10 Reasons Why They Remain Poor.
First, we should agree that nobody is meant to be poor. The choice of whether to be rich or to be poor rests squarely on individuals. Mother luck may play some roles, but what we call luck at times comes as a result of playing the game strategically. It is not luck that made Jimoh Ibrahim made millions from Seminars, it is creative thinking.
Now, there are enough resources created by God for humans to exploit for their comfort and wealth. If we decided not to take advantage of nature, we only have ourselves to blame. The same word that produced the Bill Gates, the Dangotes, and the Ibrahims is the same God who created the wretched of the earth.
So, where is the difference or better still, why are they different? What are the rich doing right and the poor doing wrong? Why are some poor and some rich? Why do some remain poor?
Here we go:
- Poverty Mindset. From birth, some people believe they are created to be poor. They accept this because their parents and forebears were poor, so they believe there is no way they could be rich. They believe that there is poverty in their blood and will remain poor. As a result, they do not struggle or strive for anything. Whatever life throws at them, they accept. They do not aspire to be anything better than their parents. Now, when a person has this kind of mindset, only God can help him or her. If you throw open the doors of CBN to such person, he will remain poor.
- Accepting Defeat So Early. Some people do not have the resilience required of rich people. When they fail once in a project, they throw in the towel. They give up after a fall, but if you ask any rich man, he will tell you he has failed several times. The difference is that the rich man sees a failure as a step nearer success while the poor man takes it as a defeat. We should understand that not all projects will succeed. Eight out of ten businesses die before 5 years but, this does not mean that one should accept defeat. Rich people rise up after each fall, dust their coats and move on. Perseverance and resilience are inevitable attributes of very successful people.
- The Fear of Failure. Because many dread failure, they cannot take risks associated with failure. Even when they see a viable and feasible business opportunity, they will not invest their money. Many prefer to be counting their thousands in the bank and smile at their bank balances not knowing that the money in the bank is not working for them. Unfortunately, riches are meant only for those who can take risks and invest their money. Yes, they will not win all the time, but overall when the success comes, they will know it is worth the while.
Group medical at Mokola round about was started by a 23 year old Dr. Kunle Olajide. When he resigned as a government paid medic his superiors advised him against it. They said he should not venture into uncertainty. Young Kunle Olajide took his future in his hands and took the risk. Suffice to say that he later employed those seniors on a part-time basis. Today, he is over 70, but Group Medical is standing proud at Mokola round about being managed by one of his sons.
- Inability To Identify Opportunities. I like to give as a bonus to my customers the book, Acres of Diamond. Anybody who reads that book becomes a changed person. There are opportunities around us all the time, but can we spot them? Water had been here for ages but it took a Gbadamosi to bottle Ragollis for Nigerians. Why didn’t anyone think of that before? Somebody started packaging water in sachets, where were older people? Jimoh Ibrahim started the concept of eateries collaborating with Fuel station and yet both have been existing for ages. Why didn’t anybody think of this before? God so made nature to solve her own problems. If there is a problem somewhere, you can be sure the solution is not far away, only if we can think creatively.
- Believing Wrongly That Too Much Capital Is Needed. Yes, you need money to start an oil rig, but not all businesses require a large capital to start. Just start somewhere. If you ask them why are they not in business, they say lack of capital when there are businesses you could start on a shoestring. I can give you a page full of examples of big businesses started with little capital. Sunny Ojeagbese, the boss of Complete Football sold his camera for N6500 to start the empire he is sitting on today. Rasaq Okoya, the emperor of Elliganza started by selling wrist watches at Obun Eko. There is a University in Owo and another at Ife, both of whom started as private lessons. Many standard private schools in this country started as Day-Care Centre in a room. Bill gate is the son of a poor father and he definitely did not start his empires with millions…
- Eating The Business. There is a simple rule of business and anybody who breaks that rule will remain poor. Expenditure must be less than income. The moment you spend more than you earn, you will definitely run bankrupt and out of business. And believe me; many businesses have died from this disease. Anybody who cannot save cannot be rich, once said a rich man. It is as simple as that. This is where I admire the Igbo guy. He remains parsimonious even when in millions. An average Igbo man is not likely going to eat his business.
- Expecting Magic. Many think a little effort will bring floods of cash. Those people are expecting miracles. They expect bread from stone and only Jesus did that. The truth is that to be rich, you have to work for it. These days, many people believe erroneously though, that two hours on the internet will open the door to riches for them. No, it does not happen like that. Ask the internet millionaires, they will tell you it takes hard work. When working towards riches, you must be prepared to work for it. You cannot become a millionaire overnight unless you win the pools.
- Being Choosy. There are people I know who say they cannot do this business and that business. A person with a rich mind should be ready to do any work that brings a good Return on Investment (ROI). Gadafi, before his death was moving “Shit” around the city of Lagos and he died a millionaire. The food business is tedious, but with high potential for riches yet there are many women who will not touch it with the longest pole. Some men still think food business is for ladies and how wrong they are. Those who discriminate against some businesses cannot complain if they are poor.
- Laziness. If a man sleeps for 12 hours and play for 8 hours in a day, there is no way he will not be poor and there are many like that. Ask the millionaires, they work all the time, even in their sleeps. If you want to be rich, you must be ready to work hard. Do not get me wrong. Do not work stupidly, but smartly. If you have cast your lot with an idea, concentrate your effort on it and work hard at it. Have you heard of the William sisters of Lawn Tennis fame? They hardly know any other thing and they work very hard on their tennis.
- Religious Fanatism. Funny enough, but some people believe it is a sin to be rich. Some others believe that riches, give you too much trouble. They prefer to be where they are. They want to climb the steps in the ministry and retire an average man. Now, if a man believes that it is a sin to be rich, we cannot help him. Let him die in his penury. Similarly, if a man believes that riches will give him problems, let him stay in his comfort zone with his poverty. I am afraid we cannot help him.
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