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The Right to Money

THE RIGHT TO MONEY

(Extracted from Ojijo’s The Gift of E11even Moves to Make Me Wealthy!)

Money is good. Having money is a fundamental human right. The social movement that inspires people to love and acquire money is called the Money Rights Movement also referred to Silver Rights Movement by visionaries such as John Hope Bryant and Farad Ali. Money makes life easier. This is a fact. It is glorious to get rich. It takes money to buy homes, cars, clothes, food and acquire most of the good things in life. Money is medical costs; vacation expenses; tuition fees; and, yes, dowry and romance. ‘Unless one has money there is no use in being a charming fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed. The poor are practical and ordinary.’ Oscar Wilde wrote. Indeed, money is party for friends and help to the poor and needy. Margaret Thatcher, the ‘Iron Lady’, who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party-the only woman to have held either post-noted that, ‘no one would have remembered the Good Samaritan if he only had good intentions. He had money as well.’

Poverty is A Curse!

Wallace D. Wattles wrote that, ‘Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete, happy and successful life unless one has money.’ This is why when God blesses, He gives ‘other’ things, AND material wealth also. It is neither humble nor stylish to be poor. Some ‘faithfuls’ think that God inflicts poverty upon His children so that they will live a life of humility. But I do not have to be broke in order to be humble! Over the centuries, a tradition has developed within the religions that poverty is God's way for His children. That is a lie straight from hell! God will never put me in the pit of poverty to make me humble. God does not work that way. God wants us rich. God wants me rich. Why else would He create me? To be poor? A true believer cannot be poor.

Many say that they are against the 'prosperity theory'. They say they do not want anything more than what they need! That is 'selfishness' because they cannot then share with the ones that need help. Jesus said, ‘feed the poor'. How am I going to feed the poor if I have just enough to feed myself? Islam commands the faithful to give alms. How can I give what I do not have? ‘No one can give what he does not personally possess.’ So

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penned Benedict XVI. How can I give if what I have is only enough for me? If I wish to be relevant to the poor, then I will remember the old saying that, ‘the best thing I can do to the poor is not to be one of them.’ This is wholesomely true. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that, ‘If you would lift me, you must be on a higher ground.’

As George Bernard Shaw, the Irish poet and playwright wrote, ‘lack of money is the root of all evil’. Even though money is not the key to happiness; the more money I have, the easier it will be to get the key made.

God said poverty and lack was a curse which was to come upon the people of God because they failed to keep His commandments and His statutes (Deuteronomy 28:15). Poor people experience starvation and are malnourished. They are weak people; illiterate people; houseless people; beggars; wearing rags; and their life is not secure when they are old and ill. Poverty means mean more crimes, health problems, ignorance, etc. Poverty is indeed a curse.

The rich people have plenty of resources on hand. They are able to manage their industries well. The rich enjoy luxuries and comfort. They are able to provide sufficient food, clothing and shelter to their people. Their standard of living is high. Rich people are well educated and are able to contribute to the economy in a positive way. They are not a burden, but an asset.

Today, I must remove the poverty mentality! God wants me prosperous. I will not let anyone talk me out of this. Any kind of poverty is bad: material, intellectual, emotional or spiritual. Every bodily disease is due to bodily poverty: of the blood, of nutrition, of elimination, of coordination. Money poverty is bad. I do not have to be a money worshipper to believe that I cannot lead a decent life without income enough to get me comfortable clothing, wholesome food, a sanitary habitation, and the saving bits of culture and leisure. It is perfectly right for me to want money enough to secure a reasonable independence.

Most people are like "dumb, driven cattle," herded by shrewd political bosses. Their children are stunted, their homes are cramped, their rights are denied them, their food is poisoned, and they are insulted, despised, pillaged, and swindled, simply because they are ignorant, they are victims of intellectual poverty; they do not know what to do. THEY ARE POOR!

Money is the Constant K!

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Money is the one factor in life that is constant. We all need money, and what it buys, whether I am light skinned and you are dark skinned; whether I am young and you are old; whether I am male and you are female; whether I be tall and you be short; and whether I am good looking and you, a mean looking guy; we all need money. Voltaire, the French Enlightenment writer and philosopher famous for his advocacy of civil liberties, and who produced more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets in almost every literary form including plays, poetry, novels, essays, historical and scientific works, correctly captured this in his wonderful quote ‘When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.’ Money truly is the common denominator.

Today, this will be my prayer,

God give me riches! Rich hearts to love mightily, rich brains to think boldly, rich hands to work skillfully, rich bodies' to live wholesomely, riches of culture; of music, of sculpture, of architecture, to keep me out of the bogs of barbarism, riches of spirit to grasp the majesty of moral laws, and riches of money to secure my personal independence.

I can do without a wife; indeed, I do not have to marry or have children in life. I do not have to go to college or learn a foreign language, and neither do I need to profess any religion at all, but I need money. I must have money! Money is power; money is freedom; money is a cushion. Money is companionship and friendship. The Book of Proverbs summarises it thus; ‘riches makes many friends, but the poor is separated from his friends.’ The Italians appreciated the wisdom in this and codified it in their proverb thus: ‘The rich never have to seek out their relatives’. Money is the sum of all blessings; indeed, money is the measure of blessings. It is no wonder God’s best friends have always been very rich and never lacked. King Solomon lavished in gold, myrrh and fine garments; Ayub had animal and land wealth beyond measure; and even The Prophet Mohammed, Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH), was prosperous as a tradesman and skilled negotiator and mediator, never lacking in anything.

Oscar Wilde, the Irish writer, poet, and prominent aesthete said that, ‘when I was young I used to think that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know it is.’ Indeed, even love needs love. It is a wise man who once wrote that, ‘love is not a necklace, or bumper sticker to be displayed; love must be proved, and it takes money to express love.’

Money, though not everything is an important part of everything; THE most important part of everything. William Sommerset, the English playwright, novelist and short story writer was right, ‘Money is like a sixth sense - and you cannot make use of the other five without it’. And Pablo Picasso, the great Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor, understood it, as he

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wrote, ‘I would like to live as a poor man with lots of money.’ George Clason wrote that ‘Wealth is power. With wealth many things are possible.’

Money Gives Financial Freedom!

To be rich is to be financially free. Financial freedom is independence from working for money. It is that state of being able to sit back, and money comes to sustain me and my family and dependants. Being rich is hence a state of complete freedom. When I am rich, I do not have to work, and even if I work, I work because I want to, and not because I have to. This is called financial independence; financial freedom; and ultimately, personal freedom and personal independence. This is the reason why 99% of the world population work.

The rich do not feel compelled to work at a job. The more money they have gives them more options. Mark Cuban says, ‘When you have a lot of money, you can afford to take chances.’ The rich have the money to do for them the things they want to be done. This leaves them with time in their hands to do the things they love to do, not the things they do not love doing. Indeed, being rich is to have both money and time. The rich have both. They live at the top. And my good friend, Kamau Gikuru, once challenged me that, ‘the top is never crowded, why not be there?’

When I can do the following, then I financially free; I am rich:

1) I can give to help the needy, whether directly or indirectly; as tithe or charity; or through the church, mosque, temple or any charity organization like Red Cross, etc.;

2) I own My House, so that I do not have to pay rent every month, or pay mortgage every so often. I only need to pay home insurance and other taxes, to secure my house in case of a calamity;

3) I am Saving to Invest in various assets, which earn me income;4) I Entertain myself and my family every so often, as frequently as I

want, including going for vacations, buying gifts, club membership fees, hobbies, etc;

5) I am able to pay for Education, both personal and for children, including seminars, talent development programs and education plan etc;

6) I am able to eat nutritious Food prepared on appropriate kitchen appliances and wares, etc;

7) I have my own means of Transport & Communication, which includes vehicle insurance;

8) I have presentable Clothes and am able to afford good personal hygiene standards, including leg wear, sprays, jewellery and bathroom materials, etc;

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9) I have standard Household items, including furniture and fixtures;10) I have an Emergency fund, which will be able to pay for health and

life insurance, since disease can and will strike at anytime; and death, however certain, is always an emergency.

Having money will give me financial freedom, that dream of financial independence which is shared by all human beings, but is only lived by 1% of the world’s population. Henry David Thoreau, the American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist rightly noted that, ‘the majority of men lead lives of quiet desperation’. Out of every hundred people, only one is financially free. Marx Grucho, the American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit tells about the power of money when he said that, ‘Money frees me from doing things I dislike.’ Mark Cuban, the American internet billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks-an NBA basketball team-, owner of Landmark Theatres, and Chairman of HDNet, an HDTV cable network, says that, ‘I have the money. I can do what I want, when I want.’ Since the rich have their money working for them; they have the time to follow other things.

Truly, money gives options. Having money will make me live by the Golden rule as was declared by 'Buzzie' Bavasi, ‘Those who have the gold make the rules.’ The Jews have a proverb which agrees with Bavasi. It goes thus: ‘with money in your pocket, you are wise and you are handsome and you sing well, too’. Donald Trump concurs when he says that, ‘The problem of being very rich is that you can get anything you want.’

Anyone Can Be Rich!

Money is good. I deserve to be rich. Anyone can be rich. There are women who are rich, and men who are rich. There are single parents who are rich, and married people who are rich. There are thin people who are rich, and fat people who are rich. Indeed, there are professionals, be they lawyers, teachers, or engineers, who are rich, and other professionals in the same trade, who are poor. Yes, there are black people who are rich, and white people who are rich. Indeed, amongst the residents of a particular town, city or village, there is a rich person, and of course, a poor person. All these confirm one important truth; ANYONE CAN BE RICH!

Wallace D. Wattles, the American author, confirms that being rich is a result of certain actions precisely carried out when he writes that, ‘There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws are learned and obeyed by anyone, that

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person will get rich with mathematical certainty.’ George Clason, the author of the classical book The Richest Man in Babylon, wrote that; ‘Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws which govern its acquisition.’

Today, I will be perfectly honest to myself with regard to money and to the amount I want to acquire in life. 'Zig' Ziglar taught that, ‘anyone who says he is not interested in money will lie about other things as well’. Pretending that I do not care about money when I really do will only make me unhappy. The old maxim is appropriate, ‘you lie the loudest when you lie to yourself.’

I will write the amount of money I want to acquire; the date I want to acquire it; and what I wish to give in return to acquire it. Today, I will think of all the things that I could do to increase the amount I earn and the amount I keep. Money is an expression of value, when I create value, the universe naturally reciprocates with money. Thomas Edison was right when he wrote that, ‘accumulation of money cannot be left to chance, fortune and good luck. One must realize that all who have accumulated great fortunes first did a great amount of dreaming, desiring, and planning before they acquired the money’. Choice, not chance, determines destiny. I agree with Alexander the Great when he commented that, ‘I am the captain of my ship and the master of my destiny.’

Today, I Will Be Financially Literate & Intelligent!

Financial literacy is the financial knowledge that enables me child to confidently make informed and effective decisions on how to acquire, manage and use my money. The knowledge includes both information and experience. I can get this financial information in any of the three ways of getting education, that is, through formal education, apprenticeship or personal reading and self-coaching; and I have to amass experience and horn my skills by applying the information I so learn in daily experiences. This mix of information and experience is what creates true knowledge. Al Maktoum, the businessman and adventurous Prince of Brunei was precise when he quipped that, ‘we do not become rich by being stupid about money.’ Indeed, as Iwrite in my other book, Making My Child Financially Intelligent: Money Lessons by Age Grup (from 4-18 years), ‘it is not smart to be stupid about money.’

Financial intelligence is the ability to apply my financial knowledge to maximize my assets and income and minimize my liabilities and expenses. Intelligence is the gainful application of knowledge. The Buddhists are right, ‘to know, and not to use, is not yet to know’. Financial intelligence helps me to understand how financial systems work, and use them to my advantage to increase the amount of money I earn

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and keep; to become rich and financially independent and free. When I am financially intelligent, I will be able to maximize my assets and minimize my liabilities. The foundation of financial intelligence, or financial IQ, is education; financial education, also called financial literacy.

Today I will read about how to make money, how to save money, how to spend money, and how to invest money to bring more money. I will read about insurance investing and about special funds for investment. I will feed my mind from morning to evening with words, pictures, information and ideas consistent with my goals for financial success. A wonderful book on how to become financially literate and intelligent is Ojijo’s Making My Child Financially Intelligent: Money Lessons by Age Group (from 4-18 yrs)

Investing is the key to building wealth, but investing in and of itself is not enough. I have to invest wisely! I do not need to be a financial expert to invest, but I do need to learn some basic terminology and concepts so that I am better equipped to make informed decisions. I MUST learn the various investment vehicles and instruments. Reading books written by successful investors or reading through investment websites like Investopedia (www.investopedia.com), are great starting points.

Today, I will read about investment. Investment is the commitment of money or capital to purchase financial instruments or other assets in order to gain profitable returns in form of interest, income, or appreciation of the value of the instrument. People invest because they want to increase their personal freedom, sense of security and ability to afford the things they want in life. Investing allows us to take the money we have saved, and grow it, by creating our own financial portfolio.  Investing is about making my money work for me. There are many different ways I can go about making an investment. Indeed, there are a wide variety of different types of investment products and new ones are emerging all the time.  

Investment is about acquiring assets. Such assets are then used for generating income. Today, I will seek to buy assets. Assets will bring me income.

There are many different ways I can go about making an investment. There are a wide variety of different types of investment products and new ones are emerging all the time.   These options are referred to as "investment vehicles," or “investment products”, which is just another way of saying "a way to invest." Each of these investments is something I purchase or place my money into in return for the interest that is generated over time and paid back to me.  These vehicles are grouped according to the type of asset invested in. There are nine general categories of such investment vehicles; and they are divided into three broad categories, namely,

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Personal Development/Self-Help; Traditional Assets; and Alternative Assets:

1. Personal Development/Self-Help, which is the greatest form of investment, involves engaging in activities which enable me to identify & develop my talents and skills; realize my potential; and achieve my dreams & aspirations so as to enhance the quality of my life and contribute to the community. Two guides to personal development are Ojijo’s The Gift of E11even Moves to Make Me Wealthy, which teaches me the eleven areas that I need to develop to enjoy the complete and wealthy lifestyle, which are health, relationships, riches/money, career, adventure, happiness, dreams & goals, positive attitude, controlling the day, helping people and being peaceful); and Ojijo’s Guide to Identify & Develop My Talent, My Profession & My Career.

The traditional assets/investment products include,

1. Financial Instruments, also called securities, are a real (hard copy) or virtual (electronic) documents representing a legal agreement/contract involving a monetary value. They include those which indicate that someone owes me money (Debt Instruments/Bonds), or that I own part of some business process (Equity Instruments/Shares), or cash investment, whose values are determined directly by the market (Bank Deposits/Bank Accounts) or those that which are linked to a specific asset or indicator/variable and are used to trade financial risks (Financial Derivatives- options, futures, forwards and swaps). A practical book to read for further knowledge in investing in financial assets is Ojijo’s Guide to Financial Instruments & Financial Investment.

Alternative Assets, which are assets other than traditional investments (stocks, bonds or cash). A practical book to read for further knowledge in fixed asset investing is Ojijo’s Guide to Alternative Investments (Property/Fixed Assets, Insurance, Forex, Private Equity, Collective Investment Schemes, Collectibles & Commodities). Alternative assets include;

1. Collective Investment Scheme (CIS), is a pool of money from various investors for investing in various assets. It can be a professional scheme, managed by handled by an individual, fund manager, group, bank, or company, called investment company, and such professionally managed schemes can be closed-ended (limited number of shares issued once), open ended /mutual funds (open for new investors to buy shares). A practical book for identifying and investing in investment companies is Ojijo’s Guide to Alternative Investments (Property/Fixed Assets, Insurance, Forex, Private Equity, Collective Investment Schemes, Collectibles & Commodities). Collective Investment Schemes can also be self-managed by the members pooling the resources together, called investment clubs, which allow members to also learn and network. A practical book to read for further knowledge in forming, joining and running an investment club is Ojijo’s Investments Clubs Manual.

2. Property/Fixed Assets, which includes long-term tangible/physical assets (such as machinery, land, buildings, equipments, vehicles), or intangible/technological asset, which is a tool, technique, craft, system or

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method of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose. Technology Assets can also be in software or computer application form, in which case they are called Information Technology/IT Assets (commonly referred to as software).

3. Collectibles, which are objects regarded as being of value or interest, either because they are old/antiques, or they are specially manufactured to be collectibles, including art, antiques, coins and stamps;

4. Commodities, which are naturally occurring/raw/primary products, and include agricultural products, also called soft commodities (soya, grains, vegetables, etc); energy products (oil, gas, electricity and green energy); base metals (copper, aluminum, iron, etc); and precious minerals (gold, silver, diamond, uranium, palladium and platinum.

5. Private Equity, which involves injecting working capital to start-up or operating private companies and owning equity/shares for a period until returns are collected and is done by venture capital firms, private equity funds or angel investors through leveraged buyouts, venture capital, growth capital, distressed investments and/or mezzanine capital;

6. Insurance Assets, which are insurance products that have both a protection as well as an investment component such as endowment plans, pension plans and investment bonds; and

7. Forex Investments, involves is trading currencies from different countries against each other. The foreign exchange market, which is usually known as "forex" or "FX," is the largest financial market in the world.

It does not matter which method I choose for investing my money, the goal is always to put my money to work so it earns me an additional profit. Even though this is a simple idea; it is the most important concept for me to understand.

Each of these investments is something I purchase or place my money into in return for the interest that is generated over time and paid back to me.  These vehicles are grouped according to the type of asset invested in.

To invest and become rich, I will read about the lifestyles of the rich and how they make money and invest their money. Success is personal, and so today I will read the personal accounts of those who are successful! I will watch TV or movies about those with a lot of money, the rich and extravagant. I will read about them and their houses and villas; their parties and past time. I will understand their history, their challenges, their businesses and their investments. I will read Forbes, Barron's, the Wall Street Journal, the New Yorker, and The Economist. I will watch CNBC, a goldmine of investment information. I will read about their investments and know their fixed assets and their securities. I will look at where the rich people shop, how they shop and what they shop. I will

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read about the well-to-do in the world and in my country. And as I read about the rich, I will think about how I could be like them. I will visualize myself, imagine, fantasize, and pretend in my mind, that I am like the kind of people that I admire and respect and want to be like. ‘To believe in the heroic makes heroes.’ wrote Benjamin Disraeli.

Being rich is a matter of choice. Being rich is a matter of daily personal choice. With every dollar that gets into my hands, I have the power to choose to be rich or poor. If I choose to be rich, I must learn to acquire assets, real assets, not liabilities. Indeed, every morning when I wake up, I decide to be rich or poor, and act according to that decision. The poor are escapists, they are broke, they cannot save, they cannot invest, and they cannot become rich. Raila Amollo Odinga, the Kenyan Prime Minister who saved the country from the labyrinth of corruption and mass disillusionment and positioned the country for first world development was right when he said that the poor are circular in their reasoning, always looking for someone to blame. According to Raila, and rightly so, the poor will argue thus, ‘we are poor therefore we cannot save, we cannot save therefore we cannot invest, we cannot invest therefore we cannot develop, we cannot develop, hence we are poor.’

Today, I have the time, and I can learn. I just need to choose to use my time to learn about being rich. I need to use my time to read about being rich. I have my mind, the most powerful tool that I possess and have dominion over. And I have the power to choose what I put in my brain. I can decide to listen to music or watch movies, or watch MTN, or read about investing and owning assets.

The poor reading culture about money is why only 1% of the population is rich. I must join this small percentage that buys books and reads about being rich. Today, I will read about shares, stocks and stock options. I will read about securities and special funds. Robert T. Kiyosaki rightly teaches that, ‘readers are leaders, and leaders are readers’. I will read about investing in fixed assets and securities, including government securities. If I want to fly an airplane, and land safely, I have to learn how to fly planes before I get to the cockpit.

Today, I Will Save and Start Acquiring Assets!

How do I start investing money?  The key to investing is savings. An effective savings strategy coupled with a smart investing strategy will help me to meet my financial goals. Every dollar saved now helps me to control my current consumption by which the size of the income that I think will be required for retirement is lowered. Also, through the power of annual compounding, it increases the size of the nest egg I will have for

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retirement. Saving money is one of the necessary requirements of building wealth.  No matter how much I make, my income must exceed my expenses if I am ever to build wealth. 

Today, out of every amount of money I earn, I will save 10% and invest it. Saving what I earn is the first step to acquiring assets. In his masterpiece, The Richest Man in Babylon, George Clason, the soldier, businessman and writer, advises income earners thus; ‘pay yourself first.’ To save is to pay myself. Savings are used to create more money, not to pay bills. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a noted polymath, a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier, and diplomat was right, ‘A penny saved is a penny earned.’ This is one area where the Universal Law of Accumulation works.

Every large fortune is an accumulation of hundreds and thousands of small amounts of money. When I begin to save money, it sets up a force field of energy and it triggers the Universal Law of attraction. Money always works hard to make more money. Each dollar is a great employee, willing to make even more dollars and more employees. As a result I begin to attract to me even more bits of money to add to my savings.

After saving, I will invest my savings. I will first invest, and then use the rest of the money to satisfy my expenses. The rich buy luxuries last, while the poor buy luxuries first. The poor buy luxuries to look rich, but in reality, they stink poverty, debt and arrears. The rich build their assets first, and then they enjoy the returns by purchasing luxuries. The poor buy luxuries with their own sweat, while the rich buy luxuries from the dividends and profits coming out of their investments. A true luxury is the reward of investing.

Today, to start saving for investments, I will live below my means first, and then when I get rich, I will expand my means. I will aim to spend less money than I make. Paul Clitheroe, the Australian television presenter, financial analyst and advisor, was quoted saying that, ‘There are plenty of ways to get ahead. The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it: spend less than you earn.’ This is the most fundamental rule of wealth generation; I should ‘spend less than I earn’, or ‘earn more than I spend.’

To invest is to purchase an asset (something that has value that will produce income or appreciate in value and when liquidated, will realize more than was spent in acquiring it). Robert Kiyosaki taught that, ‘to invest is to mind my own business.’ To become rich and financially secure, I need to mind my own business; I need to invest. I need to have my own business. Without my own business, I have no financial foundation. And without financial foundation, I will cling to my job. Without an investment, I will

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have to play it safe. Indeed, no matter what I am today, I also need to be an investor. A teacher, and an investor. A lawyer, and an investor. A driver, and an investor. I must invest. It is the only way to control my financial future, and become financially free.

Without my own business, my own assets, Robert Toru Kiyosaki warns that I will always find myself crying, ‘I need a job’, ‘if only I had a promotion’, ‘I am just going back to school to get more training so I can get a better job’, ‘I need to work overtime’, ‘I plan to quit, I found a better job’. A job is not secure. When I run short of income, I become broke, and I have to sell my personal assets, and this is not safe. I should start minding my own business. I should keep up my daytime job, but start accumulating assets. These assets will bring me income, and this will make me rich. Then I will be on the highway to financial freedom.

The only way to be rich is to have assets. King Solomon knew it several millennia ago when he wrote, ‘the rich man’s strength is in his city’. The rich man’s city is his assets. The rich do not work for money. The rich work to build assets that will make money work for them. They protect him from pestilence of poverty. All rich people have assets. Whether they inherited it, created it, or (God forbid) stole it, they all have assets. Assets leverage time and effort, so that money comes passively, even when someone is not working.

To leverage time is to stop exchanging time for money. Today, I will stop exchanging my time for money, since one day, when it is not possible to change my time for money, due to emergencies or other reasons, my income will stop.

To leverage my efforts I will stop exchanging my effort for money. Today, I will stop exchanging my direct effort for income, since when I finally run out of energy, due to ill health, age or other reasons, then my income will stop, then I will not have money; then I will be poor.

This is what it means to leverage my time and effort for money. I leverage my effort and time by making my money to work for me. This is called investment. Investment is the science of money making money. Investment is the only tested and proven system which works for the rich.

There are many different ways I can go about making an investment. There are a wide variety of different types of investment products and new ones are emerging all the time.   These options are referred to as "investment vehicles," which is just another way of saying "a way to invest." Each of these investments is something I purchase or place my money into in return for the interest or capital appreciation that is generated over time

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and paid back to me.  These vehicles are grouped according to the type of asset invested in.

There are eight general categories of such investment vehicles, based on eight categories of assets as classified below:

€ Self-Investment, which is the greatest form of investment, involves personal development and is realized through engaging in regular activities to develop myself as a wholesome, complete and balanced individual. A practical guide to developing these areas of my life is elucidated in Ojijo’s My Gift of E11even Moves to Make Me Wealthy, which teaches me the eleven areas that I need to develop and become wealthy. These areas are my personal health, relationships, riches, career, adventure, happiness, dreams & goals, positive attitude, controlling the day, helping people and being peaceful).

€ Fixed Assets, which include landed property, real estates and property development. This is done in the real estate markets. A practical book to read for further knowledge in investing in real estate is Ojijo’s Guide to Real Estate Investment.

€ Commodities, which are raw or primary products, and include soft commodities, also called agricultural commodities (soya, grains, vegetables, etc); energy products (oil, gas, electricity and green energy); base metals, (copper, aluminum, iron, etc); and precious minerals (gold, silver, diamond, uranium, palladium and platinum). This is done in the commodity markets. A practical book to read for further knowledge in commodities is Ojijo’s Guide to Commodity Investment.

€ Financial Instruments, also called securities, are a real (hard copy) or virtual (electronic) documents representing a legal agreement involving some sort of monetary value. They indicate that someone owes me money (debt instruments), or that I own part of some business process (equity instruments), or a cash investment, like in bank accounts and money market accounts. They also include derivatives, (options, futures and swaps) which are instruments whose values are determined by the expected future price movements of the asset it is linked to. This is done in the financial markets. A practical book to read for further knowledge in investing in financial instruments is Ojijo’s Guide to Financial Investments.

€ Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), which are ways of investing money with others to participate in a wider range of investments than feasible for an individual investor. It can be a professional scheme, called investment companies (closed-end funds, mutual funds and unit trusts); or it may be self-managed by the group (investment clubs). The pooling of resources from many investors allows professional management in the former case and learning and networking in the latter case. This is done in the financial markets. A practical book to read for further knowledge in forming, joining and running an investment club is Ojijo’s Investments Clubs Manual, whereas a great book in identifying and investing in funds, mutual funds and unit trusts is Ojijo’s Guide to Financial Investments.

€ Insurance Investments, which includes purchasing insurance products which have both a protection as well as an investment component. This is done in the insurance markets. A practical book to read for further knowledge in insurance investing and insurance generally; is Ojijo’s Guide to Insurance & Insurance Investments.

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€ Alternative Investments, which include investment products other than traditional investments such as stocks, bonds or cash. They include private equity, limited partnerships and collectors’ items, including wine, art and antiques. A practical guide to understanding alternative investments is Ojijo’s Guide to Financial Investments; and Ojijo’s Guide to Entrepreneurship & Raising Capital.

€ Forex Investments, which is investing in the currency market, involves purchasing, holding and selling foreign currencies. This is done in the forex markets. A practical guide to understanding the forex or currency markets and forex investments is Ojijo’s Guide to Forex & Currency Investments.

It does not matter which method I choose for investing my money, the goal is always to put my money to work so it earns me an additional profit. Even though this is a simple idea; it is the most important concept for me to understand.

Today, I will start investing in securities, fixed assets, special funds and certain forms of insurance which act as long term investments and of course, in myself. The more I invest the more money I will get to re-invest. Robert Kiyosaki says of the power of investing, ‘I have a problem with too much money. I can't reinvest it fast enough, and because I reinvest it, more money comes in. Yes, the rich do get richer.’

Today, like the rich, I will invest in mutual funds; stocks and stock options, shares, notes, royalties, bonds and other forms of government securities. I will ask after and open a mutual fund for my savings; it pays better than saving in fixed deposit or saving accounts in a bank, and is more secure. Investing in assets is a business that does not require me to be physically present, but that is managed or run by other people. This is what it means to mind my own business. If I have to be there to do the work, then I have a job or career or profession, not a business. This is the difference between my business, and my job.

To start acquiring assets today, I will be guided by the enduring words of Martin Luther King Jnr., the American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement, who encouraged his faithful to, ‘Take the first step in faith. You do not have to see whole staircase, just take the first step.’ I should take time and know that everything takes work and focus.

And when my heart becomes impatient and eager to acquire riches immediately, following quick fix solutions, or pyramid schemes, I will be reminded of Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer, who cautioned that, ‘He who wishes to be rich in a day, will be hanged in a year.’

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Today, I Will Plan for (Financial) Emergencies!

Life is uncertain and risky, indeed, to the vast populations of the world; life is short, snappish and very brutal. Tuition fees are elusive and always increasing; hospital expenses and treatment costs are high and disease can strike anytime. Food prices are on the roof and adventure and fun is prohibitively expensive. Life is full of accidents, all of which are hard to pre-determine. The only certain thing in life is death. Every other thing is uncertain and can occur anytime, even now. Consequently, most people avoid risks and subsequently fail to change their lifestyles for the better, accepting their comfortable positions, however unsatisfying; not knowing that even that ‘comfortable’ status can change anytime, for the worse! There is an old saying that ‘the only thing that does not change is change itself.’

Life is very uncertain, but should I allow this uncertainty of life to prevent me from taking risky and daring adventures which have the potential to change my life? No. Helen Keller, the motivational speaker who was also the first blind, deaf and dumb to obtain a degree, wrote that, ‘life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.’ I will take precautions, but my life will be lived today, now.

Today, I will secure my life against accidents which might threaten my ability to provide for my family and loved ones through life insurance. I will get life insurance.

Today, I will secure the health of my family so that in the unfortunate but very likely event that disease strikes, my family is secure under medical insurance. I will get comprehensive health insurance cover.

Today, I will insure my future financial security and children’s education through education insurance and mutual funds.

Today, I will venture in long term; big time, financial security through mutual funds, certificates of deposit, treasury bills and bonds so that after some time, I will be able to have a lump sum to invest in a business of my choice.

The insurance and security in these aspects of my life will enable me to risk and venture in likely and probable ventures with high potential for returns but which I would not have ventured into due to the risk and lack of security and certainty.

Today, I Will Think & Act Like an Entrepreneur!

When I have positive, money making thoughts, I will start thinking like an entrepreneur, I will develop, as Rockefeller said, ‘the art of finding

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profitable solutions to problems’. Every successful entrepreneur, every successful businessperson, is the person who has been able to identify a problem and come up with a solution to it before somebody else did. Mark Cuban once said that, ‘A useful definition of an entrepreneur is a dreamer who does.’ Indeed, an entrepreneur does not think of how to be an entrepreneur, rather, an entrepreneur sees the opportunity to become an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur sees the gap; the problem; the challenge, and finds a solution to the same; a profitable solution.

All successful entrepreneurs practice the art of ‘finding a need and filling it’, said Henry Ross Perot, the American businessman. When he was working for IBM, he noted that his customers, who were buying IBM computers, needed help in processing their data. He went to IBM with this idea and they said they were not interested, so he founded Perot Systems in 1988 and Perot Systems was bought by Dell for $3.9 billion in 2009. He found a need and he filled it. Today, I will seek to find a need and fill it. Finding a problem and solving it is a rule of entrepreneurs.

A secretary working for a small company began mixing flour with nail varnish in order to white out the mistakes she was making in her typing. Pretty soon, her friends in the same office asked if she could make some for them. So she began mixing it on her kitchen table. Then, people in other offices started asking for it, and she eventually quit her business and worked full time creating what is today called Liquid Paper. A few years ago, she sold her company to Gillette Corporation for 47 million dollars. Today, I will find a problem and solve it.

When I start thinking like an entrepreneur, I will begin finding solutions to problems. I will find a way to supply a product or a service better, cheaper, faster and economically. Clemmons Wilson saw that there was a need for hotels that could accommodate families that were traveling, and he started Holiday Inns. Have you heard about Holiday Inns? It is one of the most successful hotel chains in the world.

An entrepreneur is a resourceful person. Today, to become an entrepreneur, I will seek to be resourceful. I will be a person with imagination, initiative, and fresh ideas. Because of my many plans, projects and creative ideas, I will feel a kinship with Victor Hugo, who said, "I need a thousand years to do what I have in mind." An entrepreneur is ever conscious of the Biblical warning: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Likewise, he is fully confident that where there is vision, originality and resourcefulness on his part, his efforts will ultimately bear fruit. An entrepreneur agrees with Thomas Edison that, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

Today, I will also learn about entrepreneurship. To become a successful entrepreneur, I should know the importance of a business plan, and learn

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to write one up. The business plan is the document that states what the business will sell and at what price, where it will sell, when it will sell it, how it will sell it, how it will obtain the item to be sold, and the value that it will give to the clients, and to me as the business owner. Part of the business plan should include market research, to confirm that if there actually is a need for the product or service I plan on selling.  The plan will also answer whether I have the necessary financial resources to start the business, and if not, how I intend to raise the money. A practical resource for understanding business finances is Ojijo’s My Guide to Entreprenuership & Raising Capital. Indeed, there are two things I must have; that every man must have; money and ideas. The poor are poor because they have neither ideas, nor money!

Today, to think and act like an entrepreneur, I will need to learn how to write up and read the three financial statements of a business, namely;

¥ Balance Sheet, which shows on the left side, the assets, and on the right side, the source of such assets, that is, the debts and the equity of the company.

¥ Cash Flow Statement, which shows exactly when money is coming in, and for what purpose, being investing, financing and operations.

¥ Income Statement, which shows the revenues, expenses and profits of the company for a certain period of time.

Today, I Will Create My Money Making System!

To be rich, I must have a money making system. There are four classes of people in the world. Of these, the rich ones are the ones with the money making system. These are noted below in The Ojijo Human Freedom Quadrant.

The Ojijo Human Freedom Quadrant

The first class has neither time nor money. They are busy & broke. They are the small business owners and the employees. Both work for money and

Busy & BrokeNo Time; No Money

Employees & Self-EmployedTime; No Money

Idlers

No Time; MoneyTop Executives; Senior

Politicians

Free PeopleTime; Money

Investors

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for security. The employee’s core value is job security. They do all things possible to secure their jobs. In the end, they give their employers all their time and their effort, and get little money, leaving them with no time and always broke; for eternity on a rat race. The self employee’s core value is doing it themselves. They believe they can earn more that way. They end up working long hours with little rest and almost no time for their families and other social obligations. They become prisoners of their own self built cages, and they end up having neither time nor money. I do not want to be like them.

The second class has time but not money. These are the idlers, and I do not even want to be associated with them. They do not deserve to take any more space in this serious book.

Then there are those who have money but no time. This is the third classification of people. They are the key politicians and the very busy businessmen and top executives. They have all the money but are constantly busy, left with no time to be with people. They earn a lot, and are given promotions, but they pay with working overtime, till late in the night and over weekends. To them, their work is their life. They receive phone calls at home, they fire and hire employees on holidays, and their best jokes are about their office work. Who wishes to be like them? Not me.

I want to have both time and money. I deserve time and money. The fourth class of people falls in this category. They are the 1% who have both time and money. They mind their own businesses. They invest. They look for a problem, and devise way of solving the problem in such a way that they get paid, and then they institutionalize the solution into a corporation. They are entrepreneurs. They have big companies which employ people, and they have their money being invested in big companies, stocks and shares, bonds, notes and mutual funds; all to bring them more money. They create a system.

This is The System, the Money Making System. The rich have their money working for them. Their core value is to create systems through big businesses which bring them money. The investors are the truly rich. They have both time and money. They have their money running their organizations and they do not have to be involved even minutely in the affairs of business. Their core value is freedom. They are few and rare in public. They live life. And so must I.

To be in this class, I must use money to get money. I must risk my money in the initial deal, the initial asset. If I am afraid of losing money, I will never make money. Every rich man has lost money sometime. It is like so in every form of life pursuit. There is no golfer who never lost a golf ball. All lovers have had a heart break. No child walked without stumbling and

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falling. As the Texans wonder, ‘How comes everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die?’ I wish to remember the invaluable advice of John Davison, the American oil magnate who founded the Standard Oil Company, ‘I turned almost every disaster into an opportunity.’ The rich are not afraid to lose money. They are afraid to lose an opportunity. Most people dream of being rich but they have never lost money. They will never get to heaven.

Today, I will start my shift from the class of idlers, employees and self employed, where I work for security and for money, to the class of big business owners and investors, where my money works for me; where people work for me. Rev. Michael Beckwith, the African-American, New Thought minister and founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City, California, a New Thought church with a congregation estimated in excess of 8,000 members encourages me in The Secret that, ‘you can start with nothing, and out of nothing, out of no way, a way shall be made’.

My business will start with acquiring the first asset, and slowly an asset will attract another asset, and more assets. Money has energy of its own and it is largely attracted to people who treat it well. Money flows toward those people who can use it in the most productive ways to produce valuable goods and services, and who can invest it to create employment and opportunities that benefit others. In contrast, money flows away from those who use it poorly. Money turns to nothingness for those who spend it in non-productive ways. And when I finally get financial independence, I will say like Mark Twain, ‘I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.’

Assets are my best bet to be rich. There are six ways of becoming rich, and they all depend on acquiring assets. To acquire an asset, I can inherit it; marry into it; win it, through lottery and gambling or games and competitions; borrow it; create it; or God forbid, steal it. Either way, assets are the answer. And money is the primary asset. Once a dollar becomes my asset, it becomes my employee. And the best thing about money is that it is an employee that works twenty-four/seven, all day and all night, all week and all year long. Money, as my employee, will work infinitely, endlessly, for generations.

Assets are an avenue to earn more money for me, a source of residual income. Once the system is created, money will come, after all, ‘money is attracted, not pursued.’ Indeed, money runs towards more money; and away from where there is little money. Benjamin Franklin captured this well in his celebrated quote; "money makes money, and the money that money makes, makes more money."

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Today, focusing and minding my own business will give me the purpose to work harder and become a better employee since the harder I work, the more I earn; and the more I can invest in my assets. I will work harder so that I can accumulate more assets within the shortest time. If I want to stop being an employee, I must work harder, not less. As I invest, I will protect some of my assets by investing in more stable investments like gold and treasury bonds. I will look to create as much passive income as I can for myself. I will strive to have investments like real estate, royalties, inventions, websites, and products, all of which earn money every month.

HOW will I create my money making system today?

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After investing in, keeping and building my assets, I will be ready to create or join a system that makes money. This system takes the form of a corporation, a legal entity, a registered business that will reduce my taxes and organize my money so that I pay as less taxes and take home as much benefit, legally. A corporation will wrap its wins around my assets so that when I earn, I spend first before I am taxed, instead of being taxed before I spend. I will start building a company or I will join a company as owner or partner. The company is the system.

Once the system is created, money comes easily and frequently. A corporation will be my pipeline; a system that will bring on-going income such that as long as the ‘water’ flows through, I will be earning. The rich have pipelines, no wonder the saying goes, ‘the rich get richer.’ A corporation is the system which will make it possible for people to work for me, so that I can leverage off their effort and their time to be rich. Paul Getty, the American billionaire and industrialist, said ‘I would rather have 1% of 100 people than 100% of my own strength’. An unknown author agrees that, ‘it is better to train ten people to work for me, than to do the work of ten people, but it is harder’. I need to do the hard work of building the system today, so that tomorrow, I will just earn.

A corporation is a system that can be inherited by my loved ones so that there is security in my life and my family, whatever happens. And the Bible says of worldly possessions, ‘A good man leaves inheritance to his children’. It is a system that can bring me money even when I retire and

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stop working. A system that is self sustaining and that will run without me. With such a system, ‘success will never be final.’

This corporation, this system, allows me to make countless sales, over and over again, which I would not make if I was working as an individual. It allows me to make repeat sales, without working anymore, by leveraging my effort and time. And as Praise George, the Nigerian writer rightly noted, ‘every rich person sells something.’ It allows me the time to do deals. It frees me from relying on wages, salaries and fees. In fact, one of the fundamental truths about getting rich is that, ‘wealth comes from doing deals, not from earning wages, salaries, or fees.’

I need to find a system and join it, a networking system, a company, or an organization. But I if cannot find one, then I must found one. Hannibal, the Great Military Legend and Carthaginian military commander and tactician inspired his troops to victory all the time using his philosophy that, ‘we must find a way, or create one’. I need to form a company, build an organization, and employ people, so that I have more hours than ordinarily, and then I can leverage my time and effort, and then I can be truly financially free.

Today, I will remind myself that if I love my career or job so much, I should let it give me financial freedom. I should make my business out of it. Roman Abramovich, the Russian businessman and owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC, said of football, ‘I love this game, I love this sport, and I love this league. Why don't I get my own team?’ and today, he owns Chelsea Football Club.