The four pathways to wealth

(Biz tool Kids)
BY BRIDGET OLOTU
IN his book, Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant, identifies fourways through which income or wealth is created. The cash flow quadrants, according to Robert include The Employee and Self-Employed quadrants on one hand and the Business Owner and Investor Quadrants on the other hand.

Employees: Since they make up the human resource element of an organisation, employees are critical to the implementation of an organisation’s objectives and strategy. However, when it comes to wealth creation, many employees because of the way an enterprise is structured don’t stand a chance to create wealth. So for employees to create wealth while on the job, they have to work very hard, be exceptional, write many exams and acquire many degrees and competencies and; very importantly take their financial destinies in their hands.
To correct this, employees have to take their financial destiny in their hands.

Self-employed: The self-employed are not divorced from the actual day-to-day management of their business. So when they are not around, the business fortunes decline. If sickness or age stops them, the business hibernates.
Since most professionals like accountants, lawyers, consultants, etc, run self-employed businesses, they are still important to society in spite of the fact that the path to wealth through this quadrant is longer and tortuous.
Robert says, “Many self-employed people do not own a business. They own a job. If self-employed people stop working, their income also stops or declines. By definition, a job is not an asset. Assets put money in your pocket whether you work or not.”

Business owner : Unlike the self-employed, business owners run businesses that are independent of them. Even when they are also employees of the firm, they don’t build their businesses around themselves. They are known to build assets. Rather than focus on income, business owners focus on building assets through which income is generated. Robert Kiyosaki argues that the reason the rich get richer is that every year they work to build or acquire more assets. Adding more assets doesn’t require working harder or longer. In fact, according to Robert, “The higher a person’s financial IQ, the less he or she works while acquiring more and better-quality assets… assets work for the rich by producing passive income.”

Investor: While business owners build assets that generate streams of income for them, investors acquire assets that generate income for them too. Just like business owners don’t build their businesses around themselves, investors allow their money to work for them.
One secret of the B and I quadrants is that they allow their monies to work for them.
Before the challenges experienced by our Stock Exchange, many Nigerians became millionaires by investing in stocks of companies and reaping huge returns from their investments. The few people I spoke to before the stock debacle happened, I told them investing in stocks should really be for the medium and long term — not short term. However, just because you invest or are self-employed does not mean you are an investor or a business owner.
WHICHEVER stage you are in at this moment, whether as an employee or self-employed person, you must begin to embrace the mentality of the wealthy if you want to be rich.
You must know the difference between assets and liabilities. An asset puts money in your pocket, while a liability takes money out of your pocket.
Your financial destiny is in your hand and therefore you need to build your financial intelligence yourself.
Don’t just work for money, allow your money to also work and sweat for you. You need to also understand that to be rich, you need to move away from earned income to having passive and portfolio incomes too.
Earned income is gotten from your job; passive income could be money earned by selling intellectual materials or money that comes to you on the side, while portfolio income is generated through various forms of investments.
You need to also think like a capitalist. Capitalists identify problems and create products and/or services to solve such problems.
They identify needs and create products or services to meet such needs irrespective of their training or profession.
Even if you intend working for someone else, a situation which is not bad in itself, until you take your financial destiny in your hands, and begin to take the right steps by making your money work for you and multiplying your streams of income, you may end up swelling the ranks of employees who may have nothing to show after their working lives have ended.

Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd.
bridgetolotu@gmail.com





Football and foul tongue
(GOOD MANNERS)
BY MIKE EKUNNO
WHEN I was a kid, I had weird dreams, just like everyone else. Everything was fine. I lived my life the way it came. I woke up every morning to play, eat, and sleep at night, after playing video games.

Maturity comes with responsibility. As I grew up, I began to make decisions on my own. I determined to go to science class because I felt was good at Mathematics. After I finished from secondary school, I began to ask myself, “what next?”

A life without purpose may be worthless. In the midst of confusion and emptiness, I decided to read some self help books and I made friends with some motivated and focused youngsters, and before long, I discovered my purpose here on earth.

Some people don’t know their purpose. Over the years, human capital development experts have realized that most people don’t know why they are here. Your purpose is not your talent. It is not your job or your career. It is not a measure of your status, fame or a measure of your account balance.

Discover your purpose. Lack of purpose in life is what makes people feel confused, worried, unfulfilled and out of place in the world. Your purpose in life is to inspire and energize others, and to make a lasting positive impact on the life of others.

Your purpose is why you are here. You are not here to make billions of naira or dollars. You are not here to be a lecturer or a professor. You are not here to be a celebrity or a famous talk show host. You are not here to start and manage your own business and employ others.

Why are you here? You are here to make a difference in the life of others. If you are a millionaire and you are not making a difference, then it makes no difference that you are a millionaire. Your purpose is that thing you do where at the end of the day, you felt like you’ve made a positive, long lasting impact.

What problem are you solving? Your true purpose is a function of the problem you were created to solve. The purpose of a knife, for instance, is to cut things in the kitchen, while the purpose of a cutlass is to cut grass. The problem a knife solves is different from the problem a cutlass solves. Therefore, they have different purposes. We have different purposes.

ARE you solving the right problem? We are all created to solve a particular problem. It will be bad if after living for years, you suddenly realise that all along, you’ve been living the life of another person. Understand that your destiny is in your hands, and that you are the determiner of what your life will be in the future.

Live your life. When you don’t decide what you want to do with your life, another person will decide it for you. Those who know where they are going in life will bait those that are purposeless to help then achieve their own goals. “What is the meaning of life? Whatever you want it to be” says a sage.

Let your life come alive. When you are following the footprint of others, without determining where you want to go, you will end up anywhere. But when you discover your true life purpose, your life will come alive. It is also important that you don’t allow others to force their goals on you. Parents should not choose a career path for their children, but to guide them properly in choosing the right career path.

What is your purpose? Your true purpose is that thing that makes you tick. It is what makes your passion light up. It is what you do effortlessly that others may find hard to do. It is what you will be remembered for when you are gone. It is what you are doing to make a positive impact on the life of others.

Your true purpose brings you fulfillment. Your true purpose in life will bring you pleasure, and not pain. It will put food on your table without stress. If you are stressing or forcing yourself to make things happen, then, you are probably pursuing the wrong purpose in life. Remember that you are created with a true purpose, and you have to spend the rest of your life fulfilling that purpose.

Put purpose in everything you do. One human capital development expert advises “To live a life of purpose, put purpose in everything you do.” If you have not discovered your true purpose yet, then learn to do something to make a positive difference in the life of others. It is your civic responsibility to leave your community a better place than you met it.

Choose your career path wisely. Since everyone spends about one-third of their life time building a career, you have to choose a career that helps you to express and achieve your true purpose in life. If you can’t find a job out there that will help you to express your purpose, create one. You don’t have to spend another day of your life confused and out of place in the world. Discover your true purpose in life, and live it.





Finding your life’s true purpose
(LIFE COACH)
BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE
WHEN I was a kid, I had weird dreams, just like everyone else. Everything was fine. I lived my life the way it came. I woke up every morning to play, eat, and sleep at night, after playing video games.

Maturity comes with responsibility. As I grew up, I began to make decisions on my own. I determined to go to science class because I felt was good at Mathematics. After I finished from secondary school, I began to ask myself, “what next?”

A life without purpose may be worthless. In the midst of confusion and emptiness, I decided to read some self help books and I made friends with some motivated and focused youngsters, and before long, I discovered my purpose here on earth.

Some people don’t know their purpose. Over the years, human capital development experts have realized that most people don’t know why they are here. Your purpose is not your talent. It is not your job or your career. It is not a measure of your status, fame or a measure of your account balance.

Discover your purpose. Lack of purpose in life is what makes people feel confused, worried, unfulfilled and out of place in the world. Your purpose in life is to inspire and energize others, and to make a lasting positive impact on the life of others.

Your purpose is why you are here. You are not here to make billions of naira or dollars. You are not here to be a lecturer or a professor. You are not here to be a celebrity or a famous talk show host. You are not here to start and manage your own business and employ others.

Why are you here? You are here to make a difference in the life of others. If you are a millionaire and you are not making a difference, then it makes no difference that you are a millionaire. Your purpose is that thing you do where at the end of the day, you felt like you’ve made a positive, long lasting impact.

What problem are you solving? Your true purpose is a function of the problem you were created to solve. The purpose of a knife, for instance, is to cut things in the kitchen, while the purpose of a cutlass is to cut grass. The problem a knife solves is different from the problem a cutlass solves. Therefore, they have different purposes. We have different purposes.

ARE you solving the right problem? We are all created to solve a particular problem. It will be bad if after living for years, you suddenly realise that all along, you’ve been living the life of another person. Understand that your destiny is in your hands, and that you are the determiner of what your life will be in the future.

Live your life. When you don’t decide what you want to do with your life, another person will decide it for you. Those who know where they are going in life will bait those that are purposeless to help then achieve their own goals. “What is the meaning of life? Whatever you want it to be” says a sage.

Let your life come alive. When you are following the footprint of others, without determining where you want to go, you will end up anywhere. But when you discover your true life purpose, your life will come alive. It is also important that you don’t allow others to force their goals on you. Parents should not choose a career path for their children, but to guide them properly in choosing the right career path.

What is your purpose? Your true purpose is that thing that makes you tick. It is what makes your passion light up. It is what you do effortlessly that others may find hard to do. It is what you will be remembered for when you are gone. It is what you are doing to make a positive impact on the life of others.

Your true purpose brings you fulfillment. Your true purpose in life will bring you pleasure, and not pain. It will put food on your table without stress. If you are stressing or forcing yourself to make things happen, then, you are probably pursuing the wrong purpose in life. Remember that you are created with a true purpose, and you have to spend the rest of your life fulfilling that purpose.

Put purpose in everything you do. One human capital development expert advises “To live a life of purpose, put purpose in everything you do.” If you have not discovered your true purpose yet, then learn to do something to make a positive difference in the life of others. It is your civic responsibility to leave your community a better place than you met it.

Choose your career path wisely. Since everyone spends about one-third of their life time building a career, you have to choose a career that helps you to express and achieve your true purpose in life. If you can’t find a job out there that will help you to express your purpose, create one. You don’t have to spend another day of your life confused and out of place in the world. Discover your true purpose in life, and live it.






What’s in a name?
(Strictly for the young)
BY TOSYN BUCKNOR
I HAVE always known this name, s.a.d.e as SADE, but lately, all I see is sHades! And I recently noticed on facebook, that so many people whose names originally start with the alphabet ‘A’ have started to add the alphabet ‘H’ to their names, which means an Adesewa becomes Hadesewa, and so on and so forth.
And then there is Tosyn. I have seen others spell their names like this, and some go an alphabet further and add an ‘E’, there is even the occasional ‘Toseen’. Some people think it is a fad, but they don’t understand how much seeing my name spelt ‘wrong’ can send me into a fit!
In all honesty, I cannot associate with ‘Tosin’. I do not think it’s me when I see it, and when it is written on some official document or something, it feels they got it wrong.
But let us even forget those who modify their names! How about when a letter genuinely changes a name? Ever called a Toyin, Tosin before? Or an Olaotan Olaitan? They may not answer, or they would tersely let you know that is not their name! For it isn’t.
To us, it might seem like some mistake that might be overlooked, but to them, quite simply, panadol is not panadon! Would you take panadon if you wanted panadol?

WHAT is in a name though? Does it matter what we are called? Is it not just a way of ensuring there is something our parents can say so we know which of their children they want to pass the remote?
Or something our friends in school need to be able to know, who they want to play cops and robbers with, and the seniors remember, which ju they sent to the tuck shop?
And let us not even talk about school and teachers needing to know who, to throw the chalk at!
Yet, there are some who believe that the name you give a man is the name that determines his destiny, behaviour, or life as a whole! They will call some names and say those ones are stubborn! Others are gentle, and yet another set of names belongs to people who are naughty.
Some people are born great because their name says so, and others will calmly stay at the same level for the rest of their lives. Don’t blame them, blame their names!
My earliest memory of flirting with the name theory came when I was a lot younger, between primary and secondary school.
Then there was that note I wrote about thinking I was someone called ‘Hazel’ but having to live life as a ‘Tosyn’. (Don’t ask, unless you have ever felt like two or more different people at the same time!).
Some people travel and change their names. Yes, Riri, we know your real name is Sherifat. Others use it proudly, and one day torture their fans when they start getting starring roles in movies! Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje anyone?
And where do nicknames come from? Or rather, which came first, the (nick)name or the man?
9ice was so nice to his schoolmates that Abolore became nice. Some people have to live with the short forms of their names for life, while others get nicknames based on description. ‘Energiser Bunny’, ‘Shorty’, ‘Blacky’... and on it goes!
Then there are stage names. Wonder what LL Cool J’s real name is? (James Todd Smith). I wonder if Pink ever sees herself as Alecia Moore? And Lady Gaga might have a nice pretty name really, but we like Lady Gaga just fine!
Names can be really long, but there are those who get away with being called just the one name — Madonna! Britney! Fela!
And some so capture the name they have been given, that anyone else with a similar or the same name, has to live life watching people smile when they are introduced. Where are the other Michael Jackson’s of the world please?

WHAT is in a name?
Should we keep the ones we were given at birth or create new ones? Do we create names for each fictitious person (personas) we have, or should we wait for a few months after a child has been born before even naming said child? Whatever it is you believe, don’t forget that a name can bring smiles or headaches, heartache or laughter! Your name, like your life is open... do with it what you will!
Catch me on twitter!
www.twitter.com/toptosyn, tosinornottosin@yahoo.com