunteer as a Bible study teacher there after in FOCUS Uganda for almost 5 months until I got another opportunity to do something in line with my career.
You will be denied in some places not because you don't qualify but just because you don't have the required skills, keep improving, keep learning because so much keeps changing day by day.
Currently I work in a very Challenging Place [Makerere University] and it seems like everyday is a new chapter, as long as we are still alive there so much to do that God has deposited within us. Let God be glorified in your work, be excellent even if you have to do the least thing, just be excellent.
If someone looks at you and says you are rubbish, look at yourself and say this rubbish has value and make something good come out of it.
It was some years ago when I was training at a certain government office. It was a good place with great opportunity for growth and exposure. My fellow trainees and I faced the wrath of an HR everyday as he called us names and no-bodys. Too bad I did not know Luganda very well but some of the things they would translate to me were just too much to comprehend that it would bring tears down our eyes. One day he said, "You will never amount to anything, you guys are a bunch of useless people, you don't even deserve to be here".
Such words pained us so bad that we did not ever want to cross his path as if we had denied him something and probably that was the only way he could get back to us by threatening that he will send us away (FIRE) or refusing us to get a little stipend. We indeed reported such an issue to our Manager that eventually reached the top guns who settled the DUST and said these young men and women shouldn't be disturbed and that we should receive our allowances.
We resolved not to fear but to do our work and keep learning. One of my favorite songs at that point in life was HE's ABLE by Dettrick Haddon. I kept playing that song and singing it out aloud to my colleagues and as three months passed, it became a year and and 6 months. We started getting our little pay per week and continued learning more everyday. We chose not to look down on ourselves but to look at those who encouraged us and believed in us.
To cut the long story short, eventually a time came for me to move, as I was encouraged by the manager then, these were his words to me. Arthur, "If you want to grow more in your career, you have to leave this place". It was a hard pill to swallow because I had gotten quite comfortable but I hearkened to his words and took the challenge of applying for a job where i would have a properly recognized appointment letter and God indeed opened doors.
I learnt that I should not let the opinions of of others about me stop me from growing and rising in my life. I also learnt that such obstacles come in life but the way you maneuver them can determine how you can get through them, but be sure you will feel low and be bumped here and there. I also learnt that you don't need many people to believe in you, just one person is enough.
Fast forward, I meet this HR person somewhere in our walks of life and the person couldn't believe that the young man he once yelled at is a some body today. There were shades of guilt because he really humbled himself while talking to me... My response towards him was gracious and as we kept meeting, I kept doing good. He even encouraged me to do my MASTERS, what a mighty God we serve, this time instead of getting a point blank attitude, it was one of encouragement.
Life is hustle, the people you ignore on your way up, could be the same people you find on your way down, treat people right and value them as your own, do good to them and push them to achieve their dreams just like you were pushed to achieve yours. That's a chapter in life we have to go through to enable us grow.
Psalm 139:14 NLT Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
