ANYBODY CAN BE A MILLIONAIRE!
Not too long ago, a middle-aged man who spent many years of his life in poverty had the opportunity to move into a $4-million dollar palatial house that looked very modern, beautiful and magnificent. When the electrician who was called to connect the meter arrived at the house, he asked for an opportunity to be taken round the entire mansion.
Whilst going round, the young man observed and appreciated the fine furniture in all the rooms, the two large swimming pools in and outside the big living hall, the modern interior decor and the three posh cars parked in the remote-controlled garages of this magnificent mansion and said, “I think it would be great to live in such a great house. But I don’t think I would ever have the opportunity to live in such a big house and drive such posh cars before I die.”
When the owner of the house heard this, he smiled, put his hands around the shoulders of the electrician and said, “Anybody can become a millionaire and I am a living proof of that. My life was a real mess some few years ago until I discovered the keys to financial success and the rest of my story is what you see here today.” What keys did this man use to turn around his life? What did he do to unlock his greatest potential? There is hope for everybody! Why am I making this assertion?
A true story is told of a boy who was born to a family in Norway many decades ago. When he was two years old, he contracted polio. His legs got withered and shriveled up. And because doctors in those days knew very little about polio they could not help him to walk. His parents took him home, built a wooden box and confined him to it. Everybody thought he would never walk again because “the doctors said so”.
But as the years rolled by, he unbelievable proved the doctors and everybody wrong. He first learnt to crawl, and then stood up on his weak, hopeless and wobbly legs. Eventually, he learnt to walk and got out of the wooden box he was confined to. And not only did he walk on his hopeless legs, but also grew up to become one of the wealthiest personalities to walk on the surface of this earth. The Seattle Space Needle was developed and built on his property. What was his secret? What changed his life? What was his name anyway? Gunder Birkeland.
Many people have heard about the name Thomas Edison. Many people know that he was a great inventor and one of the richest scientists who ever walked on the surface of this earth. Most people even know that he was the one who invented the motion-picture camera.
Nevertheless, many people do not know that he was never a science scholar. He never attended any university or college. The truth is he never spent more than three months in a formal classroom. He was considered so dull in school that his class teacher sent him home one day with a note to the mother saying, “The only thing I believe Edison can do is to work on the farm.”
“IF WE ALL DID ALL THE THINGS WE ARE
CAPABLE OF DOING, WE WILL LITERALLY
ASTOUND OURSELVES.
-Thomas Alva Edison
However, he grew up and became one of the greatest inventors and scientists this world has ever known. In his lifetime, he invented and patented over 1000 inventions including the electric bulb. Today, General Electric, one of the companies he founded employs over 300,000 people and has total assets of more than $790 billion. What was his secret? What keys did he use to unlock his genius? There is hope for everybody!
NOTHING IS INDEED IMPOSSIBLE
When young Monty Roberts was a senior in high school, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up. He became excited because that was all one opportunity he had been waiting for. That night, he wrote a seven-page paper, describing his dreams of owning a horse ranch, a vision he had incubated since his childhood.
To convince his teacher, he wrote about his dream in great detail. He drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch showing the location of all the building, the storehouses, the stables and even the tracks. He also drew a detailed floor plan for a 4000-squarefoot house that he would build on his 200-acre ranch.
All throughout the night he visualized and put a great deal of his heart into the project. The next day he woke up early and after his routine preparation set out to hand the project to the teacher, with smiles and pride. However two days later, he received his project work back. And to his utter amazement, the front page of the paper was a large F with a note that read, "See me after class." He was disappointed and demoralized. What did he do wrong? What was wrong with his dreams? These were some of the thoughts that rushed through his mind throughout the whole day.
In order to satisfy his restlessness, he went to see the teacher after class and with a straight and a curious tone asked, "What did I receive F sir?"
"This is an unrealistic dream for a young man like you”, the teacher said. “You come from a family that is barely getting by in life. You have no connections. You have no resources, no money and no capital. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay large stud fees. There is no way you can achieve this dream. Forget it. Go back and write a better work. If you will write this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade."
The young man folded the paper, turned around and headed for home. The negative words of the teacher did not only discourage him. It also made him very depressed. He spent the whole night thinking about nothing but his dreams. He discussed the issue with his father and the reply he had was, “Look, son, you have to make up your mind on this.”
After pondering over the whole issue for about a week, he turned in the same paper, without making any changes to the teacher and said, "You can keep the F and I will keep my dream."
Many years later, the young man had the opportunity to share his story with a Youth-At-Risk group in his home. And he ended his story by saying, "I'm telling you this story because you are all sitting in my 4000-square foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace." He added, "The best part of the story is that two summers ago, that same teacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.”
How did Monty Roberts achieve his dreams? How was he able to motivate himself in spite of all the negative remarks from his teacher?
A young woman by the name Catherine Hughes married and became a mother when she was still a teenager. Unfortunately, the marriage went later on rocks leaving her heart broken and saddled in debts. This made life miserable, bitter and unbearable for her for quite some time. Her worry and concern was how to survive these odds since she also had a child, her only son, to feed and take good care of but had nothing except her dreams to keep her alive. In order to break free from the shackles of her debts and personal frustrations, she decided to move against her storms and pursue her dreams unreservedly.
Today, Cathy is the chair-person of a multi-billion dollar broadcasting company that has over 70 radio stations under her umbrella. Popularly known as ‘Miss Radio’, she is currently on record as the first African-American woman to head a publicly traded company. In fact, she is not the only woman in the industry who controls that much but also one of the most powerful people in the radio industry in the world today. Currently, Radio One, her company is rated as the seventh-largest U.S. radio network and No.1 in the African-American market.
In 1995, she was granted an honorary doctorate from Sojourner Douglass College in Baltimore . In 1998, Hughes became the first woman to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Achievement in Radio Awards at its twelfth annual ceremony. In February of 2000, she was presented with the first annual Black History Hall of Fame Award. Also in 2000, Hughes was presented the National Action Network's "Keepers of the Dream" award. This award recognizes leaders whose contributions are an honor to Martin Luther King, Jnr's legacy. Hughes has also been inducted into the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame.
In January 2004, Radio One opened a television station called Television One, a national cable and satellite television network. This is the shocking story of a woman who at one point in her life had to sleep on the floor of her office with her only son since they had no place to call their home. What keys did she use to turn her life around? What was her secret? How did she overcome all the odds she found herself in? There is hope for everybody.
“GOD SEES US AS MEN AND WOMEN IN
WHOM AND THROUGH WHOM HE CAN
DO GREAT WORKS.”
-Leslie Weatherhead
What about Henry Ford? His story is still considered by many as one of the most incredible in the history of American business. By the time he was close to his 40th birthday, he had several failed businesses and was financially broke. Most of his neighbors and friends considered him as a failure and a dreamer. However, by the time he was fifty years old, he was considered as one of the most celebrated industrialists in the world.
Today, the Ford Motor Company, one of his legacies is said to be the world’s largest producer of cars and trucks combined, and one of the largest financial services worldwide. That is not bad for a boy who was raised on a farm and built his first car on his father’s farmland. What were the secrets that sky-rocketed him into such an amazing success? What did he really do to change his destiny?
Warren Buffet was born in 1930 and was a child during the Great Depression. Today he is worth over $60 billion. George Soros was born in the same year and also experienced the Great Depression, World War II and the Holocaust. Presently he is said to be a billionaire. Carl Cahn was born in 1936. At a point in his life he had to sell his own car to feed himself. Currently he is worth several billion of dollars. How did they do it? What principles did they use to achieve their financial dreams? Can their principles be modeled by other people who are struggling in debts and locked in the quagmire of poverty?
THERE IS HOPE FOR EVERYBODY
What do all these financial giants have in common and what are the secrets of their astronomical economic achievements? What keys did Gunder Birkeland, Thomas Edison, Jeff Bezos, Cathy Hughes, Warren Buffet and Henry Ford used to actualize their dreams? How did they do it? That is what this project is all about.
This project will unearth all the secrets that helped these and many other financial giants like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Sam Walton, Oprah Winfrey, Mary Kay, Richard Devos, Van Andel, Stanley Tam, Thomas Monaghan, William Colgate, King Gillette, Michael Dell, Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Serena Williams, Azuma Nelson, and Father Abraham, King David and King Solomon to place their hands on their financial dreams. And for you to get the best of this program, I will advice you not to read through just like any other book but rather take your time and carefully study the principles outlined here. Believe me, there is hope for your future!
In the year 2000, the United Nations General Assembly set some global developmental goals to be achieved by the year 2015. Number one on the list was the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger. The unprecedented level of global campaigning on poverty in 2005 was fantastic. That was the year the whole world saw Nelson Mandela address over 20,000 people in Trafalgar Square . About 25,000 people took part in the Trade Justice vigil and a phenomenal 250,000 people take to the streets of Edinburgh and demand world leaders made poverty history. I know about what many international bodies, governments and non-governmental organizations are doing to help minimize poverty around the world.
Conversely, the facts on the ground are still discouraging and depressing. Research has revealed that some countries in South America, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are poorer than they used to be some 30 years ago. A recent report released by the World Bank showed that 57 percent of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day. In the Philippines , it is said that, one third of the population lives on less than $1 per day. Many people in Africa live on less than $1 a day. Poverty is real.
“I HAVE BEEN RICH AND I HAVE
BEEN POOR, RICH IS BETTER.”
-Sophie Tucker
In 2004, I had the opportunity to work as a consultant for World Vision in a remote village in Ghana , one of the developing countries in Africa , and I must confess that some of the encounters and experiences I had are still fresh in my memory. Personally I know what poverty really is. I experienced the ugly side of poverty in my childhood when I lost my mother and my father also lost his business. I grew up in a home where our family income could not support our basic needs. And as a pastor and a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have had the opportunity to minister to people and families who had been battered and beaten by the wicked storms of poverty.
Poverty is not an illusion. It is real. Real people are living in real poverty. Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is losing a dear one to illness. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is, not knowing where your next meal is coming from. Poverty is going to bed without food. Poverty is slavery. Poverty is a spirit. Poverty is a cruel taskmaster.
Poverty has many dimensions. Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in many ways. Poverty is fear for the future. Poverty is living one day at a time. Poverty is dreamlessness. Poverty is powerlessness. Poverty is joblessness. Poverty is hopelessness. Poverty is helplessness. Poverty is indeed real. Poverty affects all. It is no respecter of persons. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide try to survive a life of abject poverty each day. The gap between the poor and the rich around the world seem to be widening everyday. Does this leave the poor with any hope?
In my opinion, there is hope for everybody. For sometime now I have been observing deeply about the current trend of economic and political events around the world. I have been following the waves of the current global economic crisis. I have been thinking about the millions of people around the world who have been locked in the dungeon of poverty and hunger. I have also become very much concerned about you, my reader, your family, your friends and the millions of people scattered around the world who are finding it hard to get their daily bread.
My concern has been what I can also do to help you, your friends, your family and all the people locked in the horrible prisons of poverty to come out of your present financial struggles. I have therefore written this book to coach you and the millions of people around the globe about how to overcome the deadly menace called poverty. The purpose of this program is to help serve as a life manual for anybody who wants to know how to amass great wealth not only for himself or herself but also for the great final harvest. Believe me, there is hope for everybody.
ANYBODY CAN BE A WINNER
The parents of Sarah Breedlove who were farmers and ex-slaves died before her sixth birthday. Her husband died when she was only 20. Having no professional skills to rely on, she became a washerwoman in order to support herself and her only daughter for eighteen years. However, before she died she made herself rich and became the first self-made black woman millionaire in the United States . What was her secret? What did she do to turn around her life? Who am I talking about? I am talking about the woman who later became known in public circles as Madam C. J. Walker.
Anybody can be a winner. Anybody with an unshakable faith in God and a little bit of faith in his or her God-given capabilities and ideas can become a great winner in this life. I know most people in the land will find it a bit hard to believe this great truth. I know about the lies that are being peddled in the land to disprove and challenge this great ageless truth. I know about the unscriptural teachings that are being spread around the world. But let me be frank with you, the very reason why I am writing this book is to pull down all those satanic lies and strongholds in your minds. The time to come out of the shackles of poverty is now. The time to possess your possessions is now.
And if there is anything that I would want you to do now, then it is to share these secrets in this program with the rest of the brethren and pass them on to the other people in the land. The time has come for people like you to arise and do something great with your ideas and opportunities. And I believe this program will serve as a guide to you all so that you all may receive the financial blessings you so much deserve.
IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO TEACH
A MAN HOW TO FISH THAN TO
GIVE HIM A FISH EVERYDAY.
However, before I begin to talk about what you can do to become financially free I want you to believe that anybody irrespective of his or her racial, family, educational, financial, geographical and historical background can become a millionaire if not a billionaire. And I am going to show you what you can also do to begin to attract good wealth into your life. For you to change your circumstances and begin to see the blessings of God you must believe that you too can become financially free. God is no respecter of persons and He wishes above all things that all of us would prosper and walk in divine health just as our souls are prospering.
However, to be able to attract all your financial blessings you must dare to walk by these tried and tested principles and apply them daily in your life. These are the secrets that we have been using to transform lives around the world. And I do believe that all these secrets can help you to kick poverty out of your lives since that is one of the heart-beat of God. So without much I do, I would like to go ahead and share with you the secrets that God has unveiled to me about how to prosper and build true-lasting wealth in this millennium. To really experience your golden dreams you must first and foremost dare to hold to your faith.
MEDITATION
BELIEVE IN THE LORD, YOUR GOD,
SO SHALL YE BE ESTABLISHED.
BELIEVE IN HIS PROPHETS,
SO SHALL YE PROSPER.
-2 CHRONICLES 20:20 KJV
