DAY 6: INCREASE YOUR FIQ

#WATER#GOALS#BUDGET# LETS GO

Money is not evil. Money is good. If you bought two bottles of mineral water for each of the 1 billion people who have no access to clean drinking water in the world today, you will have to be a billionaire (in US$). That is good and that is a lot of money.

Money is probably the most important commodity next only to time. However financial illiteracy is probably the waste form of disaster known to mankind.

Increase your Financial IQ daily. No matter the level of education you attain, and no matter how much money you make, without adequate financial intelligence you are a disaster, an embarrassment, and a failure just waiting to happen.

Financially intelligent people know that time is the primary source of money. They know that they cannot achieve anything in life without a proper use of their time.

Financially smart folk earn more than they spend. Average folk spend according to how they earn. Financial ignorant people spend more than they earn. Their financial cone is wide-side down.

Three skills that increase you Financial IQ

1. EARN: Learn to earn. Make it a hobby, a habit, a way of life. Whatever you do, earn. You must earn enough that your expenses would never exceed your earnings. DO NOT become a money monger and irate people with your salesmanship. But do things of value that people will be glad to pay you for it.

2. BUDGET: Budgeting is NOT writing a wish list. Most people write a wish list and call it a budget and in the end it only becomes a source of frustration. You write the budget after allocating a certain amount for the budget. In short a budget is the list of higher priority necessities that will fit in the allocated amount. Always budget based on available resources.

The process is not complete until after you have bought items, you write down what has been bought, and you compare to see your performance based on the budget that you made. This skill alone can raise your financial IQ high enough to improve your life.

3. SAVE: Those who do not save have no seeds of greatness in them. Stop being the channel of expenses in your home and become the channel of savings. Keep your expenses low to manage to save easily.

Practice insurance, investing, and giving. These will ensure that you manage your present and future smartly and live a better life tomorrow than today.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

BUY A WATCH: If you cannot manage your time you will most likely never be able to earn, let alone manage your money.

OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT: Open an account separate from your transaction account. This will keep you out of debt. Instead of getting anything on credit, save for it and buy it when the money is enough. Ensure that such an account is not easily accessible via mobile banking or ATM cards.

BUY A DIARY AND A PEN: the secret to managing your time and finances is in writing things down. The moment you get flowing with this skill that’s the very moment your days will be fulfilling and your finances will start making sense.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP.

DAY 5: I AM STUCK

#WATER#GOALS#BUDGET

Life happens to the best of us. Day 5 is more like that. After 4 days of great stuff, you get to the place where the creativity wears thin, and the momentum is significantly much less. You wake up to higher demands and unequal energy. You find that your resolve has sublimed.

Have you ever had ideas where you got excited in the begining, you researched, you planned, you invested, and you started rolling. You even began to accrue some stable customer base but then everything just came to a standstill? There is no more freshness, the first love is gone, and the sound or cranking is getting louder. Your efforts are not having any impact.

You are officially stuck. The business is not growing. The farming project is not progressing. Your project is not inspiring. Your relationship is dry and stagnant. You are stuck in an uncomfortable place.

When things are stuck it’s a dangerous place to be at. If nothing is done quickly it can be a regrettable situation. When a business is stuck you will lose money in expenses whilst you are gaining nothing in the sales. When a career is stuck you will be working harder to keep your job whilst getting less pay. When your relationship is stuck you will be depressed without seeing a way out. When your life is stuck you will lose hope.

Three things you need to do when things get stuck;

1. INVOKE YOUR CREATIVITY AND PERSONALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

Most people think a savior will come from somewhere else. The savior lives within. DO NOT think that someone else will fix things for you. Get yourself, your business, your career, your relationship, unstuck orelse no one else really cares as much as you do.

You are the answer. That is why it is you who is faced with that situation. It is you opportunity to display your problem-solving gift. You are NOT the victim. You are being set up for victory.

If it is a business re-brand it, relocate, start a new product, or change the packaging, or redesign your delivery system, integrate social media and tap into a new dimension. Whatever you do, look within for a solution. If it is a relationship remember the things that you know your partner doesn't like and avoid them, remember the things they like and do them. Speak positively. Be considerate. Get your relationship unstuck. It got stuck so that you can get it unstuck and grow.

2. GET HELP

Some people are too proud (maybe the right word is foolish) to admit that they are stuck. The sooner you admit it the better (actually the wiser). When things are stuck the next thing is they will get damaged. The longer you stay in there the more rooten the situation gets. Many people need to get over themselves and admit that they are stuck and just call for help.

Whatever it is that you are going through someone can give you are hand. Identify the RIGHT person and let them push you out.

3. CALL IT QUITS

We have been told that quitting is not a very plausible thing. They say a winner is not a quitter. But there are times when the only way to win is to quit. Admit that your methods, ideas, or system is not going to achieve the intended result in your situation and just give up. Walk away.

Sometimes moving on from a failed project, or a broken relationship, or a non progressive career can be the hardest thing to do because we have become accustomed and acclimatized.

The moment you identify that you are stuck and that there is no way of getting yourself unstuck in order to progress, the wise thing to do maybe to quit.

REMEMBER the place where you are stuck is not your final destination. What you do about it should be with the objective to get you to your final and desired destiny in life. Whether you fix it yourself, whether you call in help, or whether you simply let go, you should move toward your destiny.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP

DAY 4: BE TIME CAUTIOUS

#WATER#GOALS#BUDGET

“What is US$1 billion to someone who does not have it,” one might ask. More crucially, “what is a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, to someone who does not have it.” When you do not have money you would be considered broke or poor. If you do not have time you are dead. Time is the most important commodity in life. Time is not money. Time is life.

As the clock ticks, your life is ticking away. Every minute that passes you are invariably being drawn to your death day. Yet people live life incautious of the value of time. Even if today you were given a billion united states dollars, it would be nothing if it was in exchange of your total time and you were told you only have 45 seconds left to live. Are the things you are doing with your time of higher value?

YOU CAN INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR TIME

You time is as valuable as the value of the things you do. Some of the valuable things you can do with your time include adding value to people’s lives, praying, reading the bible, helping the poor, and improving your life.

YOU CAN MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME

Most people go by through the day without daily goals or a program. That is minimizing your time. Maximize your time by programming your day with goals and assignments for the day and ensure that everything that you do is well planned for.

YOU CAN TRADE YOUR TIME

Your time is your primary source of income. Whether you are choosing a career, or going into business, the important thing is how much money can be made in each hour. You need to decide between activities that produce more money per hour to be able to get ahead in life.

Here are four general things you need to do with your time every 24 hours.

1. INVEST YOUR TIME: this means do things in your time that will result in securing your future relationships, finances, and your dreams.

2. WORK YOUR TIME: the formula of work is force times distance (W= F x D). The result is measured in joules and is referred to as energy. You want to ensure that your time produces the powerful energy of life known as money. Ensure that your time is full of money making activities.

3. RELATE IN YOUR TIME: the one thing that is of greatest value in human life or time is the relationships we have and what amount of time we invest in those relationships. Make sure you avoid people who only want you to be a source of benefit for them. This kind of people you just get to know and the next thing they are asking for talk time? Those you must by all means cut off. They are parasites and time wasters.

Make sure it is within your effort to build relationships with people that add lasting value into your life. Ensure to build relationships with people in whose lives you will be able to add value.

4. REST: rest should be planned for. Your health is important and how much rest you have can affect your life intensely. Working hard doesn’t produce as much results as working smart. And your brain will be more effective and creative when it is accorded sufficient rest.

Today and for the rest of your time on earth don’t waste your time, don’t be late, and don’t lose anytime.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP

DAY 3: STAND UP TO YOUR CHALLENGES

#GLASS OF WATER#DAILY PLAN#DAILY BUDGET#

The secret to being defiant in the face of a challenge is to know what you are leaning on.

Your enemy's worst nightmare is not what you are today but what you have potential to become. What scares your enemy is not your present but your future. But in order to stop you from fulfilling your potential tomorrow, he brings trouble today. Heartbreaks, lack of finances, depression, sin, anger, and all sorts of personal problems.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. The purpose of trouble is to take you out before you reach you full potential, reduce your effectiveness, or make you lose belief and confidence.

The one way to trouble trouble is to make sure that when trouble comes you should not be troubled by it. That is how you trouble your trouble. Instead of thinking about your problem, start thinking about your solutions. Instead of thinking about your current troubles, think about your glorious future. Instead of being discouraged about the failure of yesterday, be motivated by the successes of tomorrow.

Here are three things you need to remind yourself in the middle of the storm

1. I AM STILL HERE - You see, you have to have had a record of some victories in the past for you to still be standing. Draw your motivation and momentum from your past victories. If u are still here it means that you made it and hence you can claim to be a force to reckon with.

2. I WILL GET TO MY DESTINY - Believe in the potency of your destiny. That if it’s your destiny then you will get there regardless of the battles you are facing. So whether you will get there crawling, limping, walking, flying, or indeed running, is of no consequence. Destiny is just that; destiny. It means that you will get there.

3. I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED - Before you look into that tornedo of your challenge and become defiant, check if the cornerstone you are leaning on is indeed Jesus. When you affirm that, look into the face of your trouble, challenge, lack, sickness, or whatever it is and tell it "who art thou before me? You will be made low like the rest of them".

SEE YOU AT THE TOP

DAY 2 - TAKE THE BOLD STEP

Before you proceed

-Take a glass of Water

-Write down your program for the day

-Check how much money you have for today and make your daily budget.

Now let us go to our focus. I have had some brilliant ideas in my life and had I taken the bold step, I don't know, but chances are I could have been living large and dining with the upper class. All to say, it’s not good enough to have great dreams and good intentions.

The secret to success is in taking a step at a time. Often we think about step 1, step 2, and when we realize step 3 will be difficult, we give up and never get to take step 1. If that is what you have been doing, no wonder you have delayed your success.

For many people it is the capital factor. You know you should write a business plan, you know you should register a company, and you know you should do a market research, but when you think about the fact that capital is hard to come by, you bury your dream.

For some it is relationship. You know you should settle down with her, introduce her to your family, and engage her, but when you think about the cost of lobola and the wedding you lose steam and cower away.

Maybe it is further studies, maybe it is that musical album, or a canvas painting, or physical exercising, or just finding a pet, or doing up your garden, whatever it is, today it is time to take the first bold step.

The Chinese say when the student is ready the teacher will appear. When the children of Israel where faced with the Jordan River, the priests had to take the bold step into the water and that’s when the rest followed.

What bold step are you about to take today? Unless you take it the rest will not follow. When you show up, God will show off for you. Do it.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP

DAY 1: I DESERVE THIS

In order to fulfill whatever it is that you desire, you need to believe that you deserve it. Today, that’s what we are going to do. Believe that we deserve what we want.

What is your goal? Look yourself in the mirror and tell the guy/girl you see in there these words. “I DESERVE THIS” .

If you wish to live a holy life, say to yourself, “I deserve to live a holy life.” If your wish is to improve your vocabulary, say to yourself, “I deserve to have an excellent vocabulary.” If you dream is to be rich and famous, tell yourself that you deserve it.

The truth is that you deserve to be at the very top. The reason is simple. Jesus has already taken the fall for you and so, you can now rise to the very top. The mistakes that you will make, that you are making, and that you have made, don’t count because Jesus has already taken the fall for them. So don’t let anything stop you. You deserve to get your dream.

SEE YOU AT THE TOP.

21 Days and Nights of Consistency

There are general things that relate to all of our lives such as health, money, and time. These are generally areas where we can succeed well or fail lamentable depending on the disciplines that we have. These 21 Days and Nights of Consistency are about developing these seemingly small habits that will affect you specific goals and activities in your individual or corporate life. Whatever your dream, whatever your goals or resolutions, and whatever the habits you want to build, these areas will be one at minimum, or all involved.

In this regard, I have picked on some of the most important general things that you have to do every morning besides our daily focus. The following activities you must do every morning when you awake and I will do my best to remind you.

GLASS OF WATER

Drink one glass full of water every morning. Make sure it is not too cold. It has to be at room temperature at best because too cold water in the morning might not go so well for many people. This will set out your day to a good start with metabolism back on the run, and your system flushing out and your good body rehydrated. Do this every day. I hope after the next 21 days you will have developed this habit and it will add value to your life and you will live longer.

WRITE DOWN YOUR DAILY GOALS

When you wake up every day, before you do anything else, write down the things you want to achieve. In short set out your program for the day by writing it on a piece of paper. DO IT. Don’t give you life to memory. Write the goals down. Prioritize them and work on them in their order of importance. Do this whether at work, in your business, at school, or at home. This will definitely set you up for a well thought out day and you will end up somewhere beyond your usual unplanned day. In fact, it may be the gulf between where you are and where you want to be. At the end of the day, make sure you sit down to check on the items you wrote out and how they worked out. Remember as you set your daily goals that they must be goals related directly to the things you want to achieve in the long term.

DAILY FINANCIAL PLAN

Thirdly, check how much money you have for the day and budget it out. Decide exactly how much money you will spend or make that day. And then stick to your financial plan. Do not spend money that you didn’t plan to spend. Every evening write down everything you bought and account for your money. If you want to be in the top crater of the rich, I suggest you do this. As you set out your daily budget ensure that you keep in mind that goal that you want to attain. Remember in the next 21 days we are developing lifestyles that we wish to linger with us for the rest of our lives.