Money is the root of all evil.  

I have heard this quote many times growing up. In fact, I still hear it from time to time even today. Thankfully I never heard it from my parents otherwise it might have been planted in my young impressionable mind as a true belief.  

It has been said, “that a man’s treatment of money is the most desirable test of his character”. How we make money and what we spend it on says so much about who we are.

Money itself is not the real problem in life. It’s what we do with it. Money is a good thing. Money gives us a chance to provide for ourselves and those we care about and in turn, gives them opportunities in life. It gives us opportunities to start new businesses and gives others a chance to live their dream and provide for those close to them.

Over the years, a lot of money has come through my hands and I have chosen to not be a vault, but a stream through which money can flow to others.

When people say there is too much money in sport, I have to laugh. People are paid in accordance with what the market dictates. Yes, there are inequities and sometimes you have to scratch your head as to the disparity but that is the world we live in.

Money is not the problem in sport. Money does not corrupt athletes. Great men and women of character will always be great men and women of character.

If someone already has a seed of corruption in his or her heart, whether they are athletes, police officers, politicians, or business people, then money will often be used in the wrong way.

Money magnifies what you already are, it’s as simple as that.  A generous man will be generous with a little and generous with a lot. A scrooge will be tight with a little and tight with a lot. It’s also the same with time as generosity is not limited to just money but a whole raft of things.

There are two basic ways to get more money: one is to accumulate more, and the other is to desire less, which causes you to buy less.

To be wiser in your spending, be more attentive about where the money flows to, not just where it flows from.

Here are some secrets to creating wealth:

• Work

• Give

• Budget

• Don’t spend more than you make

• Invest wisely. This is not just investing financially. Invest in yourself and what you do for others. I have lost count of the times I have heard people say such and such a course is too expensive, that gym membership is too expensive, vitamins & fresh food cost a lot. but the same person rolls up with the latest iPhone.

I was at dinner not too long ago and there were some pretty successful people there and most had a phone that was several years old. They didn’t update a perfectly good phone to the latest model just for the sake of it.

• Don’t have an irrational fear of losing money. Always look at both the upside and the downside.   

• Be generous of heart, generous of mind, and generous with money. Give strategically. Give where you know there will be reward and give where you will get a sense of fulfillment.

There is nothing evil, wrong, or corrupt about money. Always remember money magnifies what you are.

Strategies You Can Use

Right now, grab a piece of paper and write down where you can make more money, what strategies can you implement in your business? Can I start a side hustle? When you have done the list, implement what is on it. Don’t do what the majority of people do and file it in your desk draw for it to never see the light of day.

What course can I do to make more money or be more productive?  

Where can I budget better? It always amuses me when I hear the story about saving $6 or $7 dollars a day by not buying the morning coffee. I look at it as what can I do to earn the extra or cut a better deal somewhere so that I can enjoy my daily coffee.

Look at changing utility providers for a better deal. Ask for a better deal from your service providers, if you don’t ask you won’t get it.   

Ask yourself where you can be a little bit more generous. I always believe that, If you’re generous to others, they will always be generous to you.

Decide where you will give next both in the short-term and the long-term. Then determine how much you will give, and what you will give: money, resources, time, skills…

Decide all this by imagining what will give you the most satisfaction. The satisfaction of generosity is a joy only a few ever experience… become one of those few!

To your success

David