FLIP

THE
COIN
Increase your odds of success
with business and money

EDWIN NGWANE
 Copyright: 2022 Edwin Ngwane

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Disclaimer:

This book is written for informational purposes only. The author has
made every effort to make sure the information is complete and
accurate. All attempts have been made to verify information at the
time of this publication and the authors do not assume any
responsibility for errors, omissions, or other interpretations of the
subject matter. The publisher and author have neither liability nor
responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or
damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this
book.
 DEDICATION
I dedicate this book to my beloved mother, Agnes Phiri. Mum, your
steadfastness and resilience gave me hope for the better future.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My readers, for supporting my work from the first book. I would not
have become a bestselling author without you. I will forever be
grateful.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE ODDS ARE STUCK AGAINST THE POOR. ................. 9
STAYING IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES .............................. 21
THE LACK OF INHERITANCE ............................................................... 25
THE WRONG BELIEFS ABOUT WEALTH .......................................... 33
SETTING OF LOW TARGETS IN LIFE.................................................. 37
THE LACK OF ACCOUNTING FOR TIME AND MONEY .................. 42
EARLY MARRIAGE & BEARING MANY KIDS ..................................... 48
ENTITLEMENT & DEPENDENCE .......................................................... 54
LACK OF QUALITY EDUCATION ........................................................ 74
IGNORING THE POWER OF CONTINUITY ....................................... 78
LACK OF INSURANCE PLANS FOR UNCERTAINTIES ..................... 82

CHAPTER TWO MASTER MONEY ..................................................... 89

CHOOSE JOBS WITH A FAT PAYCHECK .......................................... 92
SEE YOURSELF AS A RICH PERSON .................................................. 94
DON'T CHASE MONEY. SEDUCE IT. .................................................. 96
CREATE AN IDENTITY OF VALUE ....................................................... 98
DON'T NEGOTIATE YOUR EARNINGS ............................................. 104
DON'T SAVE MONEY. SPEND IT ....................................................... 105
BE HAPPY WITH MORE MONEY....................................................... 108
BUILD A BUSINESS BEFORE THE HOUSE ......................................... 112
FLIP THE SALARY INTO A BUSINESS .................................................115
COLLECT MONEY FROM EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE POOR ... 121
INVEST THE COIN BEFORE THE NOTE............................................. 123

CHAPTER THREE CREATE AN IDEA FACTORY ................................ 125

SEARCH FOR A MILLION DOLLAR IDEA .......................................... 125
OPEN YOUR MIND TO IDEAS THROUGH READING ..................... 128
BE CURIOUS ABOUT NEW THINGS ................................................. 129
 SPEND TIME WITH GREAT PEOPLE ................................................. 130
WATCH WHAT PEOPLE DISCUSS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ................131
TURN YOURSELF INTO A BUSINESS MESSIAH .............................. 132
STEAL IDEAS FROM CRITICS ............................................................. 133

CHAPTER FOUR BECOME A MASTER AT WHAT YOU DO ............. 135

LEARN ONE SALEABLE SKILL .............................................................136
FOCUS ON SHARPENING ONE SKILL............................................... 137
PRACTICE EVERYDAY ......................................................................... 140
LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS ............................................................... 142
PAY ATTENTION TO CRITICISM ........................................................ 143
PERFECT YOUR WORK IMPERFECTLY ............................................. 145
BE PATIENT AS YOU PURSUE MASTERY ......................................... 147

CHAPTER FIVE BITE THE BULLET .................................................... 150

TASTE THE WILD FRUIT .......................................................................151
EMBRACE FAILURE ............................................................................... 152
SCREW UP AND LEARN ...................................................................... 154
MOVE ON QUICKLY .............................................................................156
USE EXPERIENCE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE ..................................... 160

CHAPTER SIX LIVE LIKE A MONK .................................................... 165

MASTER YOURSELF .............................................................................166
MASTER YOUR THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS ................................ 171
OVERCOME YOUR SENSUAL DESIRES ............................................ 176
BECOME DILIGENT AND KILL LAZINESS ......................................... 179
COMMIT TO FINISHING PROJECTS .................................................. 181
CREATE A HABIT OF EXCELLENCE ................................................... 184
STOP BALANCING WORK AND LIFE ................................................ 187
COMPETE WITH YOURSELF.............................................................. 190

CHAPTER SEVEN NETWORK LIKE A SOCIALITE............................. 193

SHUP UP OR BE MENTALLY FIT ......................................................... 194
 MASTER THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY ............................................ 203
USE CONTROVERSY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE .............................. 205
BUILD A LOVE OR HATE PERSONALITY ......................................... 207
ENGAGE WITH ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE ......................................... 209
FLOW ACCORDING TO PEOPLE’S EMOTIONS ............................... 211
APPRECIATE PEOPLE’S CONTRIBUTION ......................................... 212
BLOCK AND DELETE TOXIC PEOPLE ................................................ 213

CHAPTER EIGHT SQUEEZE OUT THE JUICE .................................... 217

PROMOTE CAPITALISM AND FREE ENTERPRISE ........................... 218
OUTSOURCE 75% OF THE WORK .................................................... 221
GET SMART AND AMBITIOUS PEOPLE AROUND YOU ............... 223
ANALYZE AND EVALUATE THE BUSINESS CONTINUOUSLY .... 225
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO IMPORTANT KPIs ............................. 226
DON’T BE OBSESSED WITH INNOVATION. COPY WHAT WORKS.230
GRIND OUT RESULTS IN DIFFICULT TIMES ................................... 232

CHAPTER NINE GET THE REAL MBA............................................... 239

START, BUILD, AND MANAGE A BUSINESS .................................. 240
TURN YOUR CLIENTS INTO ADDICTS ............................................ 242
MASTER THE ART OF USING OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY ............ 248
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GLOBALIZATION ....................................... 252
CONTROL THE MEDIA NARRATIVE ................................................. 255
DON’T PAY LESS, LATE OR DON’T EMPLOY PEOPLE .................. 258
TURN YOUR WORKPLACE INTO A PLAYGROUND ..................... 260
TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR BOSSES ............................................ 262
PROMOTE COMPETITION AMONG YOUR EMPLOYESS ............. 264
BE COMFORTABLE MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS ........................ 266
AVOID EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT WITH YOUR BUSINESS .... 267

CHAPTER TEN INVEST, MULTIPLY AND LAY WEALTHY............... 270

BET ON STARTUPS FOR INVESTMENT ............................................ 271
ACQUIRE OR MERGE WITH OTHER BUSINESSES ....................... 274
UTILIZE THE ACCOUNTANT, LAWYER AND FINANCIAL ADVISOR .. 277
EXPLOIT POLITICS, TAXES AND LAW ............................................ 279
INVEST IN LAND AND REAL ESTATE ............................................... 287
BUILD YOUR LEGACY AROUND PEOPLE ....................................... 289
FIND WAYS TO ENJOY YOUR LIFE .................................................. 292
PREPARE FOR DEATH ......................................................................... 294
MY TWO SIDES OF THE COIN

I
n 2005, I got frustrated with doing nothing and being nothing. I
had completed high school in 2003 with distinctions but still
didn't make it to the university. The reason for not making it to
the university was K150, equivalent to $15 US dollars.

“HOW CAN SOMEONE LIKE ME WHO WAS BORN POOR AND

TAUGHT THAT POVERTY IS A GOOD THING FIND MY WAY OUT TO
MAKING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS?”
“I, FLIPPED…. THE COIN.”

We were so poor that my parents couldn’t afford to buy a university

scholarship application form costing K150. My mother was a
marketeer whose daily capital was K50, and my father was jobless
despite being a professional driver.

We lived in a town called Chipata in the Eastern Province of Zambia.

This is a predominantly farming-dependent town, which comes to
life between February and September.

Most people find the other months very difficult. Even in this tough
town, other people were making it big.

Chipata has a lot of Indian-Zambian business owners who run most

of the businesses in the town. Other people in the town have
mastered how to make money.

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 EDWIN NGWANE

Some people used to smuggle all kinds of goods from Malawi to

Zambia, passing through the Kapezi Hills. These hills separate Zambia
and Malawi.

It wasn’t easy to smuggle petrol, biscuits, soap, sugar, and other

products on a bicycle through these hills to sell them in Zambia. The
few who found gold could do it.

Between 2003 to 2005, I was not one of The Few Who Found Gold.
I believed in something different. Looking for a job and getting a
salary at the end of the month was something I believed in.

I only had three shirts and two pairs of trousers. And I didn’t have
shoes and could only walk in plastic slippers called “Eagle Pat-Pat.”

Life had become tiring and frustrating. Despite my efforts at job

hunting, I was unsuccessful every single time. I could walk long
distances daily to tobacco and cotton processing factories and still
get nothing.

They wanted people who were bigger and more muscular than me.
Despite my efforts to lift weights, my muscles were just not strong
enough to lift the 100 kg bales of tobacco.

It was a mission impossible.

My friends and I tried to become singers and wrote a few songs. We

started seeing ourselves as the next music stars. During that time, MC
Wabwino, Exile, JK, Danny, K’Millian and many others were music
artists dominating Zambian music.

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 FLIP THE COIN

We wanted to become like them.

After writing and rehearsing three songs, we visited a recording

studio, and our dream of becoming singers died when we were told
it was K150 per song to record. They wanted K150 from dudes who
didn’t even eat breakfast that morning.

Wow! We went back home hungry and angry.

After days of reflecting on my life in Chipata, I left Chipata for Lusaka,

the Capital City of Zambia, to try my luck in a bigger and more
prosperous city. My favorite song during those moments was “Lose
Yourself” by Eminem.
I had a vivid dream of becoming successful, and I was ready to do
whatever it took to make my dream become a reality.

All I needed was “one shot.”

When I got to Lusaka, a brother and friend let me stay with him, and
I will forever stay indebted to him. His name is Mwika Manda. He was
a secondhand clothing trader at Lusaka City Market.

I joined him.

If you have been to Lusaka, you probably know guys who ask you
what you want to buy, even though they don’t seem to be selling
anything. I was one of those guys in the first six months.

All I needed to do during those few months was find a client

interested in a certain product and ask them how much they would
pay.

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 EDWIN NGWANE

If the client told me they were only willing to pay K500, I could tell
the owner of the goods that the client could only pay K400.

And if the owner of the goods agreed, I sold the product for K500
and kept the K100. What was good about this arrangement was that
the owners still needed to pay me something to sell their product. It
could be K10 or K20, but we really didn’t care.

After six months, my best friend came to Lusaka. His name is Edwin
Shulo Ngwane, my grandpa. He came to Lusaka and gave me K450
to support my business. It was the first capital for my business.

I started the secondhand business with my brother and friend,

Mwika. He showed me all the marketing and selling skills, which I
have shared in my other book called How to Market and Sell Like a
Prostitute.

And since my goal was to become a white-collar employee just like

my family, teachers and community groomed me, I started studying
accounting, so I could find a decent job. I had to use the money from
my secondhand business to pay for evening college classes.

I used to feel embarrassed to see my friends studying at the

University of Zambia while I was on the streets. And after a few
studies, I applied for a job at a certain bank as a Direct Sales
Representative. I was one of the foot soldiers in the bank.

After joining the bank, I did what most employees do. I closed my
secondhand business and gave away most of the stock. I didn't want

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 FLIP THE COIN

to be associated with that business. It was embarrassing to tell my

colleagues that I used to sell secondhand clothes.

It was stupid of me. And I regret it.

I wanted to be a banker. Air-con, blue suit, white shirt and nice

oxford shoes became my way of life. And I loved to dress well. I was
in my space.

It made me happy.

Before I knew it, my girlfriend moved in with me. And we got married.

Within a year, we had Chikondi Ngwane, our first-born daughter. It

didn’t take long before we moved from the ghetto to a better
neighborhood. I didn’t want my daughter to be exposed to the ghetto
lifestyle.

The fast-track was where I was going to live a better life.

I started shopping from the nice expensive lifestyle supermarkets.

And it didn’t take long before I got myself into debt. Life became a bit
complicated.

It didn’t take long before I started owing the bank. My net salary was
on a slimming diet, and I started getting small, expensive loans from
my friends and other lenders. I would borrow from A to pay B and
get money from C to cover up on the salary.

I was broke and troubled.

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 EDWIN NGWANE

I had to get back to business. My wife and I started a small cosmetic

boutique, and things stabilized. We entered a restaurant business
that was closed due to a government health directive.

There was cholera in many parts of the country, and the Ministry of
Local Government, through the council, closed many restaurants.
The health guidelines were so strict that we didn't reopen.

After closing the restaurant, we returned to the same nonsensical

dependence on the salary. This time, we suffered more than before
because our family had grown. We had a second child and two
dependents.

We opened a barbershop, sold a few books, and applied for jobs at

other companies to look for a better-paying job. All these efforts
were just desperation until the day I sat down and did self-
awareness.

I realized I was born to be an entrepreneur. My core existence was

about helping people. I found myself and started Kawiwi
International. The journey has never been easy, but I have resolved
to succeed.

It didn’t take long before I realized I could make more money by

running my business than depending on a meagre salary, dishonest
bonuses and a pension that needed protests to be paid.

After flipping the coin, I realized I could leave my job and live a better
life as an entrepreneur.

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 FLIP THE COIN

My business has built the life I want, and I am living life on my own
terms. I am now in a position to help more people and add significant
value to the community.

I have not achieved most of my goals, but I am making enough

money to live the life I always wanted. I drive the German car I
wanted and raise my children in a better neighborhood. It’s not like I
have arrived, but the ride has become enjoyable.

I have become happy, and my family is much happier. I will soon turn
a K150 UNZA application form limitation into a million-dollar Kawiwi
International success. My children will go to the university my
parents couldn’t afford.

I have built the life of my dreams and spend money on myself and
the people I love without stressing. All this changed after I flipped the
coin. The other side of the coin has lots of abundance.

I shifted my mental state, which opened the way to wealth and

happiness, and in a few years, I am positioned to become a
millionaire.

And it didn’t take long. All it took was one mental shift, and my eyes
were opened. The door to wealth became open and access to money
became easier. My financial stress became history, and my well-
being improved.

And this happened because I flipped the coin.

The process required tossing all the negative and sabotaging ways I’d
learned from my family, community, and school since I was a kid. I

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 EDWIN NGWANE

also had to do a lot of mental stretching from conventional and

societal ways of thinking about wealth and happiness.

The stuff I am teaching in this book is so simple and easy to follow. I

understand that the reason people don’t apply certain principles is
that writers complicate easy principles just to seem skilful.

I have shared everything I learned along the way, and you can easily
flip the coin of your life without going into all these challenges like I
did. You don’t have to learn the hard way.

Take one small step right now.

Flip the coin!

8
 Chapter One
ODDS ARE STUCK AGAINST THE POOR.

"Chances are high that you will stay poor if you keep doing what
you have always been doing. Commit yourself to making personal
changes." - Mr Kawiwi.

W
here does a guy like me who grew up in a very poor
family get the audacity to say that “The odds are stuck
against the poor?”

Most of the things I share in this book will challenge you. I base my
conclusions on my personal observations and research. It’s not
accidental that 422 million Africans live in abject poverty.

The rich and the poor live on the opposite sides of life in terms of
what they believe in and what they consider to be true. When you
study the rich and the poor, you can easily see why the rich are rich,
and the poor are poor.

Most things poor people believe to be true are reasons they

perpetuate poverty from one generation to another. Our

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 EDWIN NGWANE

communities have believed in certain things that have never helped

them for many years.

And most of the things poor people believe to be true are part of the
family's cultural and religious beliefs. It is like a taboo or sin to think
otherwise. When you think differently, you become an outcast.

Most people find it tough to think otherwise and challenge the status
quo.

Generations have lived in poverty from the stone age to date. And
whenever someone tries to challenge common belief, people will
decide to cast a stone on you just like they almost cast on Jesus when
he challenged their beliefs.

Having grown up in the village and the ghetto, I could see people
living the same life with no concern and reckoning. But most of those
people complained about living the same poor way of life while
doing nothing about it.

I wondered how they could move out of poverty if they did not want
to do something about it? The answer they gave me was that “Only
God knows the future.”

They somehow prayed to God to do something about their lives, but

they didn't want to do anything about it. Isn’t that a joke?

If you are one of those people who think like that, I can predict that
you are in trouble with finances. Your happiness levels are also
dwindling because your life is in a mess. And hoping and praying will
not help you.

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 FLIP THE COIN

I probably have an idea why you are in trouble. For this reason, we
are going to look at all the challenges most poor people face.

And we will try to Flip the Coin, so we can see life from the other side.

WHERE AND HOW IT ALL STARTED…

I was born in Mufulira, a mining town in the Copperbelt Province. And

before I celebrated my third birthday, my dad lost his job in the
mining company and joined his father in Solwezi in North-Western
Province.

My grandfather, who was also retiring around that same time,

advised my dad to follow him to Chipata in Eastern Province, where
he could help him find another job.

And my dad obliged.

“If I were in my dad’s shoes, there was no way I could have done
that. In the first place, why would I squat in my father’s house when
I lose my job?”

But anyway, that’s how my dad found himself in Chipata.

After a few months staying at my grandfather's house, my dad still

couldn’t get a job, and my grandfather was getting impatient with his
unemployed son staying at his home with his wife and kids.

Before they knew it, fights started between father and son.

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 EDWIN NGWANE

My grandfather accused his son of being lazy, and my father accused

his father of misleading him into moving to Chipata for his own selfish
reasons.

These fights prompted my grandfather to ask my dad to leave his

home and head for the village. And my parents decided they should
send me back to Mufulira to stay with my other best friend, Fredrick
Phiri, my mum’s father.

Poverty has a way of teaching hard lessons. My father and mother

suffered in the village. They were town dwellers who knew little
about the village and life in the village. My parents said they looked
poorer than the people they found in the village.

Life can be crazy.

Being a driver, my dad soon started looking for employment and got
one at Chikuwe Mission Hospital. This stabilized my parents’ lives and
moved back to town and worked at St. Monica’s Catholic School.

Before long, my dad was jobless again as he lost this job for the
second time. He used the money he got from that job to start a
butchery business, but it didn’t work, and he went back to the village
for the second time.

I think that going to the village for the second time was not a mistake
anymore. It was just madness. You cannot do the same things while
expecting to see a different outcome.

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 FLIP THE COIN

When he went to the village for the second time, I had come back
from Mufulira. I started going to Mshawa Primary school, which had
two blocks with classes from grades 1 to 4.

Things didn’t go very well in that village between my dad and the
people of that village. They disagreed over many issues and evicted
us from our village, so we left for my mother’s village (Mzamo under
Chief Madzimawe).

I got enrolled again at Kanzutu Primary School under Chief

Madzimawe. I remember going to that school with black shorts with
red patches to cover the holes on the side of bums knitted by my
mother.

Even though we were in the village, other kids with better clothes
used to laugh at me. They bullied me all the time, and I never felt like
going to school the next day.

The only thing that saved me was my brilliance in class. I was number
one. It didn’t matter whether I found another brilliant kid at a new
school; I had to beat him for the number one spot.

It was mine. That was my standard.

During our stay in my mother’s village, there was severe hunger. The
government had to provide relief maize so people in the villages
could survive. It was a time when I saw people locking themselves in
the house to avoid sharing the little food they had.

My mother had to search for maize at our uncle’s farm in

Kasenengwa and left my sister Mailesi and me to survive. We

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survived on wild fruits, guavas to be specific until my mother

returned.

My mother stayed four straight days in Kasenengwa, and my sister

and I ate nothing but wild fruit during those four days. Despite being
hungry, I even had to move from Mzamo village to Mtenguleni to get
some relief maize.

The consequences of overeating the wild guavas were so severe that

I sometimes failed to visit the toilet. But we had no choice but to
continue to eat them.

During that time, dad was supposedly looking for a job in town. He
was in town till harvest time when he came back to the village. My
mother was completely fed up and so furious that she filed for
divorce.

The courts dissolved the marriage.

She picked the youngest children and went with them to Mufulira,
leaving Mailesi and me to join dad. My dad refused to accept the
divorce and asked my mother to come back because he had changed
his ways.

This happened while we were squatting at my uncle's house (my

dad’s half-brother - Andrew Phiri). We again overstayed at my
uncle's house, and he also got frustrated and asked my dad to leave
and make his own home.

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That’s when we moved to Navutika Compound. Navutika means “I

have suffered.” The words sounded true to me. My sister and I had
suffered.

We suffered.

I demanded to be enrolled back in school, and I got enrolled together

with my sister at Katopola Basic school. This was after my mother
came back home for the sake of her children.

That’s what she told us. I thank mum for that move. It could have
been worse for my sister and me if she didn't come back.

She thought her husband had changed, but it didn’t take long before
we started going to bed on an empty belly because my father could
not provide. A certain Indian fired dad again after working with him
for a few months.

During those days, “Born to suffer” by Lucky Dube was a popular

song. And it resonated well with me. I asked myself many times if
suffering was my destiny. At a young age, I was looking for answers
to our suffering.

I couldn’t understand anything.

My dad was drinking heavily. Drinking was his job. And hunger
became normal in our house. We would even challenge each other
about who could last the longest without eating.

The person who got hungry easily was judged to be weak. And that
person is the writer of this book. They mocked me for being weak

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and for failing to withstand hunger. It was getting worse every single
day.

I just couldn’t take it.

I started making friends based on the availability of food in their

homes. I used to eat breakfast at Jojo’s house, lunch at Luciano’s
place, and supper at Lawrence’s home.

Even when my friend's mother tried to tell me to go home

strategically, I would pretend like I didn't hear what she said until I
ate. For me, I was no longer shameless until I ate.

This prompted my mother to stop being a stay-at-home parent. She

started fetching firewood in the hills of Kapezi, just to sell and use the
money for a packet of maize meal. And since it wasn’t enough doing
it by herself, we had to join her.

Later, my father joined too.

He collected the firewood but mostly for his bottles of beer. And
fights started again between him and my mother. We would witness
my parents fighting almost daily.

However, mum couldn’t leave this time. She saw what would
happen to her children. Even my father’s brothers and sisters advised
mum to leave my father, but she couldn’t.

In this entire episode, my mother used to say that we needed to be

happy. I refused. How can a child be happy like that? How could she
expect her children to be happy with what we were going through?

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 FLIP THE COIN

I challenged mum a lot. My relationship with dad became more

strained every single day. I felt he didn't care about the well-being of
his family. He had completely forgotten his fatherly responsibilities.

My sister started doing house help jobs for nshima leftovers at the
neighbor’s house just to have a meal. She would fetch water or
sweep for the neighbor to get nshima leftovers.

When things became worse, my sister dropped out of school in

grade five and started working as a maid near Kapata Market in
Chipata Town. At 13, she was a living maid at some stranger’s house.

I was devastated that my sister had stopped going to school. Mailesi

was more brilliant at school than me. However, I understood it
wasn’t easy for her to go to school, fetch firewood and come back to
a house without food.

We were just fed up going to bed hungry. I was fed-up being mocked
at school for wearing torn shoes and clothes. And we got fed up with
friends mocking us by saying we were children of an irresponsible
drunkard.

My hatred for dad was building every day. I couldn’t accept him as
my father. I just couldn't take it anymore. We were the laughingstock
of the Navutika Compound neighbors. My mother was always sad,
and I felt bad seeing her that way.

But for me, going to school was like a religion. If I didn’t have books,
I would ask someone from a wonderful home to give me some of his
books. I had to go to school no matter the situation.

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As for pens, I am guilty of being a pen thief for most of my school

days. At some point, I even started stealing some books. I couldn't
have had pens and books if I didn't steal.

Sometimes, I used to wear my grandfather’s shirts and his old-

fashioned gray pair of trousers as uniform. I had a shoe that used to
suck sand because the rubber sole got broken and used to open.

I was one of those kids who dreamed about finding a loaf of bread
by the roadside and eating the whole loaf. Most of my childhood
dreams were just about having the basic needs of life.

Truthfully, there is nothing to miss about my childhood. I hate to

remember my past. It was very unpleasant. There are very few fond
memories of my childhood, if any. Whenever I look back, I become
emotional.

Every time the schools started sending back pupils who didn't pay
school fees, I was one of those kids. I became accustomed to the
process. It was a normal process until I completed high school.

I understood the calendar and timetable for sending kids who didn’t
pay. They would carry out this exercise for two weeks and give up
later. And I would go back to classes thereafter.

This trend continued until I finished grade twelve. I was used to being
chased from class, starting my fresher grades (8 and 10) in the second
term because we couldn’t pay the fees on time.

I dropped out of classes like Art, Geometrical and Mechanical

Drawing and Home Economics because I couldn’t buy requirements

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for drawing, baking, knitting, and cooking practicals. I understood our

financial status.

I didn’t have the luxury of choosing subjects anyhow.

I almost refused when I got appointed as a prefect. I was consistently

wearing worn-out uniforms and cracked shoes. At one point, I even
shared the same pair of school shoes with my friend Kapasa Francis
Mhone.

He was in the afternoon class, and I was in the morning class. We

would exchange the shoes on the way as he was going to school.
And I was this guy whom the teachers appointed to be a leader.

I don’t know what our class teacher, Mr. Lungu, saw to appoint me
as a prefect. It was embarrassing to even see yourself as a leader in
those circumstances. I never looked the part.

It was very challenging growing up in a home where dad was hugely

irresponsible, parents fought all the time, and people mocked us all
the time for our daily struggles.

We lived like we were fatherless. At some point, I wished I had just

been fatherless because I saw orphans receiving child support from
the government, unlike poor children with irresponsible fathers like
me.

I felt sorry for mum, especially when she said that “it’s okay to be
poor.” I now understand that she just wanted to give us hope.

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 EDWIN NGWANE

I used to cry. It was painful to see my mother accepting this life with
a husband who showed no remorse for the life he subjected his wife
to. She had to do all the useless jobs for food and nothing else.

Thankfully, we grew up.

However, this entire story has a lot of questions if you are someone
who wants to flip the coin. Why did that happen? What went wrong?
Who caused all this? Are we cursed?

These questions are factual. If you have been in such situations,

you’ve probably asked God so many times why he allowed poverty
to humiliate you while other people lived a life of abundance.

I used to ask myself such questions.

Then I realized that there’s a system for wealth and happiness, and
there’s also a system perpetuating poverty. Many people are used to
the latter system without even realizing it.

I would listen to my father’s excuses and stories about why he

couldn’t make enough money and live a happy life. He always
convinced himself that people were against him. He felt that life was
not fair to him alone.

And this is not just about my family. There are so many families who
are poor and don’t even understand why.

There are reasons you can’t eradicate poverty despite all your efforts.
And even before we discuss ways of abundance, you need to know

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the systems of poverty. You need to know what makes it so difficult

for many people to escape poverty.

Let's look at these issues right now.

STAYING IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES

There was a trending post on social media posted by someone who

lived in the city of Lusaka. He said, “Why do people stay in random
places like Mporokoso?”

Many people perceived this question as harsh, and some got

offended. The guy who wrote this post got a backlash, with multiple
comments condemning his post.

It sounded like he was questioning the intelligence of the people of

Mporokoso. There are people who were born in Mporokoso. It’s not
their choice, and they will do nothing about it until they grow up.

However, when you brood over it and look at other social-economic

factors, staying in Mporokoso is a sure way of staying poor. Just like
many other parts of Zambia, Mporokoso is a disadvantaged
community.

The Zambian Central Statistics Office gave a report which shows that
Northern, Luapula, North Western and Eastern, were the poorest
provinces in Zambia as of 2004 (there have been improvements, but
the case remains the same).

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In the same report, Copperbelt, Lusaka and Southern provinces had

the lowest percentage of poverty. The line of rail, mining, and
centralized governance played a major role in the unbalanced
distribution of wealth across Zambia.

The rural areas are concentrated with the poorest people. The CSO
showed that 72% of poor people live in rural places. This means that
a person in a rural place is most likely to stay poor.

On the other hand, a person in an urban setup will most likely have a
better quality of life with closer access to social amenities, such as
shelter, water, food, sanitation, education, health services and
recreation, road network, transportation, and jobs.

Being someone who has lived in the village, ghetto, and gated
communities, I realized that people in the village and ghetto are most
likely to stay poor. And their disadvantaged communities may cause
this.

I have witnessed brilliant kids dropping out of school due to lack of

food, uniforms, books, and pens. Some people have lost parents and
become orphans at an early age due to the lack of better health
services.

Staying in disadvantaged communities will affect your education,

health, access to business and job opportunities and quality of life.
It’s difficult to succeed in certain places. The opportunities are rare,
and the challenges are many.

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In my book, Hustle Like a West African, I mentioned that if you

cannot find the opportunities you are looking for in your community,
migrate. You cannot continue waiting on government promises.

You must do what is good for yourself and your family.

Let me give you one example. The children in Kanyama Compound

are most likely to drop out of school because the population is high,
but the compound has only got one public secondary school.

The parents will take their child to a private school, or they must look
for transport money every day for their child to access education in
Munali, Kabwata, Matero, Libala or Kabulonga schools.

We need to keep in mind that these are financially disadvantaged

people. The parents in the ghetto usually have low-paying jobs or do
small businesses for daily survival.

These parents will not educate their children or pay an enormous

price for daily bus fares or private school fees. This is because public
secondary schools are in distant middle-income neighborhoods.

It is better for me to stay in Kaunda Square, Kabwata, Matero, Libala,

Chilenge or Mtendere with relatively priced accommodation, so my
children can access nearby schools.

I also believe that the above residential areas, same as other middle-
income settlements across the country, give people a better chance
to succeed and a better quality of life.

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People in these areas are most likely to learn survival and saleable
skills, start stable businesses and find scholarship opportunities to
study in colleges and universities and find better jobs.

These opportunities are not available in the village and the ghetto.
The schools are sparsely located. The roads are impassable. Medical
personnel are few in the fewer clinics available, and there are rarely
any job opportunities.

With the few social economic adjustments being made by the central
government in decentralizing the Constituency Development Fund, I
believe we will see a few changes in the wealth creation of the rural
areas.

You don’t have to wait for that time. Leave the disadvantaged
communities and stay in better ones. This might even mean leaving
Zambia altogether for another, better country.

The US, Europe and Australia, are still better at offering a better
quality of life. Migrating for opportunities is not a bad thing. If I didn’t
leave Chipata, I probably would have been farming groundnuts at my
grandfather’s farm.

And I feel life wouldn’t have been better as it is now. I flipped the coin
and made a trip to Lusaka with a leap of faith. It paid off. While I didn’t
get lofty opportunities, selling in the city market gave me an income,
which sponsored my tertiary education.

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And I used that qualification to get a bank job. Doing the same selling
job in Chipata wouldn’t have given me the same rewards. And the
bank job opportunity wouldn’t have been available.

Flip the coin. Don’t stay in disadvantaged communities.

THE LACK OF INHERITANCE

"A child who comes from poverty is by default required to do more

than what is humanly possible to live a mere decent life. Otherwise,
poverty breeds more poverty." - Mr. Kawiwi.

My Grandfather’s Story

My grandfather would share a lot of stories with me about work,

marriage, weddings, and family. He used to tell me those stories, so
I could learn one or two things about how Africans built wealth but
lost the values along the way.

If you have read my previous books, you will notice my grandfather’s

influence upon my life. He taught me many things, and I was
impressed with him because he was very honest about the things he
did well in the past and where he went wrong.

My grandfather told me it was common practice for parents to give

a female cow to one of their sons between the ages of 8 and 10. And
since most children never used to go to school, cows were the only
investment they had.

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The reason for giving a female cow was for the cow to bear more
caves and multiply. And my grandfather said that by the time it was
time to marry, that male child would have 4 to 6 cows under his
name.

He also told me that when it was time to marry, they did not pay a
dowry from the son's kraal but his parents. The parents would pay
from their kraal and host the wedding celebrations by killing a cow
from their kraal when a son marries.

He told me that a son could not pay his own dowry or cater for his
own wedding expenses. And to prove it to me, he said you should
read the wedding invitation card. The card clearly shows that The
Groom’s Family invites you to the wedding of their son.

He said parents did that to help their son build his few cows. He said
most people used to charge between 1 to 10 cows for a woman.

And if a son were to pay a dowry himself, then there would be

nothing for him and his wife to build their life.

My grandfather emphasized that male children never waited until

their fathers died before they could inherit because their fathers’
brothers would get what they left behind. Therefore, it was difficult
to inherit when your father died.

When I looked at the old setup, I realized it had its own pitfalls of not
giving inheritance to female children and also the issues of brothers
of the late grabbing wealth from children; however, there was some
passing of wealth to children.

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Nowadays, parents say that they educate their children as an

inheritance. But you need to understand that even in the past, there
was an education on how to hunt and keep animals.

Notwithstanding, children still inherited cows.

The Story of Mwansa - The Modern African Child

Since she was a kid, she was told she was the hope of the family. Her
mother, father and siblings looked up to her.

After completing grade twelve, there was no money for university,

so she had to look for money to fulfil the dreams of her family.

She went out with sugar daddies to make ends meet or get a place
at the university. However, once she gets there, her parents will still
not provide for the necessities and other extra fees needed to be in
school.

Therefore, Mwansa has to continue depending on that same sugar

daddy who helped her get the scholarship or look for more sugar
daddies to keep going.

By the time she completes her studies, her life is a horror movie.

She hates what she went through. She has seen her friends get
everything provided by their parents, but for everything she has,
there’s something she’s done that she doesn’t want to remember.

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The spectators will judge her harshly. Even her parents will ask her
to do better. But society and her family forget that they have a role to
play in all this. What did they do to help the young lady?

Nothing.

Then she gets a job in town, where she has to pay half of her salary
to the landlord and spend 25% of her salary moving between her
house and the workplace. If she had inherited a house, she would
have saved half of her salary instead of spending it on rentals.

As if that’s not enough, her siblings have to join her, and she needs to
put them in school. But, instead of ending her problems, she is back
in debt, and she has to ask a certain married man for help.

The married man gives her the money for free, and in her heart, she
also knows that she won’t be able to pay it back if he asks her to do
so. So, she pays in kind and is back to her old ways.

Let’s crucify Mwansa. Let’s call her names. We should also remind
her that her friends are doing better and ask her why she couldn’t do
what her friends did.

And all that is nonsensical.

Because the problem didn’t start like that. This girl could have done
better in better circumstances. She could have lived a better life, but
she is living like that because her foundations are slippery.

She can’t stand firm.

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The bible teaches that “A wise man leaves an inheritance for his
children’s children.” In our traditions, we treat children as a form of
an investment. We depend on them to save the family.

Black tax, so we call it.

Our teachings have perpetuated poverty for centuries, and yet we

still defend them as good values. We rarely lay a brick for our
children to make the first step. And we wonder why they don’t do
any better.

Most African children have the same stories, and it has become
boring and annoying to hear these stories. You will hear most people
talking about how they started from nothing, like it’s a noble thing.

Starting from zero is not a noble thing. It just means that your parents
failed to leave an inheritance for you.

We don’t despise humble beginnings, but they should never become

a standard way of living. People need to raise their standards for
themselves and their families.

We can surely do better.

If the Bible says that “A wise parent leaves an inheritance for his
children’s children,” then which category do we put your father and
my father who left nothing? Unwise, right?

Every time I see children celebrating how they rose from the ashes, I
know where the problem started from. The grandfather left nothing

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and depended on the son, who also left nothing and now depends
on his child.

It’s a shame.

I deeply believe that this kind of thinking should end with our fathers.
It should end there. If your father left nothing for you, then it should
be your responsibility and duty to do the opposite.

Flip the coin and leave an inheritance.

It’s like the toilet in your home. If someone has messed it up before
you, clean it and leave it in a better condition for the next person. You
cannot leave it messed up the same way another person left it for
you.

Flip the Coin for your children.

There are so many kids who are brilliant in school who dropped out
because they lacked financial support. Imagine going to school on an
empty belly every single day, and you wonder why the rich get
richer?

The rich people have smarter kids just like yours. And they will do
better than your kids most of the time if we give them the same
platform to compete.

You need to understand that people did not design the world to
sympathize with your family's excuses and inadequacies. The world
is brutal and unfair. It makes rich people richer and poor people
poorer.

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The rich kids will end up at Oxford University, and your child will be
lucky to even get a diploma in teaching or nursing.

And when the kid from Oxford comes back, he will be the Director
at the Ministry of Health or Ministry of Education and post your smart
kid to the rural area as a teacher or nurse.

The Oxford kid will be exposed to more opportunities, and your kid
will be exposed to the village headman. If you don’t get the picture,
let me flip the coin and give you a different view.

If your kid is an entrepreneur and the Oxford kid is also an

entrepreneur, they will both start businesses that will struggle in the
first three years. In those three years, the Oxford kid will get help
from his or her family, while your kid will need to give you money.

According to you, which kid has the better chance of creating a

successful business? It’s the Oxford kid, of course! Unless you are
one of those people who believe more in miracles than intellectual
and critical thinking.

If your child has nothing or nowhere to start from, the structure of

your prayers from one generation to the next generation will be full
of crying to the Lord for bread and miracles.

When are you going to give thanks to the Lord for the abundant
blessings he gives? Have you not discovered the abundant blessings
of God?

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And it is not an issue of being unlucky or being cursed. The issue

starts with wrong beliefs about inheritance. By the way, some
parents don’t give inheritance to their female children.

Why is that so?

No wonder some female children don’t get respected. They get

treated with disrespect because some people believe they have
nowhere to go if there is no marriage.

Some people even accuse ladies of loving a man for money because
the financial situation in her family is always on the begging side of
life.

Flip that coin.

Leave substance for your children. Build them a ladder to reach the
skies. The ladder is not just education. It is also financial. Leave wealth
for your children. It will surprise you to see the endless possibilities
you will create for them.

A child who has a father should never live like an orphan. If that
happens, that child is better off being an orphan. Because the world
will open more doors to a poor orphaned child than to a poor child
with an irresponsible father.

Leave an inheritance for your children.

Don’t be a fool.

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THE WRONG BELIEFS ABOUT WEALTH

In the years I lived in poverty, I remember all the lessons we were

taught. Most of the lessons demonized the building of wealth and
focused on glorifying poverty.

People would talk about how God loves the poor and hates the rich.
This was not only common in the family but also in the neighborhood.
They also demonized riches at school and church.

Pastors would always talk about how money is the root of evil and
how the rich will not inherit the Kingdom of God. We used to dread
even the thought of accessing wealth.

In the compound where I lived, they accused almost every person

with money of sacrificing their wife, mother, or children. They
accused most rich people of having joined satanism.

All these beliefs made people look at success as an evil thing. And we
hated people who had riches in the family. They accused them of so
many things, including sleeping with young girls to get money power.

There were a lot of crazy stories.

After doing my research, I realized people would dread anything they

do not understand. We feared a helicopter in my village, and many
dumb people hated Facebook and the entire internet.

For most of those people, Facebook was satanism, and the owner of
Facebook was the Anti-Christ. Things changed recently when

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educated pastors learned how to evangelize using these digital

platforms.

In my research, I also discovered that most successful people build

their empires at night. Talented musicians record at night when
everyone is sleeping. Writers like me come up with great ideas
between 10 pm to 5 am.

Successful academicians in their field of study and successful

businesspeople come up with strategies when others are partying or
sleeping.

And after dawn, the guys who were partying, sleeping, or watching
TV think they will be on the same level with the guy who was building
his life at night. It doesn’t work like that.

However, you will hear some people quoting scriptures like

Ecclesiastes 9 verse 11, which talks about time and chance. What they
don’t want to talk about is Proverbs 20 verse 13, which says that if
you love sleep, you will grow poor.

Therefore, they will wonder what you do at night when they are
sleeping. For them, everyone who works at night is a witch or a devil
worshiper. What they don’t know is that even serious Christians seek
the Almighty at night.

However, they will decide to throw malice on the people who do

well by spearheading propaganda that they are devil worshipers to
make themselves sleep better.

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All these beliefs mean poor people remain poor. And the reason is
very simple. Life is a game of time. The person who understands how
to manage and use their time will reap more than the person who
squanders their time.

Some people believe that when you gain more wealth, you have
taken advantage of other people to become wealthy. What does that
even mean?

The people who gain wealth provide a service or product that is

appreciated and paid for by the people who buy. They employ
people and pay agreed salaries. They do not steal or rob from
anybody.

How do they take advantage of the poor?

I used to think like that when I was in grade five. I remember when
my friend came to school with four cupcakes and gave one to me.
And I felt like he was a stingy person. In my mind, I felt entitled to an
equal share, which was lame thinking.

However, some adults feel and behave the same way. They feel
entitled to being given things and demonize the people who don’t
give them. They think it is selfish to want to have a lot of money.

It is a shame.

We also have a group of people who have convinced themselves

that money is not important in their lives. In my book, Hustle! Like A
West African, I flipped that whole idea and wrote about how you can
use money to change the world.

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Money is important. If it is not important to you, then you are just not
an important person. Money loves important people, and it goes to
them easily and effortlessly.

The other belief about wealth that you will have to flip right now
concerns happiness. Many people believe that making more money
makes you a miserable (unhappy) person.

The trouble is that the people who say such things are very poor or
stinking rich. This is understandable for the poor because they don’t
even know how money works. However, the stinking rich say such
things to discourage people from becoming like them.

If I am wrong, why don’t the billionaires give away all their money to
live a happy poor life? By the way, I have been poor, and I didn’t see
any form of happiness in poverty.

You will fight for food and other necessities. You will hate people who
don’t give you stuff because you feel entitled. And you cannot take
your children to wonderful schools, and they will end up with low-
paying jobs.

Poverty will cause you to live the life of a beggar. People will look
down on you and treat you like trash, and you will accept it because
poverty makes you humble by force.

Poverty will hinder you from taking a loved one to a better hospital,
and they will die in your arms, even though a better hospital could
have saved them. It has happened to me before.

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There is no happiness in poverty. Period. Tell anyone who is teaching

you that poverty is a good thing to go to hell. That's where they
belong.

The last belief about money is about people who think that a poor
person can never become rich.

They think rich people are already enough, and it is not possible that
they can also create wealth.

I wrote this book for such people. I want them to flip the coin and
look on the other side. It is possible. If it were possible for me, then it
is also possible for you.

We may not become as rich as the world's richest billionaires, but

we will still make enough generational wealth that our grandchildren
will leave behind for their children.

Accumulation of wealth has a lot to do with beliefs, and you need to

change your beliefs right now. You cannot become wealthy with a
poverty mentality you inherited from your grandfather.

It’s time you flipped the coin and allowed yourself to build wealth.
It’s possible, and it’s easy.

Just believe it.

SETTING OF LOW TARGETS IN LIFE

When someone says, “Good morning, how are you doing?” The
common response in Zambia is, “So-so. As long as we are alive.”

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This response to a greeting was very common in the community in

which I grew up. When someone greets you, and you say that you
are doing fine, they will ask you all sorts of questions to justify “doing
fine.”

Below are other common responses to a greeting:

“As long as the sun has risen.”

“As long as we are breathing.”

“As long as we can eat.”

“So-so.”

You will hear responses for greetings, which sound as if those people
have survived a war, tsunami, or an earthquake. It is the beginning of
the day, and people will sound so pessimistic about it and drain all
your energy.

However, I don’t blame anyone.

It is a custom. That’s more like a tradition. And it is another way of

looking humble to others. Even people who should say they are doing
fine say the opposite so that everyone will cheer them on as being
humble people despite being successful.

Hypocrisy is common nowadays.

We never talk about victories in my community. If you talk about

your son doing well at school, then you are boastful. If you get paid
K25,000, tell people you get paid K7,500.

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You must live an unsatisfactory life like everyone else.

People who get educated and speak good English are considered full
of themselves. And they would even nickname that person as Mr.
English just to mock him or her.

When you chose your careers, elders would encourage you to

become a teacher, nurse, police officer, soldier, truck driver, council
worker or shopkeeper.

And they could even show me people who were doing fine with
those kinds of jobs. I didn’t even understand what “doing fine” meant
in those circumstances. I didn’t see the fine in the doing.

I am not trying to look down on these jobs, but I am that person who
knows that there are better jobs out there. They even pay better,
actually.

If you were lucky, and your community or parents had one eye open,
they would advise you to become a doctor, lawyer, banker,
journalist, economist, engineer, pilot or court judge.

Very few parents or people in the community would advise you to

become a Republican President, CEO, chairperson of the Board,
owner of a bank, or founder of a technological company.

Very few, if not none.

When you said such things, people would mock you, criticize you,
and ridicule you. They would even ask you to swear to them so they

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can prove to you in the future that you never became what you said
you would become.

And all that kind of nonsense is because people have accepted living
an unsatisfactory life as the norm. They would rather live as slaves in
the land of Egypt than dream about the promised land.

I refused that because I saw Canaan.

When people discuss ideas, the focus is on how to avoid suffering

and not how to eradicate poverty. They will talk about how easy it is
to service a Toyota car and not how they can easily buy and use a
Lamborghini.

People will praise those who aspire to work for others and ridicule
those who want to work for themselves. You will see children who
are jobless and just hoping for a job.

Talking about making millions is taboo while begging for a small

salary increment is noble. And people will always remind you to be
thankful that you have a job without looking out for more.

How can you become successful like that? You become doomed. If
you can’t toss that coin and see what's on the other side, then you
will always see what you see right now. Nothing will change.

People who get more are those who never get satisfied. They are
always hungry for more. They set high standards for themselves and
go after them. And they don’t settle.

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The good thing about setting low standards for yourself is that you
will meet those standards easily, and it will make you feel good.
However, you will never live a very exciting life by embracing low
standards.

If you are in school, don’t aim for the pass mark. When you get
employed, don’t focus on the job description. If you are investing,
building one house and a Toyota packed outside should never be the
goal.

You are better off taking a long time to achieve your lofty goals than
reaching your mediocre goals in a short time.

Who cares that you ate nshima? Why should eating nshima be a
goal? Who cares that you got paid a salary? Who cares that you have
a two-bedroom house in a densely populated area?

Nobody cares.

You are not living a wonderful life, period. The best way to describe
your life is that you are just surviving. You live for survival. You are
prey in the jungle called earth.

As for my family, we look for a higher life. We want to dominate life.

We don't want to dance to the tune of the big shots.

We don’t settle for mediocrity. Since I was young, I never saw myself
living the life of my father or relatives. Even when I worked for a top
bank, I never saw myself waiting for a retirement package.

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And despite having started a top consulting marketplace, I never said

I have reached my goals. Never! I am still trying to find more purpose
and give more to others because I never settle.

Once you settle, it’s over for you.

THE LACK OF ACCOUNTING FOR TIME AND MONEY

Every time you meet people, they will complain about lack of time or
money. According to most people, time is scarce, and money is even
scarcer.

“We have no time,” so they say.

When you read the Bible, God created the world in six days, and on
the seventh day, he rested. Therefore, in remembrance of this solemn
day, he commanded his people to work for six days and rest on the
seventh day.

Most Christians focus on the seventh day because the Bible

commands them to remember to keep the Sabbath Day holy.
However, they seem to ignore the other side of the commandment -
“In six days, thou shall work.”

In the Bible, God accounted for how He spent the six days, and the
record is there on what He did on the first day till the sixth day. You
won’t need to guess what God was doing on the third or the fifth day.

Time is always there for people who plan, and money will always be
there for people who budget. If you can’t plan your time or budget

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your money, you will never have enough time, and you will never
have enough money.

We live in communities where youths wake up in the morning and

start drinking. Some report late for work and spend all the time
thinking about the lie they will tell their boss for consistent late
reporting.

In my country, we even have “Zambian Time.” According to this time,

you should always allocate one to two hours to the actual time. If the
wedding starts at 6 pm, you will be alone until 10 pm at that wedding.

Therefore, go to that wedding around 7.30 pm to be early for a

wedding that was supposed to start at 6 pm. And believe me, you
will be early despite being one and a half hours late. And it is
acceptable.

If you question it, people will label you as being too serious about life.
You will hear disparaging remarks such as “balifikosha,” meaning you
make life difficult for nothing. People are okay with being late, and
very few people can count on how they spend their time daily.

The other issue people feel very uncomfortable accounting for is

money. When I say people, I mean spouses, kids, parents, relatives,
church leaders, and politicians.

We have not loved auditors for demanding accountability for money.

According to most people, you should never ask what someone

needs money for when they ask for it. And if that money gets spent,

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and they come back to ask for more, asking how they spent the
money you gave them is inappropriate.

Husbands and wives fight a lot about how they use money. Many
marriages have collapsed on the lack of accounting for how they
used money. The couple will spend money without accounting for it
until they end up in a crisis and start blaming one another.

Asking your parents how they spent the money you sent to them is
disrespectful. The pastor cannot also get asked how he bought
certain luxury properties, as doing so will “touch the anointed ones.”

The person who asks how the money got spent at home, church or
government is perceived as a bad person. People want to spend the
money the way they want, with no one accounting for how they
spent that money.

It’s very easy to be hated in our communities if you ask people to

account for how they used money. Some people have even lost their
lives questioning government officials on how they used money.

Questioning about money can even be dangerous.

And you wonder why our African continent has become ravaged
with poverty for decades. How can you succeed in communities
which cannot account for how they spent their time and money?

A good steward must account for how he spends his 24 hours. How
do you spend the 24 hours God gives you every day? How do you
spend your six days? And how do you account for the 365 days God
gave you?

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If you can’t account for your time, the odds of success are against
you. A man or woman who cannot account for his time cannot fulfil
the commandment of working for six days. And you cannot succeed
while cheating the principles of success.

Prudence is a critical component in pursuing success. The Bible says,

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with
much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest
with much.”

You cannot gain wealth if you cannot account for your time and
money. The reason is simple; you don’t want to account for your time
and money because you squander both most of the time.

Therefore, you feel stupid accounting for how you spent your money
and time because if you were to share these details, most of them
would be embarrassing. And the best strategy is avoiding talking
about it.

As a people, we like to talk about our accomplishments. If you don’t

want to talk about it, then it is definitely not worth talking about. What
I am trying to say is that if you don’t like to account for your time and
money, then you don’t spend those two things very well.

Would you avoid talking about a trip to your favourite travel

destination? Would you fail to account for the money you spent on
your dream car or house? Not at all.

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The lack of accountability for time is why people are not productive
at work. The lack of accountability for money is the reason politicians
usually plunder the government assets.

The lack of accounting for time is why the year elapses, and you
cannot remember anything you have accomplished. The lack of
accounting is why you earn money from your job, but you cannot
remember how and where you spent the money when it gets
finished.

If you really want to change the game of your wealth and happiness,
you need to account for your time and money. Otherwise, your time
and money will slip through your fingers like sand because you don’t
know how to hold them.

Events and other people’s programs will always push around people
who don’t plan their time. Everyone at the office will make you the
guy to go to because they know you are always available for
anything.

Marketers, salespeople, churches, parents, siblings, children, and

strangers will manipulate people who don’t plan their incomes and
money. You are the person everyone wants to have around.

They know you can spend without thinking. People know they can
call you at midday for a drinking spree, and you will be available
because you don’t account for your time.

Everyone will use you for their own interest because you are a good
person to use. You are a wanderer with no plans of your own. How

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can you become successful, rich, and happy if you live your life like
that?

Flip the coin!

Make plans for the day and follow them through. Make plans and
budgets for the things you want to buy and follow through. Plan your
time and budget your money. If you want to continue living the same
way you live now, forget about riches.

You also need to learn the power of saying no. You should not focus
on pleasing people. The stupid titles of “Big Buyer” they give you for
buying beer are never for people focused on becoming wealthy.

Those titles are for jokers and pretenders.

Learn to say, “I am busy” or “I budgeted my money.” Ask your wife

or husband how they spend their money. Ask your children how they
spent the money you gave them. Create a habit for people to account
for the money they get from you.

It will not sit well with most people, but you will help yourself and
others by doing that. Ask people what they do with their time,
especially those who complain about the lack of time. You notice
such people spend most of their time playing around.

The odds are against you if you don’t want to account for your time
and money. I have not met a successful person who kills time.
Successful rich people don’t play around.

They plan and work on their plans while you are busy playing around.

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Begin accounting for your time and money today if you want to live
a successful, rich, and happy life. Be in control of your life if you really
want to enjoy it.

EARLY MARRIAGE & BEARING MANY KIDS

At 26, I got married, and I had a child. My wife and I were both
running away from poverty in our families, and we made a new home
of possibilities.

By the time I was married, I had lived alone for almost 9 years, and I
was feeling like an adult. Life had thrown me on the streets, and I had
begun my hustle way too early.

I was already taking care of my siblings and paying school fees for
them. I was buying stuff for my parents. The more I did that, the more
I felt manly and responsible. I was doing what my dad couldn’t do.

It felt like some kind of progress.

And that gave me a certain feeling of adulthood that I convinced

myself that I should marry. If you ask me, it was not a great idea. It
has nothing to do with the person I married but when and how we
got married.

Both my wife and I were just kids. We could have waited for a few
more years. But we couldn’t. We fell in love. She moved in with me,
and we got married. The community and the type of friends I had
also played an important role in all this.

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Remember, if I had gone to school, I would still have been a student

studying and not thinking about marriage. My wife would also have
been studying instead of selling at Lusaka City Market.

But the challenges that came with such decisions were too much to
handle sometimes. It created what I call a cycle of poverty. I was
already keeping my youngest brother, and now I had to take care of
a wife and a child, too.

Before we even settled, my conscience couldn’t allow me to keep my

brother and not keep anyone from my wife’s side. The family advised
that I needed to balance the way I helped my family and my wife’s
family.

In a brief space of time, I was keeping five people in the house. My

salary was still small, but I had to look for a bigger house because of
the increase in the family headcount. Then came issues to do with
family anguish over lack of help.

My finances were tight. My family still needed help. The baby needed
milk and diapers, and I still had the responsibility of looking after my
brother and nephew. It didn’t take long before I pushed myself into
debt.

Marriage is a good thing. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and
gets blessed by the Lord. However, marriage comes with its own
challenges. Be ready financially and mentally stable before you can
decide to get married.

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A wedding is costly, and so is running the home. Children who are

born in that home need money to live a good life. And if you are
cruising at bearing children, it will force you to rent a bigger house to
accommodate those children.

This will also increase the expense of groceries, electricity, water,

food, school fees, medical, clothing and transport costs. And before
you realize it, you will start saying that you work for your children
(which could be true).

This creates a cycle of poverty that will pass from your generation to
your grandchildren’s generation. Just like your father depended on
you, you will also depend on your children for survival.

And all this makes it so hard to study for your MBA, start a new
business or move to another country for a better job. Marrying too
early can kill your dreams in the blink of an eye.

A single person can easily apply for a VISA to go work abroad, but
that is not the case for a married couple. Your spouse might have a
different point of view. And getting a VISA for a family is more difficult
compared to getting your own.

The risks you take when you are alone are not the same risks you take
when you are with your spouse. There is a lot of debating before you
decide. As a husband or wife, you will do things for the entire family
and not just for yourself.

Getting a new job in another town is easier for an unmarried person

than a married person. Starting a business is also easier for a single

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person than a married person. Marriage makes people become

reserved and risk averse.

Keep in mind that the best time to build wealth is when you are
young. This is the time you can decide to take jobs in war zones like
Syria, Iraq, or Yemen to make more money within a short period. You
can even decide to move to another country for better jobs.

But if there is a spouse involved, it becomes difficult. And if there is a

child, it becomes even more difficult. When you have more than one
child, it becomes a nonstarter.

Therefore, I encourage young people to marry a bit late if they are

still hustling. Marrying after the age of 30 is good for men, and after
25 is okay for women. Anything before that is just a gamble, and you
and I won’t know how it will play out.

You might win and become very successful, but the odds are still
stuck against you. Your family was already a burden for you, and now
you have added your wife’s family plus kids.

You have to flip the coin and marry a bit late. And ensure you bear
children strategically, not just bearing kids to prove that you can bear
children.

Let me explain the impact of having many children and how it can
create a cycle of poverty in your family. By the way, I have never
come across a parent who doesn’t love his or her children.

We all love our children.

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China and India are the world's most populous countries, but these
countries are on two different levels due to how they addressed
population.

In China, they understood the impact of population on the overall

wellbeing of the country and implemented a one child policy as early
as possible. India decided not to do anything about its population to
date.

If you look at India, the country has done so well economically and is
close to becoming a developed country. However, the outlook
doesn’t seem like a country about to become one of the global
economic powerhouses.

Despite doing so well economically, poverty is still rampant in India,

just like in many developing countries. And they have failed to
manage issues to do with clean water, housing, sanitation, and
homelessness.

China has become so well-organized despite being the most

populated country in the world. Implementing the one child policy
allowed them to build better families.

I know this is against our beliefs as Africans but imagine if every

parent could only have children in proportion to their income levels.
This one move can level the playing field on income per family.

Even a house servant can give a good life to his or her child and
educate that child even in difficult times. Of course, it will not be easy

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considering the incomes are on the lower end for maids, but there is
a better chance.

However, a maid with five children with an income of K1,200 per

month will struggle. In a nation with an average food basket of
K8,500, it becomes difficult to provide basic essentials to his or her
children. The desire will be there, but the incomes won’t allow it.

This leaves many parents who have a lot of children to gamble, hope,
and pray for the mercies of the Lord. What about flipping the coin so
you can see the other side? Wouldn’t you want to see what would
happen if you tried something different?

I understand it is not African to have fewer children. There are so

many questions that linger in your head. What if the one and only
child dies? Who is going to be there in your old age? What if the same
child abandons you?

My advice is simple. All those questions are proper, and it is very

possible that you may lose your only child. However, imagine if you
had so many children and all of them ended up junkies because you
gave them nothing.

Is that kind of life appealing to you? I choose to live a meaningful life.

I don’t want to gamble and bear so many children, hoping one of
them will be good for my benefit.

I believe it is my responsibility to leave an inheritance for my

children’s children; therefore, I don’t worry about my old age
because I could have raised children who will add value to the family.

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A chapter ahead will give you lessons about depending on children

in old age, which will reduce your worries about when you have
children in your old age.

Let’s Flip the Coin.

ENTITLEMENT & DEPENDENCE

When I failed to go to university in 2005, I blamed almost everyone

in the family for not taking me for further studies. I blamed my uncles,
aunties, rich family members and anyone close to me who seemed
to have a bit of money.

None of my friends told me I was wrong to blame others for our

poverty. Neither my mother, father, brothers, or sisters told me I was
wrong to blame and think that other people were responsible for my
life.

Whenever I complained to them, they vehemently agreed with me

and told me about the evil they had seen in most rich relatives. I was
bitter, angry, and frustrated.

I was once in the bad books with one of my favourite uncles of all
time called Samuel Ngwane. He asked me to join him in Lesotho,
where he worked at a Mission Hospital.

I was happy with a lot of expectations. We discussed how I could

access education, hoping to get a scholarship in South Africa at the
University of Bloemfontein.

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Within a few months, I just saw a change of programs, and he asked

me to study ACCA at ZCAS. I started studying accounting, but I failed
to proceed after my uncle stopped sending funds.

I was angry.

I stopped taking his calls and didn’t even want to meet him when he
came to Zambia. However, since he loved me like his own son, he
still came to visit me.

He asked me to hope for a better tomorrow, and I didn’t even want

to listen to what he used to say. He invited me to his wedding in South
Africa, and I refused to attend. It took my grandfather to convince me
otherwise.

Despite having made that trip, I didn’t want to be there. I felt the man
who was supposed to take me to school had neglected me and
invited me to his wedding as if he wanted to mock me.

I was angry. Anger was just part of the family, and I was taking my
frustrations out on anybody who tried to ask me anything about
school or life. I developed a sense of entitlement towards my uncle
and felt he was responsible for my problems.

And as we were coming from Johannesburg to Lusaka after the

wedding, my grandfather lectured me throughout our journey. He
told me I should direct my frustrations to my father and not my uncle.

He told me that my father was the one who was responsible for my
education, and anyone who tried to help could not be held

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accountable as they were just helping. He said, “Actually, you even

need to be thankful that he thought about you.”

He shouted, “He is not your father! Take your frustrations to your

father! Mtakati! (Mtakati means Devil).” He thought he was helping
without knowing that he was actually making me more bitter than
before.

However, those who believe in karma say it is like a mirror. The

actions, behaviour and intentions we give to the world, karma gives
back to us. It didn’t take long before it was my turn to be blamed.

People started coming to me, telling me how I had failed to build a

better house for my parents, like my friends. Family members started
asking me how much I paid for my rentals or TV subscription to
analyze if I was wasting money.

Some people started talking about how evil my wife was because
she did not want to keep more people in the house. They blamed a
woman who had already agreed to keep two people in the house.

My wife became the devil, and I was the man controlled by this
devilish woman. The nonsense continued so that some people in the
family insulted my wife directly because they believed she caused
their problems.

I couldn’t take it.

I issued Executive Orders, which restrained certain members of my

family from visiting our home. Before I realized the implications of my

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Executive Order, my wife had become the most hated person in the
family.

And in all that fracas, the relationship between my wife and I started
to strain. I questioned why everyone in the family was having
problems with her. I started accusing her of not accommodating my
family, and the problems got out of hand.

My wife and I even started asking each other who had helped the
other person’s family better than the other. She pointed at things I
had done for my family, and I showed her things I’d done for her
family.

It became a mess.

My young brother and nephew, who were staying with us, had to be
extra careful with both my wife and me because our tempers were
usually so high that we could wake up one day and send them back
to their parents.

In all that drama, I was still struggling with finances despite my family
thinking I had enough to share with them. I had to get a small loan to
solve certain issues in the family, but it was not enough.

I remember hearing someone in the family comparing me to a certain

guy who used to leave K150 for his mother every time he visited his
mother’s home. It was all about excuses.

I felt bad that I was getting treated that way. And the only person I
could turn to for wisdom and advice since my grandfather was no
more, was the same uncle I hated for not taking me to school.

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He told me how he understood what I was going through without

mentioning that it was the same way he felt at the time I felt entitled.
He talked about all my family expectations and how our African
concept expects the first-born to stand as the pillar of the family.

He even went further to mention that it's not something I could

change about my parents. He told me I could only change the
situation with my children.

He said, "Please don't put that kind of burden on your children or any
other person. It's difficult to carry."

This was when I remembered how I’d unfairly treated my uncle

without knowing that he also had his own financial issues. I even
understood at the time that he was actually better than me because
I’d failed miserably to help my relatives.

In Africa, every family has one person everyone looks up to. Most
first-born children take their parents’ role at a young age. They take
over the responsibility of taking care of siblings till they grow old
since African parents can also bear children in their old age.

And before the child knows it, he has nothing to leave for his children
and will only boast about raising their father’s children.

At this moment, everyone in the family will do well, and the same
parents will now start shielding those children from this poor first-
born child. They know that he or she will compete in begging from
their other children who are doing well.

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This child will now start doing what their father was doing. They will
create a dependence syndrome on their brothers.

If they don’t get help from them, they will teach their children about
the evil of their rich family members. The cycle of poverty and hatred
will continue until the fourth generation.

Let me share with you other areas where people are so dependent.

Weddings & Kitchen Parties

In 2012, my wife contributed to every wedding and kitchen party held

in the Town of Chililabombwe. She would contribute between K300
to K600, and she attended three to four weddings or kitchen parties
in a month.

I saw she was succumbing to this guilt trip set at church, community,
and family of being stingy if she did not contribute to someone’s
wedding or kitchen party.

The more she contributed to these weddings and kitchen parties, the
more her ranks were being raised in those events. She even bragged
about being in the mothers’ committee without knowing that people
were using her.

And she defended this by saying that when the time comes for her
daughters to get married, we will have a powerful wedding. I couldn’t
help but laugh. Who was fooling who here? The daughters she was
referring to were still in kindergarten.

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I explained that by the time her daughters got married, she would not
even be living in Chililabombwe or maybe even Zambia.

Why would you try to invest your money, hoping people will
remember that you were a kitchen party’s biggest contributor?

It took time before my wife realized that we only needed to

contribute to weddings or kitchen parties of people who were very
close to us. And I went further to explain that it should never be an
obligation to give.

Nowadays, the appetite for marrying on other people's budgets has

even grown. Almost everywhere you spend time, someone will ask
you to contribute to some wedding or kitchen party.

People have even gone further and asked for gifts and contributions
to their birthdays. What kind of entitlement is this?

Anyway, just flip the coin. Give where you can and forget the rest.

Relationship

In Africa, being in a relationship can be the worst nightmare for young

men and women. People have turned relationships into business
ventures.

In many African relationships between a man and a woman, there is

a financial dependency portrayed by most women to an extent
where they ask for a girlfriend allowance.

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It seems many young African men have to pay women to be in a

relationship with them. And I attribute this behaviour to the advice
given on social media by Slay Queens, who hide in the name of social
media celebrities.

These so-called celebrities share posts on social media, teaching

young women that it is better to go out with a married sugar daddy
who gives money than a young boyfriend who gives stories.

And every time I see these posts being shared by young ladies, I
wonder.

First, we need to be fair to the young men trying to build their lives.
How will they build a rich life if they have to give the little they make
to a woman just to prove that they love her?

Second, it is wrong to compare the financial status of your boyfriend

to someone the same age as your father. Probably, your boyfriend
will also be financially solid at the age of your sugar daddy and give
the same money to other girls because he can afford it.

But is that the life we want? Absolutely not.

Third, if your boyfriend focuses on giving you all the money he

makes, which is very little at the beginning of the career, when will
he build the life both of you will enjoy when you get married?

As a woman, unless you are dating boyfriends as a business or

survival skill from a poverty mindset created by your parents, there
is no need to put your financial burden onto your boyfriend.

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As a man, you must run away from such women.

Between the age of 20 to 35 years, a man must build a solid,

financially rich life in which his wife and children will live.

If you are dating a real woman, she will help you build that life.
However, if you are dating one of these short-term gold diggers, you
will not build wealth.

The Bible says, "Don't spend all your energy on sex and all your
money on women; they have destroyed kings. He who keeps
company with harlots wastes his wealth."

In the chapter about Living like a Monk, we will learn other self-
discipline behaviours you need to develop to build and sustain
wealth.

However, in this matter, you need to understand that there are

women who financially depend on various men for survival. They
have even made men feel guilty for not giving them money.

A woman thinking about how you will spend your future with her
cannot be short-sighted into thinking that she must make money out
of you while in a relationship.

She will not encourage you to spend money anyhow. She will not go
on a date with three friends who love drinking expensive wines.

A girlfriend who cares about you will not put you under any financial
pressure that will lead to going into debt or being broke. When that
happens, find another girlfriend.

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You deserve better.

Employment

Everyone cries out about why many successful people avoid

employing relatives or friends. In my experience, employing
someone close to you in a business is very challenging.

It will not take long before certain characters remind you about the
type of relationship you have with them.

You may even end up demotivating other members of the team

because of the entitlement of the people close to you.

If you have employed a relative, church-mate, friend, or tribesman,

you’ll notice that most of them want to be treated differently from
others based on their relationship with you.

They will be the first ones to undermine you, talk ill behind your back
and share embarrassing moments they know about you with your
other employees just to justify that they know you better.

They will disregard other employees and treat them like nobodies.
Some of them will even take things from the business without asking
for permission just to see if you will do anything about it.

Friends and relatives will want you to pay them better than everyone
else because you’ve known them since the age of 7. They will talk
more about the past than the present and the future.

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And when you challenge them to give more, they will start talking
about how they stuck with you when you had two pairs of trousers.
It is difficult to hire friends or relatives unless you can flip the contract
on their face.

If you want to hire relatives and friends, you should be the type of
person who will take no nonsense and demand that everyone,
relative or friend, perform or get fired.

I don’t care whether it’s your wife, husband, parent, sibling, pastor,
childhood friend, or your beloved child. If they show signs of
entitlement, get rid of them. You can continue with your relationship
outside of the business.

The level of entitlement is sickening, and your business will go

nowhere if you don’t set boundaries for relatives and friends who you
hire in your company.

Charitable Organizations

The people who may become entitled to your kindness are charitable
organizations. I once went to an orphanage and found kids who got
trained to sing for people who visited them.

The care mothers of the orphanage taught these kids how to tell all
their problems to visitors as an encouragement to come back and
donate more.

When I saw that, I realized this problem would never end. My

question was how we could make those kids learn a skill and stop
begging. Crazy, but possible.

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I know some people will actually judge what I am saying right now
as an excuse to stop giving to people who need help. However, I
believe that the best way to help a child or any person who is down
is to help them stand on their own.

I don’t believe in helping people in perpetuity for self-

aggrandizement. And I also don't believe in making people
consistently depend on you.

Charitable organizations whose focus is feeding people instead of

teaching people how to feed themselves create a bigger problem in
society without realizing it.

Begging dehumanizes people. It makes them look less than ordinary

people. When you beg a lot, you will get to a point where you allow
anyone who gives you something to treat you however they want.

I don’t enjoy seeing charitable organizations turn people into lifelong

beggars. Flip the coin and let vulnerable people live like any ordinary
human being.

Perhaps you may think I don’t care about people, but I do. I have seen
people in disadvantaged situations who have turned the coin and
used their situation to succeed.

Churches

In Africa, some churches have pastors specializing in daylight

robbery. And what is sad about it is that the people they rob justify
being robbed in the name of being a dedicated follower.

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These are pastors referred to as Men of Gold and not men of God.

The Men of Gold in Africa depend on their church members for

survival and building wealth. They even threaten the church
members with curses if they don't bless the Man of Gold.

Some prophets have even resorted to giving false predictions (not

prophecies) about elections, football matches and deaths of people
just to make people think God truly uses them.

The church members have to make sure that the Man of Gold is
wearing expensive suits, living in a mansion, driving an expensive car
and even owning jets.

These Men of Gold have become makhalane (parasites) to their

church members such that members are becoming poorer, and the
Men of Gold are becoming richer every day. They act like parasites
to their members.

I am not teaching you to stop giving tithes and offerings. Tithes and
offerings build a storehouse for the orphans, vulnerable and aged.
You must continue giving.

However, if your church doesn't care about the vulnerable, aged,

orphans or differently abled people, then you are giving your money
to a scam organization.

Motivational Speakers and writers

Another group of dependent people is inspirational speakers and

writers. People like me. We can easily become parasites in your life.

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I would be a hypocrite if I didn't include inspirational writers and

motivational speakers in the group of scammers. It's easy for us to
take advantage of people because of the respect we get from people.

Many people can easily believe our lies if we decide to take

advantage of people. And this has happened so many times where
people get scammed by self-help coaches and motivational
speakers.

First, we may start by selling you a book. After that, we want you to
attend a paid webinar or seminar. And before you know it, we want
to sell you more books and more seminars.

And the question is, when will it become enough? For how long are
you going to just be buying my books without taking action?

You need to be careful. We may end up hooking you to a series of

books that will become addictive to read but offer zero value.

And you will just be losing money by buying books or attending

seminars that don't change your life. Be careful.

At some point, your life must change. If your life is not changing by
reading my books, then you must stop buying them.

I am serious.

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Business & Relationships

Should relatives or friends get things from your business for free or
buy? Should a relative who asks for money to pay back take that
money without paying? These are troublesome questions in Africa.

I have experienced so many situations where relatives have gotten

goods on credit (not asking for free but a business transaction), and
they later jokingly say that they thought I’d just given them for free.

It can get interesting and appalling at the same time.

What kind of business is that? Why would you go to a relative and

ask for goods on credit to pay back while thinking he or she will not
ask for the money because you are friends or related?

That’s nonsense.

I have asked for money from my friends, Michael and Mweemba

many times. There are times I have even asked for money from my
friends to pay back with interest and paid with interest.

Why is that so?

Because I am the person who understands that it is very easy to

destroy a friend’s business with an entitled mentality. And it is also
easy to ruin friendships if you have a habit of not paying back the
money you owe to your friends.

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We must respect our friendships. We need to know our boundaries,

even in our friendship. Marriages fail because of money, and you
think your relationship will stand if you financially abuse your friend?

That’s not right.

A coin has to be flipped here. I am not asking what others should do.
I am talking about what you are going to do. If a friend or relative asks
for money, tell them to return it if you want it back.

I learned this from a Muslim friend who taught me that Islam teaches
that you need to give money to someone and ask for the money to
be returned without interest.

I asked why.

He said that it creates the discipline of hard work and responsibility.

Muslims believe it is a good thing to give to the poor, but it is greater
to give to the people who will multiply what you gave them and pay
back.

I learned a lesson that a certain type of giving in our circles is why

people don’t account for what they get and hence become entitled
to get from the people who gave them.

And instead of building the community, our giving destroys people

mentally as they become used to begging and dependent on the
government and others for survival.

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Politics & Governance

Politics is a game of numbers. But if you're not careful, the members

who make up the numbers can easily turn you into an irresponsible
leader by dancing to their daily tunes.

I have often seen a president appoint a certain person he thinks has

been loyal to him despite not having the relevant qualifications for
the job.

We have also seen cadres in Africa becoming more powerful

because they think they are the ones who elected the president. And
they feel that the president owes them a life.

Many presidents in Africa have succumbed to this entitlement to

levels where cadres started collecting council fees in markets and
bus stations in Zambia.

We also have situations where people who hail from the same region
as the president think they are superior to others in that country. They
think they need to get all the top jobs in the country.

This entitlement has divided many countries and led others to

genocide and war. If you decide to be a leader, understand that you
cannot tolerate entitlement from people close to you.

The moment you get elected, try as much as possible to become a

president of the country and not a president of your party or
president of your tribe.

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Otherwise, the same people you think helped you get to the top will
also bring you down.

Extended Family

Extended family has been a cornerstone for most families. It has been
of great help helping one another in pursuing better wellbeing for our
families.

In many African homes, you will find one or two dependents being
kept by a couple other than their children. It is a culture we have
embraced for so many years and called it UBUNTU.

However, this helping hand has also been a source of many family
conflicts and hatred. Some people within the family circles have used
it to take advantage of other family members who are well off.

Many people who consider themselves poor believe that it is the

responsibility of those with enough money to take care of their
children.

Many uncles, aunties, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers believe

that a certain relative should take some of their children because that
person has fewer children.

Think about it.

And when you decide to take one child from that relative who has
five kids to help them out, you will find another baby in that same
house. They will even share the same story of another child wanting
to come and stay with you.

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I believe that if you decide to have five kids, and if you are a man like
me, you should be in a good financial position to take care of your
kids. Even if you are not rich, you should blame nobody in your family
for your kids' suffering.

And the reason is very simple.

Parenting is a decision. The Bible says that he who cannot take care
of his own is worse than an infidel. Therefore, I believe you have a
responsibility to take care of your children as a parent.

If other people are helping you, you should be grateful. And you
should not expect that the person who has taken your child should
keep your child the same way they keep their children.

If they do, thank God for that.

But you have no moral right to accuse them of not doing what you
failed to do. You need to have respect for someone who is giving your
child what you failed to give him or her.

You should just take care of your own children. You are taking the
space of orphans by taking your children to be kept by another
person when he could have kept children who are fatherless.

Keep your own children.

I believe we all have the responsibility to give if we are capable. The

hand that gives does not lack. It is honorable to be a giver and
degrading to be a beggar. You should, therefore, give whenever you
can.

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However, we live in a world where people have a habit of taking

advantage of good people. Don’t allow yourself to become a victim
of such ploys. If they decide to brand you as a stingy person, so be it.

Africans have a deep-rooted dependence syndrome. They depend

on others for their kitchen parties, weddings, livelihood, children's
school fees, health bills and even funeral expenses.

Some people will even decide to host a big wedding, hoping that
people will contribute enough money to finance it. You see budget
plans that exceed people’s income, and they want you to cover it.

Churches will keep you busy with daily church programs just to get
the last coin from your pocket. Some people have become
permanent beggars stationed with the same story of being stranded.

They have made begging a full-time job.

I am not discouraging giving, but you need to know that the biggest
scams nowadays have something to do with religion and charity.
These scams are so deep because they teach you not to question
them.

The government forces you to pay them more money by creating tax
laws to get your money while these other guys manipulate your heart
to get the last dollar from you.

I also believe that if the government is corrupt, taxes are also a scam.
They get money from people and put it into their pockets through
corruption.

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What you don’t see is that everyone feels entitled to get money from
your pocket except you. You are always afraid to spend money on
yourself because these other guys have convinced you they are more
important than you.

Flip the coin, my friend. You are looking on the wrong side of the coin.
People who are supposed to be victims have made you a victim.
They flipped the coin on you, and you cannot see what they have
done to you.

We have too many beggars and few givers. In most families and
communities, only a few people work really hard to sustain different
clans of tribes. Cut off the entitlement and dependence syndrome in
the people.

These two vices have created a cycle of poverty in families,

communities, countries, and the African continent, which will never
end until someone decides to Flip the Coin.

LACK OF QUALITY EDUCATION

It is no longer a debate that the quality of education no longer meets

the demands of a modern life. What’s worse is that university
graduates are not taught how to survive without a job.

It’s sad that even private schools, apart from teaching children how
to speak English like an American or British, rarely offer anything
more to command the fees they charge parents.

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There are very few private schools with facilities that can help
learners identify their talents or sharpen their skills. The focus is more
about getting high marks in Grades 7, 9 and 12. That’s it.

They get free money. Private schools should do more.

The accurate definition of quality education is “an education, which

can make a secondary school student become a functional member
of society with one or two talents or skills he can use to earn a living.”

Someone who completed their education should be able to have one

or two skills he can sell to earn a living. It is wrong for a grade twelve
certificate to be the standard qualification for becoming a Republican
president, and yet it offers nothing but a gateway to college.

It makes little sense.

When I was in primary and junior secondary school, we had subjects

like Woodwork, Geometrical and Mechanical Drawing and Home
Economics. These classes were non-existent by the time I completed
high school.

Even when I was in primary school, the tools and equipment for
these subjects were not available in the schools. And I think teachers
found it necessary to just avoid the subjects altogether.

I believe it was unfortunate.

The purpose of education is to prepare young people for real life by

equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills to become
functional members of society.

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I am not an education expert, but I believe that certain subjects and

topics are no longer relevant for 21st-century kids. I believe that two
of the senior secondary mandatory subjects should include skill-
based subjects like Art & Design, Technology, Woodwork &
Carpentry, Metal Fabrication, Music, and Physical Education.

The school sports facilities, chemical laboratories, computer rooms,

woodwork classes and metal fabrication classes must get equipped
starting from safety to equipment for learning.

We need to be very realistic about life. We take kids to school to

learn skills for a job or business. And if that is the goal, we should
always think about how the teachings of today will earn them a living
tomorrow.

We should teach money in schools.

In my community, it is taboo to teach a child about money. We

believe that a girl who talks about money will end up a prostitute or
never find a man to marry her.

We believe a boy who gets taught about money will become a thief
when he becomes an adult. Therefore, we have several people who
learn about one when they become adults.

Most people don’t know that learning about money when you are an
adult is almost too late. I will talk about mastering money in the next
chapter, but it is worth mentioning that you cannot master a skill in a
brief space of time.

Mastery comes with time.

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My wife once told me that Joy (our second daughter) saw someone
in town with a few bundles of money, and she couldn’t stop staring.
She even whispered to her mother to see what she was seeing.

When my wife told me that story, I told her that she, too, could make
that kind of money. She was surprised but also excited to hear that
and asked me how she could do it.

I gave her an example of selling sweets. I told her that if she got a
packet of 100 sweets for K80 and sold them for K100, her money
would have increased by K20.

And if she sold more and more sweets, then she would multiply that
K20 a million times and become a millionaire.

My daughter was excited. I explained that those are the basic steps
for making and multiplying money. I also told her about how she can
master a skill and make people pay for that skill.

I shared how she could also lend her money to others and get
interest. She was amazed to hear that she could actually make money
with no form of work by just putting her money to good use.

From what I explained to my daughter, what would make someone

believe that such knowledge would make a girl become a prostitute
or a boy become a thief?

The issue is that people don’t teach their children how to gain, keep
and multiply wealth. They only teach that people have to work for
money without realizing that Cristiano Ronaldo made $40 million by
sharing an advert on his Instagram page.

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They also don’t know that some people have made money by
investing their monies in Fixed Deposits, Bonds, Treasury Bills and
Stock without even doing any form of work.

Such people don’t believe that money can work for you, but you
should always work for money.

It’s time we started teaching people the various ways they can earn
money. There are so many ways to skin this money cat. We can skin
it from the head or the tail, as long as we have skinned it.

Children have to learn how to make money, save money, and

multiply money through investments. If they can grasp those skills as
quickly as possible, then you have done a great job as a parent.

The primary reason people send their children to school is to have

good-paying jobs in the future. And we have these educated kids
who are financially illiterate.

They will squander their money on beer, sex, drugs, partying and
betting. What’s the point, then? Teach kids about rewards and the
consequences of mismanaging money.

They have to learn how to Flip the Coin when they are still young.

IGNORING THE POWER OF CONTINUITY

The boxer named Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr dominated lightweight

professional boxing without a single defeat. At the publication of this
book, he had fought 50 fights, 50 wins, 27 knockouts and zero losses.

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The father of Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr is a former boxer named Floyd

Joy Mayweather Sr., who trained his son from childhood as a
professional boxer and mentored him to become the great and
cunning boxer he became.

You can easily see the father passing on all the wisdom and tactics to
the son while highlighting his mistakes for the son to avoid.

President Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States,

was known as a real estate mogul and billionaire in New York City.
Trump Organization is an iconic brand and has commercial
skyscrapers, luxury hotels, golf courses, residential and estates,
which have spread across North America, Europe, Asia, and the
Middle East.

Trump’s grandmother, Elizabeth Christ Trump and Trump’s father

Fred Trump started the Trump empire in 1927 as a real estate
company. The Trump Organization has close to 100 years of
experience in real estate. Donald Trump took over when it was worth
millions and built it into a billion-dollar business.

And it is very visible that the company is now being run by Donald
Trump Jr and Eric Trump, the children of Donald Trump.

Serena Williams is a professional American tennis player with 23

Grand Slam singles titles to her name. Many regard her as one of the
greatest female tennis players of all time. She hosts most major titles
in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

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The parents of Serena Williams, Oracene Price and Richard Williams

were official tennis coaches of Serena Williams and her sister Venus
when she was just four.

The parents continued training Serena and Venus, combined with the
Ricci Macci’s Academy coaching and the mentorship of Richard
Williams, the man from Compton who shared the name with her
father.

Serena and Venus’ parents played a huge role in the success of the
wonderful tennis sportswomen.

Professor Kenneth Kaoma Mwenda is a renowned US-based

Zambian lecturer of law with accreditation in many world-class
schools like The Rhodes University, University of Warwick,
University of Oxford, University of Cape Town, University of Hull and
University of Zambia.

He has been a Senior Council in the Legal Vice Presidency Office and
Programs Manager at the World Bank for many years. Professor
Mwenda is not just highly learned but also widely travelled. He has
experience in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa,
and the Middle East.

The parents of Professor Kenneth Mwenda were educated and

learned lecturers, who paved the way for their son to do better in
academics, extensive travel, and capacity development.

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When you look at the examples I have given above, you notice that
a baton was passed from the parents to the children with tried and
tested wisdom for success in their field.

From boxing to academics, you will see the impact of the parents
laying a solid foundation for the kids to stand on. And they don't just
end there but also help the children to master the vocation and take
it to another level.

In Zambia, Indians have done this for many years. If the father is a
merchant, the children will study different courses and return to their
father’s business as accountants, legal advisors, mechanics,
managers, etc.

Building an empire is difficult. It takes years of learning, making

mistakes, trials, and successes. After a while, it becomes easy to win
every single time. You get to master the game, the market, the clients,
the competitors, the challenges, and the opportunities.

I feel a plumber must teach his child the secrets of success in

plumbing. A lawyer must groom one of his children to become a
lawyer. The businessmen must teach their children about business.
The preachers must groom their children to become preachers.

It makes it easier for children to start and succeed. Not every child
should start from scratch. Let those that will start their own things do
so but try as much as possible to train one child or two, who will
build on your success.

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Starting from scratch is difficult, which is why many African kids don't
make it.

LACK OF INSURANCE PLANS FOR UNCERTAINTIES

I have a question for you.

What would happen to your children if you passed away today? Will
your family continue to live the same lifestyle they are living now?

Will your children be able to realize their dreams of going to the best
colleges or universities? Will there be enough money to take care of
your family?

What does the future of your family look like without you? Does it
look exciting or worrying? Is there enough to sustain and support
your family when you are gone?

These are very important questions every parent, especially fathers,

must ask themselves daily.

One thing I know is that if you are a parent, you definitely care about
the welfare of your family. And you want your family to realize their
dreams, even when you are no more.

However, most families in Africa have no insurance policies. Very

few parents have planned for their families’ future, even after they
are gone.

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The lack of life insurance is one issue in Africa that has caused so
much poverty for many years because we have not taken insurance
policies seriously.

In Africa, an insurance policy is something perceived as evil or

wishing death upon yourself or the people you want to cover.

Many people have indifferent feelings about life insurance. Some

people think life insurance is satanic.

However, if you think about it critically, having an insurance policy

helps to cover eventualities you did not plan to happen.

People who are smart enough to have used insurance policies

protect themselves from eventualities like sickness, death of the
breadwinner, or the person who supports the family.

You can never consider yourself to be wise or somebody who's

responsible if you have not put aside life insurance policies for such
uncertainties or eventualities in your life.

We need to take life insurance seriously. If we want to prosper and

build wealth, having life insurance will help you avoid going into deep
poverty.

I believe that most of the parents right now that resist the idea of
putting aside life insurance, education plans, or health plans, have not
critically thought about the future of their families.

They have not thought about what would happen to their family
when they pass away. And I know many parents don't like to think

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like that, because according to them, they will live longer until Jesus
comes back. And it is foolish to think like that.

Every one of us will die, eventually. We just don't know the day that
we are going to die. And if that day comes, you need to be certain
that your family will be in a strong financial position to continue to
live the same lifestyle they are living right now.

If you cannot plan for such eventualities, you need to understand that
the life of your children is at stake. If you died today, your children
might not complete their education.

Your children might not live in a better house. Your children might
not realize a dream of going to the colleges or universities you
wanted them to go to. And the lifestyle of your children may end up
being terrible.

You wouldn’t stomach that if you were alive.

We know how girl children struggle with finances and end up having
sugar daddies. They end up dating men they don't love just for the
sake of money. We also know how boys end up stealing and doing
many wrong things just to get a little money for survival.

These are genuine issues that happen to orphan children because

they have no way out. And I know many of you would just condemn
these children. That could be true, but you have a responsibility to
protect children from terrible experiences.

Not really.

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The issue is because, as a father, you did not plan for the time when
you are no more. A wise parent must be able to leave an inheritance
and to protect that inheritance. You must put life insurance policies,
health insurance policies, and education insurance plans for your
children.

We must rise as Africans and do the right thing. We cannot continue

doing the same things we have been doing for the past centuries. And
we ought to leave enough wealth for our children and protect our
family’s welfare through life insurance.

Otherwise, if you died today, it might be the beginning of suffering

for your children. And this can make your wife and children do things
you never thought they would do just to survive.

Statistics show that almost 52% of people will struggle if their fathers
die right now. 52% is not a good number. If 52% of people were to
go into poverty because they lost their father or mother, is a terrible
situation.

As my brothers and sisters, I ask you to consider the idea of taking

out life insurance because it's important. It's very important to have
life insurance for your family. You can speak to any financial advisor
or visit Kawiwi Financial Advisors at Indeco House.

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onsider these policies for:

1. Education

As you are alive right now, life is becoming tougher every single day.
Are you sure there is enough money to take your child to school
when they graduate?

If you are not sure, create an educational plan where you contribute
around 300 to 2,000 Kwacha for your child’s future education in the
next 10 to 20 years?

2. Health

Another example will be if you're a businessperson right now. What

would happen if you got sick? What would happen to your business?
Who would take care of your family? What would happen to
everything around you?

First, getting sick means you cannot run your business. Second, your
family will struggle to run the business without you being there
because they have to take care of you.

And third, you will be using money from your business to take care
of your hospital bills, which will stress the business further into
financial struggle.

In this situation, I think the best solution would be to take out a health
insurance policy to take care of you and any of your family members
when such things happen.

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If you got sick, or any of your family members got sick, the insurance
company will cover you. Instead of taking money from the business,
the insurance company will take care of your hospital bills on your
behalf.

Paying health insurance premiums might seem like a cost when you
are paying, but it's actually an investment and protection for your
future.

Every responsible parent knows that their children’s welfare is in

their hands. Whether right in the present moment or in the future,
you need to think about the future and protect it.

Without a policy, you will live a life without cover. Life without
insurance cover is mostly based on expecting others to help or the
mercies of the lord. It is a sign that you have failed as a parent.

But if you have a life policy, even if you've not built enough wealth
for your children, you will realize the dreams of your children when
you pass away.

The insurance company will pay for medical expenses, funeral,

education, and a life lump sum to help your family continue your
legacy.

It will not be as good as it would have been when you're alive, but it
will still help them navigate through those tough moments when
you're gone.

As a parent, I’m asking you to understand the importance of having a

life insurance policy. It's not good to think of life insurance as a cost.

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You must think of life insurance as an investment because it is indeed

an investment for the future. You might not see the benefits right
now, but your family’s future will be protected.

Analyze the number of people in your communities who have been

so poor because they lost a breadwinner in that family. When you
analyze critically and look at those situations with the eyes of a
parent, it will break you.

You're going to get concerned about your children, and you will leave
an inheritance for them. It is your responsibility to plan for the future
of your children.

The odds are against most poor people because they don't plan for
the life of their families after death. Even when they make some
money, they spend it all without thinking about the welfare of the
family when they are gone.

Most poor people will remain in poverty because there's almost

nothing left for them when their parents die apart from a few suits,
clothes and pots.

I think we can change that and leave life insurance policies so that
the future of our children is protected. Life insurance is an
investment, not an expense.

The moment you think like that, the better it will be for you and your
family. As a parent, you must think beyond your life because that is
wisdom. A parent that thinks about this moment is not a wise parent.

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 Chapter Two
MASTER MONEY

“I tell you, that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from
him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
- Mathew 25 vs 29, RSV.

H
aving talked about financial education, I have to share a
few more details about how you can master money from
a young age. By the way, this is something I learned the
hard way, and I think you can avoid that route.

The difference between what is possible and impossible is an issue

of mindset. What is impossible for you might be very possible for
another person, even when you are going through the same
circumstances.

Francis Bacon once said that “Money is a great servant but a poor
master.”

This means that you have to master money to appreciate what

money can do in your life, or you will become a slave to money if you
cannot master it.

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What you will understand about money is that it is not the most
hard-working person or the most educated in the room who makes
the most money. It is usually the person who is ‘perceived’ to provide
more value to other people who will make the most money.

I ask that you read that paragraph again.

Another important observation to make is that of planting a seed and

expecting fruits. The person who plants seeds is the one who will
harvest the fruits. And Jesus said that if a tree does not bear any fruits,
cut it down.

Therefore, if you follow the story of the three servants in the Bible,
the servant who invested his money got praised by his master and
the servant who dug a hole to keep the money without multiplying it
was condemned.

It is, therefore, every human being’s duty to use his God-given talents
and harvest the fruits of his labour. Using your talents to the benefit
of others is not only beneficial to the people you serve but also
beneficial to you because you will earn.

The lack of use for what God has given you causes poverty. It is also
a result of failing to understand how the system of wealth creation
works.

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Wealth is a subject of basic mathematics

Many considered mathematics to be a difficult subject in school. I am

one of those people who used to struggle with mathematics until I
met Francis Mhone, who told me that it was all about practice.

When I talk about basic maths, I am talking about addition,

multiplication, division, and subtraction. And when you study wealth,
you understand that it is basically the application of these four topics
of maths.

If you want to accumulate wealth, you will need to master the art of
addition and multiplication and learn how to reduce division and
subtraction.

Many people earn money, which adds to their wealth. However, as

soon as they get that money, they will find something to buy, which
subtracts money from their earnings.

Others have mastered addition but don't know how to multiply those
earnings, so they can double or triple their earnings. These people
earn and put their money in the bank where they earn small interest.

However, there are people who have mastered addition and

multiplication, which has helped them to come up with ideas of
adding more income to their wealth and multiplying the same wealth
through investments.

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CHOOSE JOBS WITH A FAT PAYCHECK

When I completed high school, I had already decided what I wanted

to study. I wanted to become a medical doctor. To this day, I still
don't know why I even wanted to become a medical doctor.

My father wanted me to become a teacher. According to him, jobs

were easy to find, and they offered a sense of job security.

My grandfather encouraged me to study either agricultural science

or law, so I could become an agricultural scientist or lawyer. I
understood my grandfather wanted me to live his dream.

One of my teachers said I should go for banking and finance or

accounting jobs because I loved and did well in mathematics and
accounting.

However, none of my parents or teachers gave me salary scale

insights into some jobs or industries. Despite the recognition of
poverty in our family, none of them mentioned anything to do with
pay.

I wonder why.

Why would you choose a career job for the sake of choosing one?
Did you know that there are jobs whose salaries have never
improved in the last 10 years? Did you know that there are jobs with
no guaranteed career progression?

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There are jobs where highly intelligent people are reduced to street
protesters to get improved wages. Why would you choose such a
job in the world of alternatives?

Someone might say that they love being a teacher, or they love being
a journalist. I have no problem with that. However, did you also know
that in that same industry, there are companies that pay well and
companies which don't?

When someone has completed high school, they need to pull out a
list of careers and jobs and make an industry analysis of how well
they pay for those jobs.

It is financially unwise to choose a career job when you don't even

know how much they will pay you. Remember that you will depend
on that job to build your family and build wealth. So why don't you
want to know how much they will pay you?

That's so absurd.

You need to know the salary scale for the careers you want to take.
You need to understand the career progression of that job you want
to take, and you need to know how much they will pay you.

You cannot go to university for five years to study a field yet don’t
study how they will pay you for your studies. You need to know the
pay for most industries, and it’s very wise to choose jobs and
companies that pay better.

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SEE YOURSELF AS A RICH PERSON

You cannot become what you don’t see. God took Moses to the
mountain to show him the promised land. Joseph saw in his dreams
that he would become a Prince.

You cannot become what you don’t envision and get what you don’t
dream about. The way you see yourself in the next five years has a
significant role to play in how the five years will play out.

Many people are afraid to call themselves millionaires before they

become one. However, they can fantasize about sex with someone
until it comes to pass. Wealth can be premeditated just like murder.

Many people hold thoughts about many useless things until they
come to pass. However, they feel that holding thoughts about money
for a long time is some kind of idol worship.

Before I built Kawiwi.org, I saw the CEO in me and the cars I would
be driving as CEO of Kawiwi International, Limited. It did not bother
me that I was still working as a Client Service Manager of a bank at
the time.

I was earning $600 net, and my wife and I were planning a trip to the
USA, which would cost a whopping $6,000 to spend in New York.

I did not have a car, but I saw myself driving an Audi, BMW,
Mercedes Benz, Maserati, Porsche, and Ferrari. These dream cars I
visualized would cost the value of my future pension, yet I saw
myself cruising on the highway in each one of them.

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I still visualize my children going to top schools in the United States

and England. I visualize Chikondi going to Wharton Business School
at the University of Pennsylvania while Joy studies at either Oxford or
Cambridge University in England.

My wife talks about how she wants to start a top TV cooking show
that will inspire kids with a passion for cooking to become chefs
because she cares so much about cooking.

My wife and I talk about how we will build life-saving hospitals in

Zambia and develop a foundation that will equip young men and
women with money-making skills.

If you look at all that, that is not something you achieve with a salary
of $600. It is not possible to even think about sending your children
to US universities, which cost more than $50,000 when you are
earning $600.

That’s just crazy.

You cannot think about a car that costs $165,000 when the company
you are building is not even worth that amount. Thinking like that is
just complete madness.

It never bothered me, though. It is madness to think beyond what is

considered realistic. But that's the kind of AUDACITY you need.

The audacity to dream and think beyond what is humanly possible.

The audacity to believe that you can achieve those ridiculous dreams.
And the audacity to see yourself a millionaire when you are still poor.

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That’s my kind of audacity.

I understood then and I understand now that you have to see yourself
living the life you want to become. I foresaw the life I am living now
when I was in the ghetto, and I am slowly beginning to live some of
those dreams.

The people who are afraid to see themselves living the life of their
dreams are cowards and don’t understand the power of utmost faith.
You must see the life you want to live before you start living it.

Picture yourself living a rich life, and you will end up rich. Imagine the
money in your bank account, and you will soon have that money in
your account. Envision that beautiful lady by your side or that
handsome dude by your side.

And it will surely come to pass. We attract what we can visualize.

These principles work for everything in life, including money.

Whether you want to get laid, promoted or win an election, beliefs
and personal conviction play a huge role in getting what you want.

DON'T CHASE MONEY. SEDUCE IT.

People who understand the art of seduction know that you don’t
need to chase after anything you want to attract. Lure it to you, and
don’t chase after the thing you want.

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Amateurs chase after ladies, men, promotions, wealth, and power.

The people who know how to play this game know that you have to
draw the things you want to you.

Ladies have to chase you. Men have to beg you. People have to plead
with you to be their leader, and you should be in the position to
decline certain promotions because you are in control.

It is the same way with money.

And to reach that level where you attract money to you, there is a lot
of work you have to do on yourself.

There is one person who asked me a very thought-provoking

question. “Edwin, if you were to discover today that you are the child
of Prince Charles, would you still be sitting at this desk and waiting
for a salary every month?”

Immediately, I knew that I wouldn’t be in that chair. I understood I

would be doing something else. It was not an issue of frustration or
pride, but my value wouldn’t be $600, even if I didn’t work.

My value would be much higher, even if my job involved standing in

front of a camera taking a few photo shots. I wouldn’t even ask for a
raise, but rather the company would ask me how much it would cost
them to use my face on their marketing materials.

They would not ask me about my qualifications or whether or not I

have experience because my value would be too high for such
questions.

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That’s what I call value.

With that kind of value, you will attract many business opportunities
and money to yourself. People will come to you and ask how much
they can pay you to appear on their show or speak to their
employees.

However, the example I used involves something that is inherited.

What about you and I, who inherited nothing? What can we do to
attract money to ourselves?

CREATE AN IDENTITY OF VALUE

If you watch TV, you’ve probably seen top companies hiring

celebrities (actors, comedians, musicians, athletes, disk jockeys, etc.)
to do some company marketing.

Look at this; they hired most of these celebrities without asking them
about the schools they went to or the courses they studied.

How come? You ask.

This could be the same company that rejected your friend or relative
because they were not qualified, yet they can hire someone without
any qualifications.

So, here is the thing.

The difference between your friend or relative and a celebrity is

based on the fact that a celebrity has an identity of value that your
relative or friend doesn't have.

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The celebrity has shown through his personal work that he or she can
manage to pull people around some product or service, unlike you
and your friend or relative.

Because of the social influence, which is the perceived value that a

celebrity has, he or she will get a job and charge high fees despite not
having the qualifications for marketing.

You see that certain people will never be asked to produce a resume
to get hired because they have an identity of value that other people
are willing to pay for.

I learned about the financial power of a personal brand in 2012 when

one of my colleagues was getting married.

She wanted to hire a certain well-known Zambian comedian as the

Master of Ceremony (MC) for the wedding.

And the guy demanded K15,000, equivalent to $1,500 for a two-hour

job.

My colleague tried to negotiate for a lower amount, but the comedian

just told her point blank that she could try other MCs for a lower
amount.

And at that moment, I thought the guy was joking, but to my surprise,
he had many other offers, and he was actually waiting for the highest
bidder.

After making a few calls, she found that cheaper MCs were mediocre,
and most MCs with established names were pricey.

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We called the same guy we thought was expensive to pay the

K15,000. And to our surprise, the guy was no longer available on that
day as a certain government department had already hired him for
their annual ball.

At that moment, I asked myself questions. What makes this guy

charge an amount six times my salary for a two-hour session?

What qualifications does this guy have to command such fees for a
few hours? What management title does he hold to get paid such
amounts?

And I realized his earnings had nothing to do with qualifications or big

management positions but a personal brand name.

This guy didn't need an introduction to the work he did. No one asked
him about which school he went to before hiring him. He had a brand
name worth paying for.

And because of his brand name, people, including my colleague,

could hire him for his comical talent to provide services as a Master
of Ceremony.

If you asked your boss to increase your pay today, on what basis
would they increase your salary? Probably qualifications, experience,
competence, or hard work.

But how many of your clients can pay you K250,000 based on your
personal brand? I guess there are very few if you do not have a solid
personal brand.

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I had the same situation when I was working for the bank. I once
realized that they paid me less than what I was worth. And I went to
my manager, who sided with me and wrote to HR, asking for my
salary increment.

I held a meeting with the HR Business Partner, who promised me she

would get back. And when she got back, she told me that they could
not increase my salary by K5,000.

And I was The Client Service Manager!

When I went back to the HR Business Partner, she explained that

according to the business, meaning the retail department, they paid
me well enough based on the market.

When I am resolved, I don't waste time with anybody for anything. I

knew right there and then that I would soon part company with the
bank.

While discharging my duties to the best of my abilities, I started

working on building my personal brand. I started making video
content, writing articles, and doing radio and TV interviews.

I started writing books about business and pushing them on the

market as aggressively as possible. I started pushing money into my
small business as I prepared for the exit.

And it did not take long. The bank was going through restructuring,
and they asked people to apply for jobs and those who didn't apply
would become redundant. I saw the opportunity I was waiting for.

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I knew that the time I was waiting for had arrived and went to see my
then manager to inform him I would not apply and henceforth
proceed with redundancy.

My boss’ boss tried to intimidate and manipulate me about my

decision, saying it was as good as resignation, but it didn't bother me
because I had read the HR policy line by line before I decided.

The redundancy package was due to me. And it was a perfect time
to leave, especially as I was being paid for it.

And sooner than later, I was jobless.

I had no car or house. I was just a jobless guy with a personal brand.
But I knew what a personal brand meant for me.

In six months, a client paid me K400,000 for business consultancy.

Another paid me K120,000 for sales training and K65,500 from
another for business development consultancy.

These numbers look awkward, but they shocked my wife because

she was against the idea of leaving the bank for self-employment.

Twelve months prior, I was negotiating a K5,000 salary increment,

and a few months later, I was demanding to be paid K400,000 from
a client. The client paid, and I used part of it to buy myself a BMW.

What changed? You ask.

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I was now not just some ordinary employee. You cannot pay me
whatever you think I am worth. I am now the guy you pay what I tell
you to pay.

I have a name. My name is Edwin Ngwane.

Edwin Ngwane is now a brand that's worth a lot of money. So, you
either pay what I am worth, or you find somebody cheaper to do
some job for you. I learned this from a comedian.

I have the audacity to name a price, and my price is getting higher

every single day. And one day, the people who think I am expensive
at K400,000 will pay K1,000,000.

I came to understand that most things in life, including money, come

to people who position themselves well.

When you position yourself well, money easily comes to you. It

might not come as notes and coins, but it can also come as
employment or business opportunities.

Since I built my brand, people have come to me with business ideas,

business proposals and job offers. And I have worked with some and
refused some based on my needs and goals.

Therefore, I believe that building a personal brand positions you for

more opportunities for making more money. This move alone can
open the bank doors for you.

It's a coin you must flip.

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DON'T NEGOTIATE YOUR EARNINGS

A consultant or lawyer with a personal assistant and a consultant or

lawyer who picks their own calls can never charge the same fees.

The lone consultant or lawyer is always cheaper. He might be very

good, but the client perceives the all-in-one consultant or lawyer as
low class and cheap.

By the way, perception is everything in the money game. Some

people do less work than you do but get paid more than you. Some
people are less qualified or educated than you yet get paid more than
you.

Why? It’s all about perception.

Whenever I sell my own books, people ask for discounts. But the
same people who ask for discounts from me have also bought my
books without asking for a discount in the bookstores.

In my other businesses, like the baby shop, people will try to ask for
a discount from me if I am at the counter selling. But if one of my
employees is there, even people who know me buy without asking
for discounts.

When I quote for consulting, I sometimes even use my wife or young

brother to send the quotation or invoice as my personal assistants
and there has never been an objection.

People have always placed a higher value on my work when I use a

personal assistant than when I don't. And even when there is an

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objection, my assistant asking for approval to reduce the price by

K5,000 carries a lot of weight in the client's eyes.

People will value you more and pay you more based on the
perception they carry about you.

Having my personal brand also helped me launch my businesses. It

was much easier to get clients using my personal brand.

When I launched the baby shop, 60% of the first clients who bought
from us were people who followed me on social media.

When I launch the Panga Tea brand, we will do the same and sell
boxes of tea to the people who are in love with the brand name of
Edwin Ngwane.

has also benefited a lot as a website and company because of my

personal brand. The respect of has massively been attributed to the
fact that most people already loved Edwin Ngwane.

Therefore, I encourage you to build your personal brand. We should

know you for something. And whatever that is, use your name to
support your businesses.

DON'T SAVE MONEY. SPEND IT

The first time I mentioned this principle to a fellow banker, my

colleague laughed. But, according to my learned friend, that principle
did not make sense and was flawed.

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And I told him I did not expect him to understand but expected him
to listen to what I had to say before he trashed my pragmatic theory.

I asked him how easy it was for him to save and keep money. And he
was very honest with me and mentioned that it was actually very
hard for him to save and grow his savings.

I asked him about the challenges in his mission of saving money. And
he told me that every time he saves some money, something
unfortunate happens in the family, which needs money.

He said that he almost always spends his savings and gets back to a
situation where he has zero savings for future investments.

When I asked him about the future investments he wanted to make,

he outlined that he wanted farmland where he could do poultry and
maiden milling.

He further mentioned that the biggest task on his to-do list was
getting the land and equipment to set up his dream of food
processing.

He said that land was very expensive, and so were the machines. It
was stressing him because his saving method was not working, and
time was moving.

So, I asked him to list every piece of equipment he needed to set up

his kind of business. I asked him to break down the machines into
smaller pieces of equipment.

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When he showed me the list of the items he needed to buy, I asked

him to look for a real estate agent who could find land he could
purchase by paying on a monthly basis using the amount he used to
save.

Then I also asked him to buy feeding, heating, and building materials
one by one until everything was in place using the same amount he
used to save in the bank.

After about a year or two, the project was running. I thought he was
just mocking my theory, but he took me to his poultry project, and I
was amazed to see that things were happening.

The project was not 100% complete, but he was happy to mention
that the progress excited him. At least he was in motion. He started
the project.

Many of us want to earn and save a lot of money before we can start
a business. We want to save a lot of money before we can start
building a house. We want to save a lot of money to invest in some
investment.

What about flipping the whole idea of saving? Why not spend it to
save? It has always worked for me, and I think it can work for you.

What if you invested every little coin you make by spending it on

building your business or investment project?

I think it becomes easier to invest in that way and protect you from
misfortunes that might take away your savings if the money is in the
bank.

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It also works for people who come from humble beginnings like me
because you will never just be in a position with enough savings to
start a business.

Start spending on your project.

BE HAPPY WITH MORE MONEY

How do you feel when you have more money? Do you feel greedy?
Do you feel like a selfish person who doesn't want to help the poor?

How do you feel?

I believe one thing; your feelings about money determine whether

you will end up wealthy or poor.

I have met people who tell me it's selfish to buy yourself a nice
expensive car when people are dying of hunger. People feel it's
morally wrong to spend millions on a jet.

People who say such things have also spent more money on clothes,
perfume, shoes, handbags, and their children's private school fees.

Why didn't they avoid the perfume so that they could donate the
money to the orphans? Why did they subscribe to paid TV when
there is an old person somewhere who has gone to bed on an empty
belly?

People love hypocrisy.

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When you think deeply, you realize that we all do things to fulfil our
selfish innermost desires. And I know you could still be refusing.

Let me give you an example.

"My kids once told me they wanted a nicer and bigger TV. And
because I love my children and I always like to make them happy; I
bought the TV.

When my kids saw the TV, they were so happy and proud. But what
they didn't understand is that I bought that TV because I wanted to
feel good and happy.

What do I even mean?

I knew that once I bought the TV, my kids would be thrilled and proud
of me. And when this happened, I was happy.

This means that I bought the TV for my happiness. Since I derive

some of my happiness from the happiness of my kids, it means
making my kids happy is good for my happiness.

In short, in my pursuit of my happiness, there will be people who end

up benefiting from it.

Each one of us does things to achieve something, which gives that

person a sense of purpose. That sense of purpose gives you meaning
for living.

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And having meaning for living gives you a sense of pride and
satisfaction. And that satisfaction brings happiness and joy to your
soul.

So, how does money help you have a sense of purpose and,
eventually, a sense of satisfaction?

Most of us have not done what we are supposed to do because we

either cannot do that, or we lack the resources to do it.

I know that there is something noble you would like to do before you
die, which is going to give you a sense of meaning for your life.

Maybe you want to help the poor and the vulnerable in society.
Maybe you want to preach the gospel to all the corners of the earth.

Build more schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly, or make

wheelchairs for the differently abled in the rural areas.

Maybe you care about animal welfare or space exploration. You

could also be someone who believes in giving a voice to the
minorities in society.

The things that give us a sense of purpose are very different because
they are personal. The only thing I know about all these things is that
they need money to achieve them.

Whether it's about giving a good life to your family, helping the poor,
exploring space, preaching the gospel, or travelling around the
world, you will need money.

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You may not be the one paying for it, but we always pay money for
all the beautiful things in life which you enjoy. So, why not just make
the money by yourself?

Once you have the money, you will do most of the things your heart
desires. And in making yourself happy, other people will benefit from
it.

If you love drinking alcohol, the people who make or sell alcohol will
end up benefiting from your own selfish indulgence. If you love
sleeping around, people who own lodges and the people you sleep
around with will also benefit.

In short, when you spend money, even in the most stupid way
possible, there are people who will benefit from it.

And I know that every time you spend money on the things that make
you have a sense of meaning, you will be happy.

Now, your job should be about discovering all the little things your
heart yearns for and doing them often. Don't let people make you
love pets when you care about boat cruising.

Unless you are doing it for them, and only if you derive happiness
from doing so. Otherwise, making a lot of money and spending that
money on the things you love will give you a sense of satisfaction,
which will, in the end, make you feel happy.

Use money to make you happy. Let money help you get employees
so you can spend more time with your family.

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You can use money to get better systems in your businesses for your
employees to work faster, better, and more efficiently.

Make more money and take your family to better schools, hospitals,
holiday destinations, communities, and countries for their best well-
being.

Use money to get every little thing that makes your heart smile
because money answers all things.

BUILD A BUSINESS BEFORE THE HOUSE

In Zambia, people build their houses as soon as they make their first
coin. And it is now considered wise in most communities to build a
house as soon as possible.

However, I have seen people take 15 years to build one house. The
house even becomes old-fashioned by the time they put in the
fixtures and fittings.

It's not a bad idea at all. But I know it is the wisdom found in the book
of scarcity. The book of abundance doesn't teach such things.

Read the Bible in Proverbs 24 vs 27. The Bible teaches that you must
take care of the field before you consider building your house. The
field, in this context, is business.

The teachings in the Bible are diverse. For example, there are
teachings God gave the children of Israel when they were slaves in
Egypt and teachings he taught when they occupied their own land.

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In the times of slavery, the Israelites needed to just survive. And

when they had their own land, God gave them teachings to prosper.
Those are the teachings you need right now.

You need to understand the point where you are. Are you at a slavery
stage or prosperity stage? If you are at a slavery point, my teachings
will contradict your survival wisdom.

What I learned about life is that when you suffer so much, you learn
things which help you in times of lack. There is wisdom for adversity
and wisdom for abundance.

When we were kids, we were told to keep the leftover food for
tomorrow. We were told to buy cheaper things to save money. We
were told to build early to avoid the suffering that comes with
renting.

It's a very tough life we live. As I am writing this book, I do not have
my house, and I know I am considered a loser or unwise in most
communities in my country.

It doesn't bother me, though. I will explain why building a house

should be the last thing on your priorities.

Commit the building money to the business

Considering that most people build their houses from a salary, they
cannot build a house as quickly as possible in a few years. Building
an average three-bedroom house will need about K650,000.

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And if your salary is K15,000, and if you contribute 20% of your

salary to your building project, you will need to put aside K2,000.
And to build the house for K650,000, you will need to save for 325
months, which comes to 27 years.

On the flip side, it may take 15 years to build both a business and a
house with an assumption that your pay will increase by 10%
annually. You must put aside K2,000 every month, and you will have
K24,000 by the end of the first year for the initial capital to start a
business.

After starting your business with K24,000, you will continue adding
the K2,000 every month, and you will have enough capital to run a
viable business, even before we consider the profit you will make
from the business.

By the fifteenth year, the future value of the capital for your business
will be around K1,500,000 if we consider a net profit margin of 15%
per annum. With that kind of business plus the finances of your job,
you should be in a solid position to build the house of your dreams.

One thing you will notice about most businesspeople is that they can
afford to build a house within a year. This is possible because the
business will eventually reach a level when cash flow is great, and it
can pay the director enough bonus to build a house.

This assumption will have its own challenges, but I also believe that
if you can put the same dedication to build the house into a business,
the business will help you build a better and more luxurious mansion
you will be proud to call home.

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You will have both the business and a house

You might ask why you should bother with taking the risky business
route when the outcome is the same - which is a house.

But here is the difference.

When you take the route of building the house without a business,
you will not raise enough funds quickly because you will not have the
sources of income to build the house quickly.

However, if you build the business with the income from your job,
you will end up having two sources of income that will support your
business, and you’ll end up with two beautiful outcomes - a viable
business and a house of your dreams.

FLIP THE SALARY INTO A BUSINESS

Since many of us are not privileged enough to have parents who can
finance the capital for our business, the alternative is getting a job to
raise capital for a business.

However, this is easier said than done.

When I was working, I had access to money through a salary. When

I first got the job, the money was enough since I stayed in the ghetto,
and the rent and living expenses were quite low.

But soon after I got the job, there was a job induction where we got
taught about grooming and bank etiquette. This meant that we had
to buy nice suits and also live in decent residential areas.

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Without taking much consideration, I started shopping for nice Pierre

Cardin shoes, Hugo Boss belts, Armani shirts, handmade neckties,
Paul Smith suits, and Calvin Klein boxers.

I took all the induction lectures as gospel truth without considering

the salary I was earning. In my mind, I thought that my salary would
increase so fast to cater for the wardrobe expenses.

As if those mistakes were not enough, I also moved from the ghetto
to a better neighborhood. Immediately after moving to a better
house, half of my salary was an expense for rentals alone.

Then came the change in diet. My wife, kids and I started going out
often. Pizza, Indian food, and fast-food chicken became part of our
lives. Our lives felt so great.

And before I could add up all the expenses and compare them with
my earnings, I was borrowing monies like K150 and K200 from my
friends and colleagues. I was officially broke.

My salary increased by 30% in three years, but my expenses had

increased by 75% in the same period. I was failing to cope. I loved
my job, but I hated the salary. My financial situation was out of hand.

The Mind Opening Experiences

As I was going through all these challenges, there were things that
made me flip the coin because I got hurt, embarrassed and
downtrodden. Things were not as good as they looked. I was in
serious trouble.

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Whenever I started a business to save myself from the shame of

getting paid so little for so much work, I ended up being transferred,
and that's how my businesses would get closed.

The burden of debt was so hard to manage as I had to borrow from

different people just to cover my living expenses. And the debt
became a slavery rope around my neck because it was just for
consumption.

My salary negotiations were going to deaf ears despite working my

butt off to get exceptional performance ratings from my yearly
assessments. And when the salary increment came, another small
loan already consumed it.

I failed to support my kids in school, so my kids started going to

school with torn shoes and without food for break time because I
couldn't afford to buy new shoes and snacks for them.

This one hit me so hard. It reminded me of my own tough childhood.

But it was happening to my own children. And to make matters
worse, I was a banker. A hardworking one.

But I saw the circle of poverty passing onto my children.

There was a time a colleague promised to send a K200 when I asked

for it. I only had K20 with me on that day. So, I used K5 to board a
bus to get the money from the ATM.

When I got to the ATM, I found my colleague did not send the money.
And when I tried to call, the phone was off. I had to walk back home,

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considering that I needed to use a K10 to buy sweet potatoes for

dinner.

For the first time, I witnessed my kids fighting for food. It hurt me.
How can a banker have kids who can't afford shoes, snacks for break,
transport to go to school, and now food to eat?

It was heartbreaking.

Some colleagues at work started mocking me for constantly buying

cheap cooked rice from Pick n Pick for lunch. One of them told me I
was so stingy that I couldn’t even buy good food for myself.

This was happening to a guy holding the position of MANAGER at the

end of the job title. The Client Service Manager of an international
bank but struggling with basic living expenses.

I had no car. And I wasn’t living a frivolous life.

It is easy for me to blame it all on my employers and turn into a highly

demotivated employee. But that is not my mindset. I knew the
problem was with me and not my employers.

I started working like I was the guy with the highest pay at the bank.
I even remember two of my colleagues telling me that my employer
had blinded me so that I worked for them like they were the only
employer.

They didn’t know that I was no longer interested in being an

employee and was just waiting for the right moment to leave my job.
I knew I had to create a game plan for myself.

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I wasn’t interested in moving from one employer to another.

I had to do whatever it took to turn my life around and the life of my

suffering family. I couldn't bear the sight of my kids going through
what I went through.

We started by reducing our costs. I stopped subscribing to pay TV. I

moved my kids from private schools to public. We stopped eating
meat, and we bought second-hand clothes and got on a bus daily to
and from my workplace.

My wife cried the whole night when I told her I’d decided that all my
kids would start going to a government school. At that same moment,
I told her she needed to get rid of her maid.

She couldn’t take it. But there was no other way.

I opened a barbershop when I was on leave, and my brother and I

started cutting hair for clients. He had just completed high school; the
barbershop kept him busy since staying at home with nothing to
watch on TV was boring.

At work, another promotion came with a K2,500 salary increment. It

was a decent increment, but there was a pandemic and economic
mismanagement in the country. The cost of living was so high that
the increment changed nothing.

The salary was just not enough. I had to find more ways of income
generation. I had to double down on writing and book promotion.
And I had no choice. Writing was my way out of banking.

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So, there was a barbershop. My wife had started a small business as

well. And my books were doing well on the market. I am not shy to
say they were selling, and I was making money.

With the small businesses we had started, our lives were back on
track. The salary slowly started becoming insignificant in my life. I
was depending more on the side hustles than my salary for family
expenses.

When I told my wife about my decision to leave the bank, she

couldn’t take it. She was restless and unhappy about how I was going
about with my decisions.

However, after enough negotiations and decision pointers, we finally

got on the same page, and she allowed me to proceed with my self-
employment.

However, I have seen many people using examples like mine without
studying the exact steps I took before leaving my job. Therefore, I do
not encourage anyone to leave their job without careful planning.

First, I realized my job was not working for me while still employed.
I started all my small businesses while still employed. And I used my
job to build businesses, which helped me to leave.

I saw an opportunity to get some money and invest in my businesses

while still employed. I used the funds from my salary to start a
barbershop, publish books, and fund my wife's business while still
employed.

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In short, I used the salary from my job to start and build my business.
The challenges I had at first were spending my salary carelessly,
investing no amount.

But after reducing costs and investing some money in a few

businesses, I could now quit my job and focus on my businesses.

You, too, can do that. But tread carefully. You can do it better than
me by avoiding an extravagant lifestyle inspired by the job.

You can begin much earlier, and before you are 30, you might have
a solid foundation to scale your business.

COLLECT MONEY FROM EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE POOR

When you build your business, who do you consider your target
market? Probably, you have a targeted niche. And that's okay
because it is the standard in most businesses.

When I was researching the most successful businesses, I found that

many of them, except Apple, Inc and a few others make huge money
from a targeted market.

Most billion-dollar businesses operate on the economies of scale

concept. They target the globe. They target each person alive to use
their products or services.

Think about Coca-Cola, Facebook, Amazon, Google, Alibaba,

Walmart, Microsoft, etc. These humongous companies have

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mastered the art of making at least 40% of the world's adult

population buy their goods or services.

They have realized that if they target the entire world with the help
of technology, they can make billions, even if they just made one
dollar for every client.

In Africa, most people live on a dollar. As a business, find a way of

taking that dollar from every African by providing a good or service
in exchange.

You should have products for the rich, products for the middle class
and products for the poor people. Therefore, almost each person
must become your customer.

When you have structured your business like that, use technology to
your advantage to reduce the costs of providing goods and services
to millions of people.

Once you have structured your business that way, you will get
money from everyone; the rich, the average, and the poor. They will
not even have issues because they will get an exchange of products
or services.

Before I came up with my Panga Tea label, I wanted to come up with

a product that everyone buys in the country, like Coca-Cola. And I
realized people drink a lot of tea.

Rich people have their own kind of tea they drink and so do the poor.
Therefore, I came up with three types of Panga Tea brands.

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We will have Panga Tea Gold, Panga Tea Premium and Panga Tea
regular. We will be selling our tea to high, medium, and low-income
homes. Overall, we will be making more money.

INVEST THE COIN BEFORE THE NOTE

Whenever I talk to young would-be entrepreneurs, they always talk

about the capital to start a business.

I have consistently told them that initial capital for starting a business
is very subjective. Some people start businesses with nothing, and
others start with millions.

Personally, I have mastered the art of starting businesses with any

amount from zero to millions, depending on the type of business and
the goals I want to achieve.

I sell books, like this one. Does it mean that writing is a business for
me? Absolutely yes. Remember, I am the bestselling author of three
books, so I sell these books for money.

And you know you can start this kind of business with almost nothing.
I am not saying that you will invest nothing, but you can start with
almost zero.

I have started a business like . This is an online platform which allows

consultants and service providers to get clients. This business has
taken more than K250,000 from my bank account.

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I have a business with my wife called Bouncing Baby Shop. This

business got an investment of an estimated K350,000.

I also have a barbershop. This business got an investment of about

K65,000. But you can start this kind of business with even K5,000.

We also have the Panga Tea brand under Kawiwi International

Limited, which is expected to require a full capacity investment of
K1,500,000 to blend, transport and distribute the tea across the
country.

If you look at all these businesses, one business that I started with
zero sponsored them - writing. I just followed my God-given talent
and used the money from writing to invest in other businesses.

I see many people waiting for the day they will make millions before
starting their dream business. What if you won't make millions? What
are you going to do then?

You need to start where you are with what you have. What do you
have? God has given your gift, talents, and skills. Why don't you find
ways of making money through those gifts, talents, and skills?

If you are still stuck, the next chapter will teach you how you can
come up with ideas that can make millions for you.

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CREATE AN IDEA FACTORY

T
hink and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, is one book I consider
the second-best of all the books I have read. Even if you don’t
read that book, the title of that book gives you an insight that
you need to think to get rich.

If you think well, one business idea can change your life.

SEARCH FOR A MILLION DOLLAR IDEA

Most substantial businesses that you admire today were once just an
idea. If you study most money-making businesses, the owner just
came up with an idea that solved people's problems.

I realized that my job for the last few years has been about coming
up with an idea that turns into a million-dollar business.

When I look at Zambia, I can come up with many ideas that can turn
into a million-dollar business, but I have to consider the factors to
make that idea become a reality.

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I have always asked myself the best type of business to start, and
when I looked at the list of the 100 billionaires in the world, I noticed
they didn’t all come from the same industry.

Entrepreneurs from the technology industry dominate the list, but we

have other billionaires from fashion, oil, stock investing,
pharmaceutical and oil.

The 10 richest people at the time I was writing this and their industries
were:

1. Elon Musk - Tech Business

2. Jeff Bezos - Tech Business

3. Bernard Arnault - Luxury Fashion

4. Bill Gates - Tech Business

5. Warren Buffett - Stock Investor

6. Mark Zuckerberg - Tech Business

7. Amancio Ortega - Zara Fashion

8. Larry Ellison - Tech Business

9. Carlos Slim Helu - Telecom Business

10. Larry Page - Tech Business

Worth Mentioning

11. Mukesh Ambani - Oil & Gas

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If you want to get a little closer to making millions or billions, you

might need to become a tech innovator or a retail king.

You can also choose to keep it simple and focus on value investing.
Of course, it also wouldn't hurt to inherit a large sum, as some of the
world's wealthiest people have.

The question is, "should everyone start a tech, retail fashion and/or
oil business to make millions?"

Absolutely not.

You need to understand that technology businesses make millions or

billions because of their ability to sell their products and/or services
globally.

They have a huge client base. Imagine having 350 million subscribers
(clients) for your business. Even if you made just one dollar ($1) profit
per month, you would still make $350 million per month.

Therefore, you need to figure out HOW you can use technology to
sell your products globally without coming up with a technology
business. It's not an issue of focusing on the type of business but the
channel of business.

If you are thinking about an idea for a business, follow your passion
but find ways to incorporate technology into your business to make
it scalable.

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OPEN YOUR MIND TO IDEAS THROUGH READING

The world is vast and deep, but a skilled reader can still explore it
without physically visiting all the corners of planet earth.

When you decide to become a reader, you can learn about anything
and find little spaces for business opportunities.

Before I came up with the idea of Panga Tea, I read a book about how
you can create products around the things you love by Nir Eyal.

And when I looked at my life, I realized that alcohol was not

something I loved, but I was addicted to having a cup of tea in the
morning, afternoon, evening, and night.

This was a bad habit, but after reading the book by Nir, I realized that
the world had many people addicted to tea, and they are probably
looking for pure and luxury blended tea.

And that's how I came up with the product.

Reading will expose you to different thinking and mindset. It puts you
in the writer's mind, and you may grab an idea like they meant it for
you.

Those are what we call "aha moments." This is where you read a
book, and an idea flashes in your mind. You don't even want to
continue reading because you have found what you were looking for.

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BE CURIOUS ABOUT NEW THINGS

If you want to come up with ideas that can turn into millions, you
should always be curious about new things. You must always look
for new trends.

As a businessperson who desires to make a lot of money, you cannot

afford to be resistant to change. You must embrace change and new
ideas.

When you see something new, stop and try to analyze if it can be of
help to you. Some things will not help you, but others will completely
flip your life.

Nowadays, life is changing so fast that you can't afford to be closed-

minded. Resistance to change is now the common reason people are
missing opportunities.

When you become curious about new things, you will try to find
ways to use any new thing in your business.

The newer things you try, the more chances you will have to flip your
business and money game.

By the time your competitors try to imitate, you will be ahead, and
they will no longer be your competition.

Be curious.

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SPEND TIME WITH GREAT PEOPLE

I love spending time with great people. Whenever I am surrounded

by great people, I get a renewed mind and fresh. Great people have
a way of pointing out opportunities during conversations.

You could discuss the green energy environment and climate change,
and you will hear someone within the group talking about how we
can become part of the green energy business.

It sometimes becomes mind challenging to end up with so many

business ideas worth millions when you decide to pursue them. It
feels great when you are in a meeting of great minds.

You probably have one or two people like that in your circle. These
people can sound boring sometimes. But when you pay attention,
you will get ideas.

The goal is to have as many people as possible who are critical

thinkers. You need to surround yourself with innovators, disruptors,
analysts, auditors and even balloon poppers.

The more you spend time with these kinds of people, the smarter you
become. You will understand complex subjects in simple ways.
Complex subjects will become easier to understand, and you will see
yourself learning new things every day.

And the more things you learn, the more opportunities you will see.
Ideas will develop in your mind, which can become a business. It’s
amazing, and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

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WATCH WHAT PEOPLE DISCUSS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

One of the easiest ways to come up with business ideas is just logging
into social media platforms and searching for business discussions.

Whenever I look for a new business idea, I go to Facebook. You can

ask a question in an entrepreneurship Facebook group and check the
answers, or you can just search for the same question online and
read the answers.

Business ideas are always there, but only a handful of people will
execute those ideas. If you are serious, trying out suggested business
ideas can be great.

The challenge with online advice is that most of it is junk. However,

you can still get one or two great ideas from those pieces of junk.

Just be smart enough to read when people share ideas that sell their
products or services to you. There is a lot of advice on social media
that should drive you to buy something.

Another way to get business ideas about social media is by checking

what people are complaining about. Most people have a habit of
complaining through social media.

When you carefully note people's frustrations and what makes them
complain, you can easily come up with a product that can solve those
complaints and put money in your pocket.

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TURN YOURSELF INTO A BUSINESS MESSIAH

People who teach end up learning a lot. Did you know that? When
you commit yourself to teach others, you will also commit yourself
to lifelong learning.

You can teach a subject you don't understand. The moment you
teach, you will also subject yourself to research and study. You will
be the student before you become the teacher.

And the more you teach, people will ask you more questions. This
will force you to look for answers which open your life to new ideas
and information. This will make you do more research.

When I began this journey writing about business, my scope was

very limited. However, some people who read my books were
experts on certain subjects in my books.

This creates a debate between my readers and me. The good part is
that the more I debate with my readers, the more I learn and the
better I become at my work.

Therefore, position yourself to be the person people want to listen to

and learn more from. You should be the thought leader in your
chosen field so that when you speak, people listen.

This arrangement makes you a person to go to for advice. And the

more people who come to you for advice, the more answers you will
seek, which might end up being great ideas.

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STEAL IDEAS FROM CRITICS

In 2001, the late President Mwanawasa became the third President

of Zambia by a small margin. However, he was an unpopular
president with so many critics in the opposition.

The people criticizing him were political heavyweights like Anderson

Kambela Mazoka of UPND, Lt. Christon Tembo of FDD, and Michael
Chilufya Sata of Patriotic Front.

All these guys had great manifestos, which gave hope to a better
Zambia. They talked about education, health, agriculture, and mining
policies, which were being done in a way that didn't please most
Zambians.

And President Mwanawasa started poaching members of parliament

from these parties and slowly implemented the issues raised by his
critics.

By 2006, he had introduced free primary education, winter farming,

mineral royalty tax, and financial prudence, which made some of his
critics irrelevant.

When they said he was just copying his critics' policies, he answered
by confirming that he was leading a listening government that saw
the need to implement his critics' suggestions.

I think he was a genius.

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When you open yourself up to criticism, for whatever you do, you
will get free ideas from your critics who will give you free advice that
will come as criticism.

What you need to do in such circumstances is to become so

emotionally intelligent to get positives from nasty criticism. Whether
someone said it in a sarcastic or insulting way, use the ideas shared
like a boss.

The critics will become free consultants who will vent to you while
you will use them to get free advice and ideas. You can turn critics
into free consultants. You can flip their criticism into advice.

Life is such an interesting ride when your head is cool. You can get
ideas from strange players when you decide to do so. Whether it's
your clients complaining or a critic trying to make you look stupid,
you can use them as sources for great ideas.

Turn any type of criticism into advice. Flip the coin.

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BECOME A MASTER AT WHAT YOU DO

O
ne of the most popular questions young people ask is how
they can start a business without capital. I cannot count
the number of times they have asked me this question.

And my answer has always been the same; create a business around
your talent, gift, and skill. I truly believe that each one of us was
created with a gift or talent.

Some people have discovered those talents and gifts, while others
have failed to do so. Despite that, those people who have failed to
discover their talents can also work on their skills.

A skill is something you can learn and master. When you have
mastered your skill, your future will become limitless. Money will
come to you easily. People will look for you and pay you based on
your value.

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LEARN ONE SALEABLE SKILL

If you could not find a job, do you have anyone or two skills you can
use to earn a living? Since others create jobs, do you have any other
ways you can create a job for yourself?

Let me give you examples.

Mechanics, painters, electricians, bricklayers, musicians, tailors,

photographers, artists, video producers, writers, copywriters,
graphic designers, consultants, researchers, makeup artists, political
strategists, web developers, lawyers, pharmacists, etc.

Most of these people have mastered how to create a business around

what they have learned or mastered. These businesses may look
small compared to some big office job, but some people are killing it.

You must identify one that you can master and sell for profit. It should
be a skill that you would love to do. We all have something we can
do enjoyably. Create a business around that skill.

I am not saying that a job is a bad thing. I am also not saying that you
should not get a job. What I am saying is that you must have a skill
you can sell without getting a job.

Since we know jobs are scarce, it is important to plan for a situation

where you either cannot find a job or get fired. Successful people
have mastered the art of planning for the worst-case scenario.

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We have many young, unemployed people, and many are waiting

for companies or the government to employ them. The government
has that obligation, but a business only employs if there is need.

This means that it’s prudent for you to create a job for yourself. And
the only way to do that is by learning one or two skills you can sell.
Once you have mastered this skill, you can use it to earn a living while
waiting to get a job.

When you get a job, you can still continue with the skill as a side
hustle. And if this side hustle makes more money than your job, you
will analyze and decide where you want to be.

However, you must learn one or two skills to sell.

FOCUS ON SHARPENING ONE SKILL

As you are mastering your skills, you will face many distractions.
When I became a writer, I read a lot of material about building my
name as an author.

Some of the advice I got was that I needed to join the bandwagon of
motivational speakers. The other advice was to make more live
videos to engage with my followers.

I also got advice that I should spend enough time on TV, radio, and
social media to stay engaged with my followers and get new
followers. Others advised I should organize a lot of seminars.

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The advice above is sound. It must have helped several people with
growing their audiences. I have noticed that most people in my circle
do a lot of speaking, live videos, seminars, TV, and radio interviews.

And I think they are doing pretty well.

I also tried doing many of these things. I created profiles on all social
media platforms. And I started live videos and was appearing on TV
and radio stations for interviews.

It felt cool in the beginning, but I eventually lost interest.

With social media, I realized that Twitter and Instagram were not
working for me. I didn’t like the format of Twitter of fewer words, and
Instagram was more focused on beautified photos.

However, two audiences worked well for me: Facebook and

LinkedIn. These platforms allowed me to write more complete
articles and sharpen my writing with continuous engagement.

Platforms like Twitter, Instagram or TikTok are not bad at all. These
platforms have worked for other people. I know people who are
doing great things on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

But those people are not me.

I believe people become unhappy in their pursuit of success because

they don’t understand themselves. When you have understood
yourself, you will own your growth.

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It becomes difficult to learn when you cannot focus on one thing. In

this world of multitasking, we have many Jack of All Trades. They just
know a bit of something and nothing more.

The purpose of teaching the sharpening of a skill in this book is for

you to become a master who will get paid handsomely for that skill.
And to become a master at anything, you must deliberately and
intentionally focus on sharpening your skill.

In my previous example, you’ll notice I wanted to become a better

writer and not a better video creator. I know so many video creators
who have mastered the art, which pays them well to make some of
my videos.

As a writer, I need to focus more on sharpening my skills in writing.

And that means I also need to know the tools I need to become great
at writing.

If I want to become an excellent public speaker, I also need to know

the tools I need to become a skilled public speaker. Likewise, when I
want to become a great video creator, I need to use tools like
YouTube and TikTok to become great at making videos.

After becoming great at what you do, you can now learn other skills
to sell your skill, like selling, branding, social media engagement,
public speaking, seminar management, etc.

But you can only learn these other skills around your core skill.
Otherwise, you will just be another average guy with a lot of minor
and average skills.

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No one wants to buy an average skill. People want to know you for
something. I like to be known as a writer. I love it. And I have even
updated it on my passport. My occupation is Writer.

When I am travelling, people at the airport like to ask me if I will write

about them. This means that even my passport alone can sell the
work I do. I am proud of the work I do.

You must have one core skill and sharpen that skill to the level where
you become a master at that skill. You cannot afford to be average
with the skill you want to sell because the skill you master becomes
the door to your wealth.

PRACTICE EVERYDAY

You must sharpen your skills to become a master, but how do you
go about it? The secret lies in practice. You should practice daily.

You may have heard of the 10,000 hours rule from Malcolm Gladwell
in his book called The Outliers. According to Malcolm Gladwell, you
must practice for 10,000 hours to become an Outlier.

The question is, who is an Outlier?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines Outlier as “a person, thing, or fact

that is very different from other people, things, or facts so that it
cannot be used to draw general conclusions.”

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The simple explanation from this definition is that being an outlier

sets you apart from the crowd so that you become a person in your
own league, class, or group. You cannot be compared with others.

This speaks so well about elite athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo, public
speakers like President Obama, TV personalities like Oprah Winfrey,
boxing greats like Mohammed Ali, tech geniuses like Elon Musk, etc.

And when you look at all these people without careful study, they
seem like they were born with all that greatness. They may seem like
their greatness is inborn, and you cannot become like them.

But, do you know how they became great?

It’s through practice.

Cristiano Ronaldo has a training routine that even his fellow

footballers consider insane. President Obama taught Constitutional
Law at the University of Chicago Law School and practiced public
speaking for 12 years!

Muhammad Ali said that he hated the training of boxing, but he

committed to suffering in training and living like a champion. Oprah
was told by her first boss that she was not good enough, but she
trained herself to become the showbusiness mogul and billionaire.

Elon Musk says that he first started by coding games that he used to
sell. He’d been practicing coding since he was a kid. He has continued
to practice and sharpen his skill till today.

Same with me, I practice writing every day.

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If you want to become great, you must practice. We have too much
information now that has made learning easier. And the more you
practice what you learn, the greater you become.

LEARN FROM THE EXPERTS

Brian Tracy, one of the most successful self-help teachers, says that
if you want to learn fast, you must learn from the experts. He says
that you will never live long enough to figure out everything by
yourself.

In one of his interviews with Vic Johnson, he mentioned that the

easiest way to cook a nice dish easily and quickly is by following a
proven recipe.

He said that if you went into a kitchen and got asked to cook a certain
dish, you could cook a delicious dish even if you have never done it
before if you follow the proven recipe.

And the reason is simple: success leaves clues.

Being a writer, I know all the top self-help business writers. I have
bought their books and follow them on social media. I frequently
watch their TedX talks on YouTube.

When I buy their books, I study their titles, underline taglines,

storyline, and how they communicate in their writing. I study the
colors, the text fonts, the formatting, and how they connect with their
readers.

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I study everything, and I will never stop studying.

The reason is simple. The likes of Timothy Ferris, Jim Collins, Stephen
R. Covey, Adam Grant, Daniel Carnegie, James Clear, Ray Dalio,
Simon Sinek, Robert T. Kiyosaki, etc., don’t dominate the bestselling
business books lists by chance.

There are things they do well.

And since I made writing a vocation, I need to learn how the

bestselling authors are doing it. I have no time for watching average
writers. I want to study writers who sell millions of copies.

When you watch them all, you will discover what mediocre authors
will never do. And the more you watch and study these great people,
the smarter you become.

PAY ATTENTION TO CRITICISM

I believe in owning my message and not being diluted by critics who

want me to become a different version of Edwin Ngwane. And I am
known for defending my points of view. I am hardheaded, to some
extent.

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t learn from criticism. The
reason I stopped writing about the subject of love and relationship
was because of the criticism I got from my followers.

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I have several people who don’t agree with me about sharing political
thoughts. I have lost some of my followers based on that. The reason
is that I don’t succumb to every type of criticism.

But I pay attention to the views of my critics.

The opposing views of your critics can shape your philosophy. The
opposing views may not change your perception, but they can easily
refine your philosophy.

Some people criticize my books’ content, and some people criticize

my books on the technical and grammatical side of it. I appreciate
both criticisms.

They help me become a better writer.

Someone doesn’t have to be a writer to know that my writing is poor.

A person who loves to read will know the difference between a
poorly written book and a well-written book.

Therefore, I listen to all the feedback I get from my work. I will

evaluate it and work on the feedback. Paying attention to criticism
will easily help you identify areas you need improvement.

And if you work in those areas that were criticized, it will improve the
quality of your work. Your attention to criticism will refine the quality
of your work.

This will make you greater at the work you do. Therefore, I advise
you to pay attention to criticism. I know some of it will come out
harsh but be willing to analyze and evaluate the criticism you get.

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Don’t ignore criticism. It will help you become better at what you do.

PERFECT YOUR WORK IMPERFECTLY

If you ask any person who is great at what they do, they will tell you
that some of the work people admire is their work that was so
imperfect. What you consider being imperfect might be spectacular
in other people’s eyes.

Some of the most popular songs in music did not get recorded
perfectly. Some artists even feel embarrassed by some of their hit
songs. And some of the perfectly recorded music has failed to hit the
charts.

When you look at the journey of becoming a master, you may find
that perfection can become your hindrance. I know someone who
has been working on a book for many years.

He said he wanted the book to be a masterpiece. He wanted it to be

perfect so that people would get the best quality of his work. Six
lecturers, four editors, and five proofreaders read the book.

They redid the cover of the book 13 times! Three professionals did
the typesetting. When I saw the end product of the book, it
impressed me. It was an amazing book by my standards.

The author was now working on the launch of the book. He wanted
a spectacular launch with high-level invited guests at Mulungushi
International Conference. The book was ready by most people’s
standards.

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However, it was delayed for another five months because the owner
wanted a perfect book launch. And by the time he thought it was
ready, the country was on lockdown because of Covid-19.

The government had declared a country lockdown to prevent the

spread of COVID-19. We had limited movements. They discouraged
the assembly of people.

I asked the author to launch the book privately. He refused and

insisted on waiting until Covid-19 restrictions got lifted. That was
2020. Two years later, he still hasn’t released the book.

When I asked why he was delaying the release of his book, he told
me he wanted to update the impact of Covid-19 on his book because
the dynamics had changed.

I told him to release the book just as it is. He refused.

The author is a big personality, and he will validate this story in his
own time. My conclusion was that trying to be perfect is another form
of procrastination.

Great men and women are not perfect people. President Barack
Obama has made mistakes in his speeches. Lionel Messi has
misjudged his position and missed some shots.

The best dancers miss their choreography. The greatest rappers have
once forgotten their lyrics. Even the top best-selling books have
some typos and grammatical errors.

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I have seen a brand-new car moving and operating properly but with
a nut inside, which was not screwed. I have witnessed a decor artist
panicking about some mistake on wedding decorations.

She tried to show me where the mistake was, but I saw it was minor.
I asked a few people about how they rated the decoration, and all of
them told me it was a 10/10 decoration.

Even the greatest work you can ever find has its own flaws. You
should not allow addiction to perfection to stop you from delivering
your work.

Some musicians have their best records on their computers. Authors

have the best-selling books on their laptops. Designers have their
best designs hidden.

And all that great work will remain hidden because of your inability
to accept a few imperfections. That’s not how you become great. You
become great by being imperfectly perfect.

BE PATIENT AS YOU PURSUE MASTERY

Patience is not old school. People just want things to happen quickly.
We want instant results. We no longer have the time to wait. And we
want fast cars, fast food, and quickies.

Becoming a master at something has no shortcuts. You can’t

microwave mastery. Mastery requires commitment to go through
the steps. And it requires patience.

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Mastery doesn’t come in a day, month, or year. It takes several years

of learning, sharpening, practicing, and studying experts. Many
experts have mastered their skills after years of continuous practice.

If we refer to the 10,000 rule, it takes slightly over nine years to

master something if you practice daily for three hours. Nine years of
dedicated practice demands a lot of discipline and patience.

But if something is important, you will practice patience.

I have noticed that people nowadays have no time to wait. If

something doesn’t seem to be working, they abandon it to try
something else. When they are half-way into another project, they
abandon it for another shiny object.

And you meet people with half-baked skills who get paid lousy
wages or fees because they are as good as general workers. Had they
practiced their skill with focused dedication, they would have
become a master at it.

Patience is everything.

The world might look like it’s moving so fast, but your life is not. You
may think five years is too long to study for your bachelor’s degree,
but it will surprise you as you will be in the fifth year with nothing.

But if you committed yourself to learn something and mastering it for

several years, your life will never be the same. You can easily double,
triple, or quadruple your earnings.

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People who have mastered what they do cannot get paid the same
wages as people who have a little idea about everything. Mastery
comes with its own benefits.

You will get paid more, become an authority in your field, and build
a personal brand for yourself. It will set you apart in everything. And
that’s part of flipping the coin.

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BITE THE BULLET

S
ince the day I started the "START A BUSINESS ADVOCACY,"
people from different walks of life have come back to me
saying that business is not for everyone.

They have told me about people who have lost all their money in
trying to build their businesses. People have had unpleasant
experiences with starting and running businesses.

Some people have even told me to stop lying to people that they will
make money through business. They say that countless people have
lost their pensions trying to do business.

One lady said that she had used her school fees to start a business,
and all the money was gone. She didn't even know what to tell her
parents.

Another guy told me about how he sold his car, started a business,
and became financially worse than before because of attempting to
make money through a business.

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When people tell me their authentic stories about their business

financial losses, I sympathize with them because I know what it
means to lose money in a business.

It hurts more when you don't know where you will get the next
capital to replace the money that you lost. It's not any fun to lose
money in business.

But if you want to become wealthy, you must just bite the bullet.

I cannot guarantee that you will not fail or lose money in building your
business. But what I can guarantee is that if you persevere long
enough, you will succeed and become wealthy and happy.

You must pursue business and wealth creation, even though it's going
to be difficult and emotionally tough.

You must bite the bullet. We cannot build wealth in our comfort zone.
You must put yourself in a position where you must swim or die.

TASTE THE WILD FRUIT

If you critically think about it, most of the fruits we enjoy today were
once wild fruits. None of our ancestors knew which ones were
poisonous and which weren't.

I am assuming they went into the bush and made one or two bites to
taste if the wild fruits were edible or not.

And I assume that some of those fruits were so poisonous that some
people died while tasting even with one bite only.

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Then people who witnessed this told the people who remained
about the poisonous ones and the ones that weren't.

I believe that business and pursuit of wealth are like that. I don't think
there is just one form of business with a 100% guarantee of giving
you millions of dollars.

Even some mighty tech businesses are in million-dollar losses as we

speak. For example, when you talk about oil, some companies have
lost billions of dollars in the oil business.

Therefore, you cannot start a business with the hope of not making a
mistake. You cannot also begin pursuing wealth with the mindset of
not failing in your journey.

Once you start like that, it means you will always be cautious in your
pursuit of wealth, and you will venture into low-risk businesses.

And I believe you know that if the risks are lower in your business,
the returns will probably be lower too.

EMBRACE FAILURE

"Show me a person who has never failed, and I will show you a
person who has tried nothing new." - Albert Einstein.

I would lie if I said that I love to fail. Failing sucks. There is no normal
human being who likes to fail. Failing to achieve goals is the worst
feeling in the world.

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The biggest problem that comes with failing is looking stupid. We all
know how it feels when you get something all wrong. You question
your own intelligence.

Failing also attracts critics and mockers. Apparently, some people in

our communities enjoy seeing other people failing. And the reason is
that you look too smart for your community when you attempt what
they consider to be impossible.

"Who do you think you are to build an international organization? You

are not as smart as you think you are. You are just an attention
seeker."

These are some remarks I constantly get from people for just
pursuing my own dreams. Some literally call me out and say there's
nothing I know to teach anyone.

And those people are always waiting for the day when the dark
clouds will fall on my life. They are always waiting for the day I will
fail so they can confirm their wrong assumptions.

And being an entrepreneur, critics and losers who think negatively

about business and building wealth will not stop you. You must prove
them wrong by winning.

Your goal is not to prove them wrong, but it's an inherent part of the
mission. You will prove them wrong, and they will remain talking.

We all love to win and succeed. Success makes us feel good about
ourselves, and it brings happiness to our lives.

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Progress has a way of bringing happiness into our lives. The desire to
achieve great things is in all of us, except that the level of that desire
is different for different people.

And the higher the desire to achieve success, the higher the risk of
failure. And the higher the risk of failure, the more pain you will feel
for failing.

But if you want to succeed at all costs, you also must embrace failure.
You cannot run away from failure if you want success.

The success journey encompasses a lot of failures along the way, and
you cannot just run away from them. You can minimize the number
of failures, but you can't avoid them altogether.

SCREW UP AND LEARN

When I was building , I spent a lot of money on website developers,

and some of those people got away with my money without
providing their services to me.

Once, I hired a guy from India who allowed me to pay in installments,

a deal which I found to be very good.

As soon as I paid the first instalment, which was about $750, the guy
stopped responding to my emails, and I could no longer reach him.

He blocked me on WhatsApp and Facebook, and that was the end of

our business relationship. That's how I lost the first money on the

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internet. Therefore, I learnt my lesson about hiring random people I

find online and hired a company.

The company I hired was great. They built the website according to
the way I wanted, but they were also quite expensive.

When they were done, they handed the website to me, and it was
perfect. However, when I hired another developer to work on the
website, and six months later, I was told that the website had
become dysfunctional.

He told me we needed to rebuild the entire website afresh. I got

shocked and angry. I just couldn't believe it. This made me look like
a fool.

I was embarrassed because I had already started promoting the

website on TV, and people were excited about this platform.

I couldn't even tell this to my wife. It could have disappointed her

because of the sacrifices I’d made to build the Kawiwi platform.

There was a time when my youngest daughter Joy asked me if

Kawiwi was more important than the welfare of the family.

My children still had to go to school using the bus and sometimes just
walk because I had put buying the car as the last thing on the list of
priorities.

It was a very disappointing and embarrassing experience. To this day,

my wife and children will only learn that I had to use other invested
money to build Kawiwi afresh after reading this book.

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There was a choice I could have made, and the easiest was just giving
up. I would have given up on building the dream of my life and the
project that used to keep me up every single day.

I refused to give up.

I knew the mistakes I’d made. And I learnt from them. Many of the
mistakes had to do with my ignorance of coding, and every
developer could take advantage of me.

So, I started learning the basics about coding and what is required in
all the stages of development. I stopped trusting the developers and
started putting more effort into the platform.

In that whole mess, I also learnt to make more money to support

Kawiwi.org to avoid quick fixes on the platform for myopic reasons.

MOVE ON QUICKLY

Whenever something goes wrong, it can become very difficult to

move on and forgive yourself, especially if you know you are the one
who made the mistake.

When I left the bank, we invested in baby clothes and ordered from
different suppliers in China on Alibaba.com.

After I made the order, I looked for a shipping company based in

Zambia to collect items from China to Zambia. I couldn’t find one
quickly.

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One day, as I was in the office, a colleague of mine spoke to me about

how she receives goods via iShop Shipping company from China.

She said they were affordable, fast, and managed the shipped goods
efficiently. Without doing my own independent investigations, I
asked the Chinese suppliers to deliver the goods to the iShop
Shipping warehouses in China.

And they were efficient indeed. A few days later, I received emails
that my cargo had arrived at the airport and needed clearing.

They impressed me.

And I immediately drove to the airport to check the items, and there
were a lot of boxes and sacks of goods.

They gave me the list to verify the goods and sign for the bill. I
checked the list, and everything was exactly as I’d ordered from
China.

But…

I couldn't believe what was on the last page. The list was on two
pages, and the bill was on the last page.

The bill was £3,880. In pounds!

I couldn't believe it. I asked the guy from their office if that bill was
mine, and he confirmed that if the goods were in my name, then the
bill was correct.

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I was shocked. I started ranting. "What nonsense is this? Can I see

your manager? Why didn't you send me this bill before you shipped
the goods, so I could confirm? I will sue you!"

I was furious.

I had done my own calculations and the total bill I was expecting was
35% of that amount, which was about £1,350. The baby shop still
needed other expenses for setup.

When I went to see the Manager, she agreed that there was indeed
a mistake on their part in failing to communicate the bill while the
goods were in China.

She mentioned how she understood my situation because I could

have used a different shipper or sea shipping method.

After an hour of not coming to a solution, the lady (manager) said she
needed to consult with her boss. And the boss told me she could give
me a 20% discount as an acceptance of their mistake, but I had to
pay the £3,104.

I told my wife about it, and we both agreed that we had to go back
to our savings and break the fixed deposit. So I went to the bank and
broke the fixed deposit to get the money.

We collected the goods, but the whole scenario had gravely affected
the financial status of my family. Our bank savings were gone, and
we were still short of some money to set up the store.

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I had to visit some lending institutions that financed entrepreneurs

like me, and Entrepreneurs Financial Centre agreed to give us a loan
of K50,000 equivalent to $2,300 to set up our shop.

In that same period, I had to ask the property managers of the mall
to extend the grace period before they counted the months for
rentals.

And they were also kind enough to allow us to have that grace period
extended. And after sorting out all the issues, we opened the shop in
May.

I was happy. My wife was happy too.

We forgot about the pain of my shipping mistake of the goods from

China. We forgot the pain of using our emergency funds in an
avoidable situation.

We forgot about everything. I knew I had made the mistake, but we

also knew that what we wanted most was seeing the business
running.

And I talk about that issue like it was not a big deal. However, it was
because we looked to the future during that moment which allowed
us to move on quickly.

Instead of allowing that situation to break us and stop us from going

further with our dream of opening the baby shop, we embraced the
mistakes made and moved on like nothing happened.

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I believe many people make the mistake of prolonging the period of

self-retribution. They kick themselves so much for so long that they
end up losing all the energy to start over and proceed.

I think entrepreneurship requires moving on quickly from losses or

poor decisions made along the way so you can easily bounce back
and proceed with your business.

USE EXPERIENCE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

When you make mistakes, it's important to learn from those mistakes
to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

For every mistake we make, we exhibit certain patterns and

behaviors. And if you study those patterns and behaviors, you can
easily notice when you make the same mistakes.

One thing I noticed in the mistakes I make is haste in decision-making

or getting advice from wrong people. I am quick at deciding because
of my desire to succeed quickly.

The other way I have made mistakes is based on trying to save

money. I realized that trying to save money by getting something
cheaper has been very costly.

Let me give you an example.

There was a time I was broke, but my car needed fixing with a spare
part called a valvetronic motor. When I bought the spare part, I
needed to go to my regular garage, which fixed my BMW.

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However, I wanted to save a bit of money because I was broke. I

went to a certain bush mechanic recommended by a shop that sold
me the spare part.

I went to see the guy.

He fixed the valvetronic motor but told me they’d identified another

problem. The problem was to do with the slow starting of the car. I
was told to pay some more money for the car to be fixed.

Since I was already there, I paid more money, though unwillingly.

The guys started working on the car, and after they were done, the
car completely failed to start. They said we needed to call an
electrical engineer to come and check the electrical side of the car.

The electrical engineer came and charged me double the amount I

had paid the guys. By this time, the cost I had paid was equivalent to
the amount I used to pay at the garage.

When the electrical engineer finished, the car started working, but
the media system, central locking and lighting system were dead.
And a dispute started between the mechanic and the electrical
engineer about who was responsible for the fresh problems.

The issue couldn’t get resolved, and the electrical engineer suggested
I see a certain BMW Specialist to resolve all the issues. When I went
to see the guy, he told me that they’d done a lot of shortcuts, and he
needed to fix the car properly.

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I told him to go ahead, and by the time he finished, the bill was three
times what I could have paid the garage I normally used to go to. I
was in pain. And I had to borrow some money to pay for the final
work by the BMW Specialist.

The car was back to normal, but I learnt some painful lessons.

At that moment, I realized that the desire to cut expenditure could

actually become expensive. I learned that the whole thing seemed
organized from the beginning to the end.

The guys could have referred me to each other and shared the
money every time. I learned that paying premium is not expensive
after all when I consider the time wasted on five days of going from
one mechanic to another.

As painful as it was, the entire experience was a learning point. Even

in this book, I once lost all the work because I depended on the
autosave feature of the applications I used.

When I lost the work and started re-writing, I remembered the

lessons of writing ideas in the notebook. One of my good friends and
former boss, Malcolm Lungu, emphasized writing IN THE
NOTEBOOK.

As someone who trusts these technological applications, I never saw

the need to write anything on a piece of paper. After losing my book,
I remembered Malcolm and checked on my notebook.

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I was so glad to find all my ideas in the notebook. The ideas were
well-structured, so I could easily copy them from the notebook and
paste them into the application I used for writing.

From that day, I have always backed up my work.

I keep my files everywhere. Even after synchronizing my work on

Google drive, email, phone, and laptop, I still put the ideas in my
notebook. It took an enormous setback to learn this lesson.

The other experience was when I lost my son, Israel Ngwane.

I was very unhappy with the experience my wife and I got from the
private hospital where our son was born. Even today, despite
accepting the loss of our son, we believe that the hospital was
negligent.

One doctor, who goes to the same church as me, told me to share
my email address with him. He told me I need to read the book he
was going to send.

The book he sent me was called The Ministry of Healing by Ellen G.

White. I knew the book, but I never took the time to read it. The book
is one book under the Spirit of Prophecy under the Seventh Day
Adventists.

After reading The Ministry of Healing, I understood the preoccupation

of private hospitals, the health responsibility of human beings and the
will of God in the life of his people.

It was a painful lesson.

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No one likes terrible experiences in life. There is no one who wants

to lose money or make terrible investments. No one wants to lose a
child or the people they love.

But sometimes, the lessons that come from these unpleasant

experiences can teach you valuable lessons. These experiences will
help you navigate safely through the journey of life.

The previous unpleasant experiences can act like a torch to reveal

the ditches, snakes, snares, and slippery grounds of this dark world.
It will help you see better and make better decisions.

Even as it hurts, learn from the experience. Flip the coin and use your
unpleasant experiences to your advantage.

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LIVE LIKE A MONK

“Everything that happens to us results from what we ourselves

have thought, said, or done.” – Buddha

I
truly believe that you cannot build sustainable generational
wealth without self-discipline. The Buddhist monks have
mastered this area of life, which can help us organize our lives.

Many people have made money or built wealth, but they have lost
everything because of their indulgence in reckless activities. They
squander their wealth in pursuit of sensual desires.

Therefore, I believe that if you want to flip the coin and live a happy
life, embrace discipline as a way of life. Self-discipline will help you
identify what is important and what is not important.

Some people might argue that you don't need to deny yourself a little
fun because we only live once. I don't have a problem with that
because life is about choices. I am not teaching about self-denial.

But I believe that having fun doesn't mean doing illicit things. Most
times, doing illicit things have caused more pain in people's lives than
giving them fun.

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It's not fun to be bedridden by an illness caused by reckless

behaviour. You won't like it when you are told to eat veggies only
when the fridge is full of meat.

Why don't we all practice self-discipline before circumstances or

illness disciplines us to do the right things? I think it's better to train
yourself to do the right thing rather than being forced by situations
because you end up not enjoying your life.

The people we can learn about self-discipline from are Buddhist

Monks.

We have known the monks for practicing high levels of self-control

and mind mastery through the 227 precepts they observe. They have
teachings on seclusion, self-denial, morality, etiquette, discipline,
behaviour and cleanliness.

For the sake of this book, our focus does not include seclusion and
self-denial. Instead, we want to learn more about self-mastery, mind
control, self-discipline, and sacrifice.

MASTER YOURSELF

“Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is

nothing comparable to one who is Awakened.” - Buddha

Who are you?

Do you know who you really are?

Have you tried to search yourself and find out about yourself?

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Many people have mastered the world of business, philosophy,

science, politics, technology, nature and environment, religion,
sociology, etc. But only a few have mastered themselves.

People cannot find happiness in their lives because they don’t even
know what makes them happy. In Buddhism, they call this state a
lack of clarity.

The first teaching you will find when you learn the life of a monk is
being in the present. “Be where you are; otherwise, you will miss your
life.” This is a common teaching among Buddhists.

They teach monks that “It is better to conquer yourself than to win
thousands of battles. They believe that by doing so, the victory is
yours and cannot be taken from you, by angels, demons or hell.”

There is also a teaching which says, “Believe nothing, no matter

where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I said it, unless it agrees
with your own reason and common sense.”

When you look at the above teachings of Buddhist monks, you realize
that self-discovery is the first step to self-mastery. They don’t want
you to believe without question.

They want you to question everything. Does my writing in this book

make sense to you? Do my writings agree with your own reason? Ask
yourself these questions before you believe what I write.

We live in a world where everyone is pushing their agenda on you.

From fashion, political philosophy, religion, language, places to stay,

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or kind of work to do, people have opinions they want you to agree
with.

Many of the daily decisions you make are based on preconditioning,

which has to do with the opinions of other people. You probably
bought this book because someone recommended it or you
previously read my other books, which influenced you to read this.

All of us are internally or externally driven. Some people are driven

by the combination of both. The problem comes when you are not in
charge of what you allow to influence you.

You will allow anything or anyone to control you.

This means that others can easily influence your emotions of anger,
satisfaction, pride, happiness, significance, envy, hate, jealous, etc.
So, you find yourself on the rollercoaster of emotions.

The reason is that we have not discovered who we are and what we
really need to live our lives in full. And to live that kind of life, you
must rebel against many rules and people.

You need to remember that people expect you to live life in a certain
way. Living your life in a certain way means they have to approve
how you must live your life. It’s not up to you.

External control is slavery. We must master ourselves and find the

internal focus and harness the will to steer the ship of our own lives
to the shores of our choice.

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Self-mastery puts you in charge of your own destiny. Don’t wait for
others to decide how you feel, think, or decide. Instead, you choose
how you interact, interpret, and respond to life.

To live a life of mastery, you must discover these things: strengths,

weaknesses, happiness triggers, suffering triggers, detachment, and
concentration.

I want you to put a yes or no answer with a pencil on the questions

below. I urge you to practice this and see your level of self-mastery.

Please answer the questions below with a yes or no.

1. Know your strengths

Do you have things which you are great at?

Are you confident about the things you are great at?

Are you practicing on building your strengths?

2. Know your weaknesses

Do you have any weaknesses?

How have you tried to address those weaknesses?

Are you willing and committed to addressing those weaknesses?

3. Know your body

Do you feel good about your body?

Is your body fit, clean, and healthy for use?

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Do you take care of your body for its best performance?

4. Understand your emotions and feelings

Do you experience spontaneous negative or positive emotions?

Are those emotions driven by external or internal factors?

Are those emotions driven by your past, present, or future events?

Are you in control of your feelings and emotions?

5. Practice Detachment

Can you detach your emotions from your body?

Can you detach your mind from your emotions?

Can you detach your mind from your body?

Can you detach your mind from the past, present, and future?

Can you detach your mind from what you see, feel, or hear?

Can you detach your emotions from what you see, feel, or hear?

6. Practice Concentration

Do you often get distracted when you are thinking?

Are you able to sustain a thought of your choice for a sustained

period?

When your mind drifts from your current thoughts, can you bring
your mind back?

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If you answered yes to all the questions above, then you have
mastered yourself. It means you understand your strengths,
weaknesses, emotions, body, and mind.

This is a level where you have mastered how to detach your mind,
emotions, and body and concentrate on what you want. You cannot
get influenced by external factors, and you also control your internal
influences.

This is called self-mastery.

It comes from self-reflection, self-acceptance, self-control, self-

discovery, and self-discipline. When you organize your mind, body,
and emotions, then you have mastered yourself.

MASTER YOUR THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS

“There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and

there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.” - Buddha

Everything you can think of that is created on planet earth started

with a thought. It was just a thought, which ended up being
manifested in real life.

Whatever we have created in this world, good or bad, was first

created in our minds. Whenever we see good or bad was first just a
thought manifested into reality.

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Therefore, if we can master our thoughts and use our minds for good
thoughts, we will see more good things manifested in our lives. And
the same will happen if we think bad thoughts.

This means that we must organize our thoughts before we can

organize the world. If our minds are not organized, what we will
create on this planet will be accidental or unorganized.

How many days do you wake up feeling good? I mean, feeling good
for no apparent reason. I know you have had days like that where
you feel great to start your day.

Usually, you don't just feel good in your heart, but even your body
and spirit feel light and well. And by the time you get to the office or
workplace, the good feeling has evaporated.

What happened?

Most times, we don't know. Maybe you quarrelled with someone at

home before leaving. Or along the way, an unknown stranger has
disrespected you.

It's also possible that an unknown stranger has disrespected you, or

as soon as you reach the office, something could have happened,
which made you lose that good feeling you woke up with.

This is very common among all of us.

And it happens because we have not mastered our minds and spirit.
Instead, we allow external factors to dictate how we think, feel, and
experience this wonderful life.

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This causes the days to dictate your days instead of you dictating the
events of the days. No wonder you sometimes feel sick, even when
you know you are perfectly well.

It starts in your mind. And immediately, your mind sustains a grave

thought, your body feels sick about it, and before you know it, your
spirits get tired and trodden.

I think that you have control of your mind and spirit. Of course, these
things are not supposed to lead you, but you have to control how
these things can work to your advantage.

Most times, you worry about things that will not happen. You
become preoccupied thinking about what people think about you,
even though those people are not even thinking about you.

In Buddhism, there is a teaching about the monkey's mind. They

teach that our mind is like a monkey. It likes to jump from one thought
to another, just like a monkey jumps from one tree to another.

This makes it difficult to control our thoughts and emotions. We lack

concentration. According to Buddhism teachings, the mind differs
from awareness. Awareness travels from our different parts of the
mind.

These different parts of the mind include jealousy, ego, envy, anger,
fear, worry, hunger, pain, sexual desire, pride, security, satisfaction,
joy, peace, gratitude, happiness, etc.

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The awareness can move from one part of the brain to another in
seconds. You can think about food this very second and start thinking
about getting fired from a job in the next second.

You may desire to enjoy the food by allowing your mind to feel the
spices in your food, but you may not feel the taste of the spices
because your mind has drifted to admiring the picture of a man or
woman on your phone.

Sometimes, you can appreciate the car you have bought and be
grateful for having that car. However, your mind could be worried
about how much it will cost to service.

Worry, anger, envy, dissatisfaction, jealousy, ego, fear, pride and all
the other negative feelings have caused so much unhappiness in
many people’s lives. What begins as a thought in your mind can end
up affecting your relationship with other people.

When you investigate the source of most people’s troubles, you find
that most of the issues they have with others are based on “what they
think other people think about them.”

You must control your thoughts and emotions. The monks believe
that when you think about good food and your mind drifts to other
thoughts; you must train yourself to bring the mind back.

We must train the mind to focus on the things we want it to focus on.
You must train the mind to realize the things you want and remove
the thoughts of the things you do not want.

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They call this process detachment and concentration. You can

achieve this through meditation. Monks believe that meditation helps
to calm and control the thoughts of our minds.

You must detach your mind from negative things and put your mind
on positive things. And whenever you notice the mind drifting away,
you must train yourself to bring the mind back to the things you want
it to focus on.

Buddhism teaches everything we see, and experience begins with a

thought. We engrave success and failure in the mind. What is
possible and not possible is based on the mind.

There are things you thought were difficult to do and only did them
when you convinced yourself that you could do it. Therefore, it is
important to control your mind. Train it to think about what is
beneficial to you.

Monks also believe that happiness is a mental issue. You can be

happy with less, and you can be sad with abundance. However,
being unhappy with more money has nothing to do with money but
the way you think.

Be in control of how you think and feel about things. You must be
spontaneous and intentional in the way you think. Don’t give others
the responsibility to think and feel for you.

Think good thoughts and dwell on thoughts that make you happy.
Replace worrying with gratitude and stop overthinking. This will
surely make you enjoy life.

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OVERCOME YOUR SENSUAL DESIRES

“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.

Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken away from you, not by
angels or demons, heaven or hell.” - Buddha.

The addiction to drugs, sex and alcohol has become very common
among people. Having many sexual partners, drinking alcohol, and
abusing drugs seem to be cool for many people.

Actually, when I tell people I don’t drink or take substances, some

people ask why. I am the one who is supposed to ask why people
drink alcohol and take substances.

When I talk about alcohol, I have firsthand experience. My dad is an

alcoholic. Most of the challenges we went through in our family have
to do with dad’s addiction to alcohol.

Buddha teaches that “Attachment leads to suffering.”

When I was a kid, I saw my dad prioritizing beer over buying food. I
could not count the number of times he came home drunk to a home
without food for children.

Every time my dad got drunk, there was fighting and quarreling
between my father and mother. The insults and violence could easily
show me as a kid that alcohol was as described in the Bible.

Many men spend so much money trying to get laid. Just to get a girl,
men will spend on alcohol, take her shopping, pay her rent, and pay
girlfriend allowance in the circle of Slay Queens.

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When you quantify the entire experience, you find that a man has
spent thousands of kwachas just to get laid. And if he is not stabilizing
his life with one lady, he will spend a couple of thousand just on
getting laid.

These sexual desires can become financially costly.

However, that's not the only cost a man will pay. The time wasted in
restaurants, bars, and hotels, coupled with fake vacations,
continuous texting, shopping around, and getting laid, cannot be
recovered.

As if that's not enough, the consequences of sex cannot be over-

emphasized. People get sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS,
and unwanted pregnancies.

The unwanted pregnancies become an instant burden on the woman

who has to carry the child with the hormonal troubles of pregnancy.

If the man and woman go separate ways, the child will be the one to
face all the challenges that come with being a child of a single parent.
And the odds of becoming successful get stuck in front of the unborn
child.

Then comes the heartbreaks, the emotional loneliness, the feelings of

regret and the awkwardness of dating and sleeping with a person you
don’t have feelings for.

This leads to blackmail and resentment. So, you find people

threatening others with sharing their sex videos and nude pictures.
And they will target this at the person with a better financial position.

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Sex is ruining people’s lives every day.

Prominent men have fallen due to sex scandals. Women have lost
face due to sex scandals. Young men and women have had their lives
ruined due to sex. Sadly, and regrettably, some people have even
taken their own lives due to sex scandals.

And the only solution to sexual desires is self-discipline. No one can

stop you from having sex except yourself. And the more money you
make, the easier it becomes to have sex.

When you have money, you become more attractive. People want
to be around you. And people want to sleep with you. Some people
will desire you for financial reasons, and others will do it for their self-
validation.

The more successful you become, the more temptations you will
face. However, remember that sex can destroy your life, and you can
even end up dead.

You must resist illicit sex, indulgence in alcohol and substance abuse.
I know you are an important person. And someone who is important
is equivalent to a king. You are a king.

And I can only conclude on this matter of controlling your desires by

sharing what the Bible taught King Lemuel about sex and alcohol.

Proverbs 31:3-7

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“Don’t spend all your energy on sex and all your money on women;
they have destroyed kings. Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink
wine or have a craving for alcohol.

When they drink, they forget the laws and ignore the rights of the
people in need. Alcohol is for people who are dying, and for those
who are in misery.

Let them drink and forget their poverty and unhappiness.”

BECOME DILIGENT AND KILL LAZINESS

“To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of

life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.” - Buddha

There are many people whose only reason for not becoming
successful is laziness. We have too many lazy people in the world,
and some even justify using the narrative of working smart.

The Bible challenges people to learn from the ants. Ants are
industrious, team players and know how to work as a team until their
goal gets accomplished.

When you observe the ants, you can learn great lessons about hard
work, teamwork, and consistent action. As tiny as they are, ants can
build big anthills.

People mistake working smart as a substitute for working hard. And

the people who think that working smart doesn’t require working
hard are those people who have never worked smart.

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Working smart involves innovation and problem-solving skills. And

to become innovative with the right solutions that make you work
smarter; you need to think.

And thinking is not a simple job. Thinking is tough.

Thinking is easy for people who don’t engage in thinking as a job.

People who think often find it to be the hardest job ever. And if it
involves critical thinking, analysis, and decision-making techniques,
it even becomes harder.

We consider Elon Musk as someone who works smarter. He engages

his brain muscles more than his other body muscles. He once
mentioned that thinking of a solution for SpaceX was hurting his brain
and his heart.

He worked many hours thinking about how to make SpaceX work.

This is a technology guy. He was putting in hours to make his project
work.

However, some people believe in doing just enough.

Doing just enough can only work when you are working for another
person. This is because it won’t affect you immediately. However, if
the company is yours, you will feel the impact of laziness.

Put in the work. And this is not about seeming to be busy when you
actually don’t produce results. I mean working hard while producing
results.

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Tony Robbins says that “People get rewarded in public for the many
hours of work in private.”

The good thing about hard work is that it will eventually show. If you
are someone who works hard, you will get the results. If you are
playing around, it will also show eventually.

You can fool others but don’t fool yourself.

COMMIT TO FINISHING PROJECTS

“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth;
not going all the way, or not starting.” - Buddha

One of my mentors, Mr. Nonde Mwamba, recently called me when

he heard I had left the bank and was running my own businesses. He
told me he knew that I would succeed in business.

At the time he was telling me this, I was facing some challenges in

my business. The cash flow was not enough, and one of my big
consulting clients was reducing the amount of business he was doing
with us.

I felt he was trying to cheer me up.

However, he told me why he failed and that I would be successful

despite the challenges I was going through. He said that at the time I
worked with him, he saw I was always committed to finishing the
work.

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He reminded me of how I would ask him to remain for a few hours,

so we could reconcile the books. He recalled the day when a certain
client’s international transfer of funds was delayed.

Mr. Mwamba recalls how I looked for a number for the intermediary
bank and spoke to the payments manager, who cleared the funds
around 21:30 hours.

Mr. Mwamba said, “Edwin, you didn’t do that because someone was
telling you to do that. You didn’t do that because you wanted to get
a reward from the client. And you didn’t do it because it was your job
or maybe because you made a mistake.”

He said, “Edwin, you did it because that’s who you are. You are
someone who believes in finishing your projects. When the client
explained to you how the delays of remitting his funds were affecting
his business, you understood and took it upon yourself to ensure we
remitted the funds in record time.”

“You can’t fail, Edwin. With that mentality, it’s practically impossible
to fail. You are the type who believes that until you get the results you
want, you will not stop.”

These words from my mentor were very refreshing and encouraging.

They also made me recall the times I couldn’t finish my projects. I

remembered the Bachelor of Commerce I didn’t finish. I recalled the
business ideas I didn’t complete and many other things I didn’t finish.

And I realized I could achieve more if I completed my tasks.

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Whenever I wake up, I try to follow through with the tasks on my to-
do list as much as possible. I prepare the to-do list the day before
and aim to achieve a minimum of 75% of the tasks.

There are days when I end up doing things outside my to-do list and
find myself behind with my tasks. And on some days, I just wake up
feeling like not doing the very things I need to do.

And whenever I have this challenge, my mind repeats Elbert

Hubbard’s words from the motivation of Les Brown, saying, “Self-
discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when
you should do it, whether you feel like it.”

These words have a magical effect on me.

They have helped me gather momentum on days I feel uninspired to

work. These words have helped my brain to speak to my body to
complete tasks at the point when the body demands a rest.

The few tasks I complete make my days successful. And those

successful days make up weeks, months, and years of success. I
don’t take tasks for granted anymore.

Every task is important and must get completed. The discipline

doesn’t come overnight, but once you master the art of completing
tasks and projects, you will be unstoppable.

You will fall sick, experience pain, and encounter many adverse
circumstances, but you accept those adverse situations as blessings
in your pursuit of a higher cause.

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Persevere with all challenges on your journey to success. You must

be determined to complete your missions.

CREATE A HABIT OF EXCELLENCE

“It is better to travel well than to arrive.” - Buddha

Chikondi, my first daughter, doesn't have much interest in football.

She rarely watches soccer like Joy, my second daughter. I asked
Chikondi about the number of soccer players she knew.

She told me she knows Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Mohammad

Salah, Neymar, and Kalusha Bwalya. And randomly, I started asking
her about other outstanding players and she didn’t know them.

What fascinated me about this was her mentioning Kalusha Bwalya.

Great Kalu, as we called him, stopped playing football in 2004, before
Chikondi was born.

So, I wanted to find out how she knew Kalusha Bwalya.

She told me they learned about Kalusha Bwalya in school. She said
the teacher even talked about the great free-kick goals Kalusha
Bwalya scored during his playing time.

My daughter went further to say that they even asked about him in
her grade 7 examinations. It really impressed me. And I watched
Kalusha Bwalya, and I saw the goals. I felt good that she knew him.

Especially since she was not a soccer fan. It felt good.

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We can learn something from this. When you are excellent at what
you do, even people who are not particularly fans of your field will
know you and come to learn about you.

You may not be a soccer fan, but you definitely know about Cristiano
Ronaldo. You may not be a boxing fan, but you’ve probably heard of
Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

You may detest hip hop or reggae music, but you’ve probably heard
of Tupac Shakur and Bob Marley. I was not there when Thomas
Edison was conducting his 1,000 experiments, but I learned how he
invented the light bulb.

Excellence demands that you go far and beyond expectations. While

average people do the minimum required, you will go far and
beyond.

Excellence will make people search for you to give you job and
business opportunities. You will not be the one looking for companies
to employ you or people to do business with.

When you are excellent at what you do, you will get paid more than
the average employee. Excellence will make you shine and stand out
from the crowd of mediocre people.

You must endeavour to be excellent at what you do. People should

be amazed at your work. Your work should be a marvel to watch.
Make your work shine and spectacular.

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It will not be difficult to demand more money when you are excellent
at your work. Look at the price of Apple products. Check the prices
of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin.

They are super expensive.

Do you know why? It’s because they are a work of art. Starting with
engine, interior, speed, feel of the leather, safety and comfort, you
wouldn’t want to pay less.

You actually feel good to own that kind of car. This is the car you want
to show off to people. And if there is any sort of problem with this
kind of car, you want the best garage to take care of it.

This is the type of car everyone wants. People covet it. They take
pictures with it. They look back when it passes and marvel when they
hear the car.

The way people feel about these supercars is how they should feel
about you. When people feel about you the same way they feel
about these supercars, you will be a rock star.

Money will follow you. Important people will ask to have coffee with
you. TV stations will hunt to speak to you. Companies will advertise
using your face and pay you.

You will become an idol. People will bow down before you. They will
call you “Master” because you will have mastered something and
become excellent at it.

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STOP BALANCING WORK AND LIFE

“In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How
fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?” - Buddha.

In pursuing success, you will face challenges about work-life

balance. Many working classes have had these challenges with the
work-life balance.

And here is my question.

Do you really have to balance your work and life? Why do you have
to balance the two? Don't you have to just make choices where you
will win some and lose some?

When people decide to become monks, they sacrifice many things.

They sacrifice their relationship with their families, personal wealth
accumulation, self-indulgence and having children.

In short, life is about choices. You can’t balance life.

Let me give you an example. I am a family man, and I love children.

Before I even got married, I used to contemplate how my wife and I
would raise our kids.

I believe that raising kids who are responsible and functional

members of society is part of the success equation. I personally can't
enjoy my success if my kids are not part of the equation.

But that's me.

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Some people are not family oriented. They don't care about marriage.
And there are people who have decided that they will not marry until
they are in their late forties.

And you should make your own decisions about your career versus
your family life. When you do it because everyone is doing so, you
will find yourself in deep problems.

You can decide to get married late to focus on your career, or you
can marry early and decide not to have kids until you are ready to
raise children.

You may decide to take demanding jobs as husband and wife while
delegating the house duties to house help. You can also decide that
one of you will take a less demanding job, so he or she can take care
of the kids.

These decisions ought to be made.

However, I see so many people wanting to raise kids well while

taking highly demanding jobs and studying for an MBA and PhD.

Is there something wrong with this? Absolutely not. But don't blame
your boss or your company for not giving you more time to babysit
or study for your MBA.

Because that's what everyone is doing. They make life decisions that
will conflict with work and expect that people at work should
support their work-life balance.

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People will take jobs, which gives them no room to spend time with
kids and then wonder why their children behave strangely.

You can't balance work and life. You just ought to make choices. And
you can choose to spend more time with kids while doing a less-
paying job or doing your own business.

You can also choose to get a highly demanding job while expecting
expensive schools to raise your kids.

Both scenarios have their own different outcomes. Therefore, I teach

people who care about the time they spend with their children to
choose business or careers that are flexible.

Otherwise, if they don't make these decisions, they will end up being
miserable and blaming the company or job for having no time to
spend with their loved ones.

Life is a game of choices. And I think you must make more choices,
which puts you in charge of your life. If you are not in control, then
you will always complain because no one wakes up to make your life
comfortable.

It's time to flip the coin and make choices that favour your way of life.
You should choose jobs that make your life enjoyable. You should do
jobs that make you feel good when doing them.

If that's not the case, don't balance work and life, just make choices
and sacrifices. Either you sacrifice the job, your time, or your
happiness.

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I think the best is to sacrifice the job because you can create a job
through a business, giving you more time and happiness.

Make that choice.

COMPETE WITH YOURSELF

“When you move your focus from competition to contribution, life

becomes a celebration. Never try to defeat people, just win their
hearts.” - Buddha.

The entire essence of life is to be of service to others. But life is a

competition nowadays. Whether you like it or not, you are always
competing with some fellow somewhere.

It could be within your family, community, place of work, business,

or even church. Human beings are naturally competitive. In
Buddhism, monks compete with themselves to achieve awakening.

The monks’ personal competition is mostly for personal fulfillment

and self-discovery. It is also another way of keeping them goal-
oriented within pursuing self-mastery and spiritual fulfillment.

I know that you want to be the best in everything you do and

outsmart as many people as possible. It's just that following that
trajectory brings suffering to you and others.

That path is devoid of happiness and peace.

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I know that you sometimes wish you had a better car or house. You
wish they could promote you as the next boss. And you also wish
you could be the leader at your church.

I also understand how you feel when your siblings get all the praise,
and you get none. You wish the family could praise you, too, but your
contribution is neither here nor there.

And it’s easy to get tempted to become better than those people.
Show people you are better than them. The question is, then what?

The quest to become better than others will lead you to slavery and
suffering. Whenever you cannot win, you will not control your
emotions because someone preoccupied your mind.

The teachings of Buddha say that if you keep on striving and making
an effort, you will achieve your goals, even with very little effort
towards your personal fulfillment and peace.

However, when the goal is focused on being better than another

person, you will never find peace, happiness, and fulfillment. When
you are better than James, you will discover that Jackson is better
than you.

This competition has robbed many people of peace and happiness.

In Buddhism, they say it causes deep suffering. Even when you win,
you still feel empty and like a loser.

There are situations when it is inevitable to compete. If you applied

for a tender, job interview, or maybe competing in sports or
elections, you would definitely want to win.

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However, you should accept that anyone can win.

Losing doesn’t make you smaller than the other person. If the person
you are competing with loses, it doesn’t make them smaller than you
in their abilities or intelligence.

We can live our lives and focus on our journey, or we can compete
with others to check what’s more attractive, wealthier, happier, or
more successful.

But the end is all suffering.

You must flip the coin and focus on your personal journey. When you
live your life like a monk, you will master your mind, body, emotions
and organize these three to achieve happiness, peace, and fulfillment.

Live like a monk.

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NETWORK LIKE A SOCIALITE

W
ho is a socialite? You may ask.
The Oxford Dictionary defines a socialite as a person
who is known in fashionable society and is fond of
social activities and entertainment.

In the past, socialites were people who mostly came from wealthy
and upper-class societies and could afford to live the most lavish
lifestyle and get the attention of the media.

It was difficult for anyone in the middle class to arrange fancy places
or get invited to lavish parties where you get the attention of
photographers. This was a privilege for the few kids of the rich.

However, smartphones and social media have bridged the gap

between the rich and the poor. A kid from Chilenje with a
smartphone with a good camera can go to a beautiful restaurant or
hotel and take pictures in different outfits.

He or she can then post those photos at different times on Instagram

or Facebook to show that they are living the best of their lives. It’s
called “fake it before you make it.”

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There has been a constant debate about the fake life of social media
celebrities. Many people believe that social media celebrities post
fake lives to impress their followers.

To a certain extent, this could be true but not entirely true. There are
many social media celebrities who live the best of their lives. Some
of these people are actually living every bit of the lives they post on
Instagram and Facebook.

Some of the young people who post about the number of

qualifications they have on LinkedIn and Twitter are actually very
qualified. They have MBAs and PHDs.

It may seem impossible to you, but people have lived the best of their
lives. It begins with your mind. And then you can decide to live the
life you want.

You are the master of your life.

SHUP UP OR BE MENTALLY FIT

I have spent enough time on social media, and I have noticed that the
platforms are becoming insensitive every single day.

Before you post anything on social media, you must be politically

correct and ensure that your message does not offend one of your
readers.

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I cannot count the number of times people have told me I am not as

smart as I think or that I disappoint them with the way I think or look
at things.

Some people have called me names. They claim I am dull,

uninformed, stupid, cocky, boastful, and outrageous. And some
people say that I lie to people by giving them false assumptions.

Others have unfollowed me, blocked me, and insulted me. They say
my opinions about life and business are wrong and that I shouldn't
be lying to people about the success of business.

Twitter Technocrats, LinkedIn Executives and Facebook Geniuses

have trashed me because of sharing my point of view.

People want you to think like them. The moment you think differently
and share your different way of thinking, you immediately become
stupid or an enemy of the people.

If you are not careful, you will easily lose a following or face the wrath
of the cancel culture, where people will ensure that they tell others
to stop doing business with you, and you’ll lose money for saying
something they do not agree with.

Dr. Jordan Patterson, a clinical psychologist, has always insisted that

you cannot say anything important without offending someone. It's
practically impossible.

Some people might say that the cancel culture is for people who are
careless with what they post or say. However, my observation has
been that people are becoming so insensitive.

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People are mentally weak. And many of them are daylight cowards.

It is very difficult nowadays to hold a normal conversation with

people. Radical feminists are hunting people online to pour out their
frustrations. Political sectarians will brand you as an enemy of the
people for not supporting them.

The church has so many beliefs that within the umbrella of

Christianity, people have radicalized the messages and doctrines so
that you are with them, or you are a pagan.

Religion and politics are the most sensitive topics. So, whenever you
say something that they do not agree with, you will face the wrath of
automated uncompromising robots.

When you talk about making money through a business, some

people will bash you for promoting selfishness and capitalism, which
are evil, according to most people.

Driving a nice car can easily get you into trouble with people who will
brand you as a selfish person who doesn't care about the welfare of
the poor.

Having a different view on education will get you insulted by degree

holders who feel that it is an insult for anyone to tell them to look
beyond the certificates.

Dealing with people now is like walking on eggshells. People are

mentally weak and emotional. They compel you to agree with them
or become their enemy.

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Think about the career of a comedian. Comedians can easily get into
trouble by making jokes about almost anything. Someone can just go
to Twitter and ask fellow keyboard snipers to gun the comedian
down.

People have lost their careers, and haters have rejoiced. A friend of
mine told me that some people just wait for that moment when you
will fall, so they can fill their hearts with joy.

So, how do you deal with that?

Keep quiet.

Say nothing. Be the most fake person the world has ever seen. It will
kill you inside, but at least you will not suffer from people's hate.

However, if you want to be a normal human being and live a normal

life, you can share your opinions every single day. But I believe you
must be mentally fit.

What do I mean by being mentally fit?

First, even what I am saying right now could be wrong to you or

another person. You can easily go to Twitter and post that my book
is full of trash.

Should that make me have sleepless nights? Absolutely not. I don’t

give a damn about such things. Most people have an opinion about
anything, but they don't want to allow others to have any opinion
about anything.

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They think their opinions are good, and other people's opinions are
outrageous. They think other people are not qualified to share
opinions about anything except themselves.

You need to learn to ignore such people. Some people do such things
for clout or seek relevancy when they get a response from you. Just
ignore them by blacklisting them.

Flipping the coin is going to offend many people. You will offend
people who are used to the status quo. They will not like you for
changing things they are used to. They will criticize you, embarrass
you, insult you, and hate on you.

They will not stop till you look stupid and become a robot like them.

Second, remember that you are a human being who can contribute
something to the universe. And you should not allow a frustrated
social media user to get into your head.

Some of these people on social media are angry about their lives.
There is something wrong going on in their lives, and they can only
feel good when they leave a nasty comment for you.

And I believe you are a decent human being with a kind heart. You
should not allow some troubled and frustrated soul to stop you from
living. You must live your life.

The cancel culture is basically mob justice spearheaded by losers.

Most cancel culture promoters are PHD Masters who have
specialized in Pull Him/Her Down. They just use the cancel culture
for their ill motives.

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And some are just bullies.

Life is full of bullies. They bullied you at school. Your cousin bullied
you at home till you lost your peace. You also have a boss who wants
to bully you every day.

Then we have a bunch of nobodies trying to bully you on social

media for just thinking differently. How long will you tolerate the
bullies to rob you of your God-assured peace?

It must stop. Stand up to the bullies. You need to be mentally fit by

standing up to these jealous people disguised as noble cancel culture
promoters.

Take them on if you can. Do it with kindness and class. Respond to

haters in such a way that if they continue attacking you, they will look
foolish.

If you are not a person who can stand up for yourself to nasty people,
frustrated critics and haters, I suggest you stop posting anything
about anything.

Become a nobody.

However, doing that will take away your humanity and sense of
belonging. You can't live in a world where you can't voice your
opinion in fear of the cancel culture mob justice.

Just be mentally fit and live your life.

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SPEND MONEY AND ENJOY YOUR LIFE

How many times have you seen socialites at fancy restaurants or

hotels? How many times have you seen them post about getting on
the plane with travel bags?

Can you count the number of socialites you have seen posting about
their wonderful lives? Can you count the number of times you have
seen them flashing money at nightclubs, weddings, or parties?

I guess not.

The number of socialites posting about a soft life is common on social

media platforms. Some people are nowhere near the lavish lifestyle
they post on social media.

They actually wish they lived that kind of life. Most of these people
are broke guys who try to experience a rich life. They want it, but
they can’t afford the lifestyle.

And then there’s you.

You can afford that lifestyle, but you imprisoned your mindset with
the lacking mentality so that you still feel poor to spend any money
on your own vacation in Dubai or Brazil.

Ecclesiastics 10:6-7

“I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground

like servants.”

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In the Bible, this used to happen because of the unfairness of rulers

who dishonored princes and honored servants to become their
masters.

However, in our time, this is up to you. In this entire book, I take you
as a prince, princess, king or queen. You are the master of your life.
The decision to be happy or unhappy is upon you, your highness.

With the wealth you have, you can decide to wear purple robes or
move in torn clothes. The honor of your name will get built by how
you decide to brand yourself to the world.

The socialites can teach you a few lessons, your highness.

1. Own your happiness

Whether their happiness is temporal, fake, or up to standards, they

own it. It is up to them. They can even go to Dubai using Economy
Class but still look great when they take pictures at their dream
holiday destination.

It might not mean a lot to people with a lot of wealth, but they own
their happiness. If going to Dubai makes them happy, why not spend
their money on a trip to Dubai?

2. Spend money on the things you love

Ask yourself this question often. What is it that you really love? What
is that one thing which tickles you? If you find that one thing, can you
spend money on it?

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The things that fascinate us in life are different. Some people love
simple things. They don’t want expensive cars, luxury houses, top
schools for their children or nice food from restaurants.

You could be one of those people. You like helping people and
creating opportunities for the vulnerable people. And I believe
whichever cause you take; you will need money.

The more you become of service in the cause that makes you happy,
the happier you become. And the more money you spend on that
cause, the more lives you will touch and the happier you will
become.

I am sure you have noticed that some socialites are all about
philanthropy. They post pictures of the ghetto or villages they visit
and derive happiness from helping poor people.

3. Talk big and achieve even bigger

You notice socialites like to post about their aspirations for the year
or five years. They will post the house or car they want to buy or the
country they plan to travel to.

Some who are into fitness will post about the body they want to
achieve despite being out of shape. However, the socialites’
aspirations are usually outlandish and far-fetched.

And after a few months or years, you will notice that they will post
their journey, challenges, and the achievement. They will give you a
surprise kind of video to show you their achievement.

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There is debate around this as well. Many people say that it’s
unnecessary to share plans on social media or post your
achievements. Some people prefer you are silent about your
aspirations and achievements.

However, the benefits of talking big about your aspirations are that it
creates a sense of accountability. The people who saw your post
about building a house or buying a Lamborghini will ask you about
the progress.

This will push you to work harder. And when you finally achieve your
stated aspirations, the happiness that comes from achieving lavish
goals is immeasurable.

You will be happy to get what seemed impossible.

MASTER THE ART OF AUTHENTICITY

Many people are afraid of making their lives public because they are
not comfortable with certain areas of their lives. You are probably
one of those people who think you can’t share an opinion or make a
video because you are not good enough.

And when you dig deep into what makes you feel not good enough,
it’s things like accent, location, race, gender, size of body, beauty,
color of skin, or the level of wealth.

I have noticed that people who go viral on social media mostly have
things you can call imperfections. I love watching Grand P on social

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media. Despite not having the average body of a man, he has over
5.7 million followers who love him.

I am one of his followers. Grand P makes my days. He is fun to watch.

He has the confidence of LeBron James but half his height and one-
third of his body.

You may probably ask, where does he get that kind of confidence?
Grand P is authentic. He has accepted who he is and lives the best of
his life, just as he is.

Some people have said things he has not liked, obviously. Some
people have made fun of him. There could also be people who have
said hurtful words against him.

But every time I watch him, he is a cheerful soul.

He amazes me. I love him for being Grand P. Many people try to
become a version of another person. They try to be Cardi B or Drake.
But trying to be someone else is very stressful.

How long will it take you to become the best at becoming another
person? I believe that it’s much easier to succeed when you are
authentically yourself.

And it is much easier to be yourself. It also feels good to be you. Being

authentic brings happiness. People love authentic people. We can
smell fake people from afar.

Be courageous enough to be you. You will be happy.

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USE CONTROVERSY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Kanye West is one of the most controversial celebrities I know. If he

is not taking an award from Taylor Swift, he tells black people that
slavery was a choice.

And while blacks are complaining about his slavery comments, he

wears a Make America Great Again hat and supports Donald Trump,
who is perceived by black people as racist.

Then he changed his legal name from Kanye West to Ye, asking Mark
Zuckerberg for $1 billion, comparing himself to Jesus and having his
own Bible and running for President in the most bizarre fashion.

And while he’s doing all these crazy things, he’s still putting out music
and selling most of his concerts out. And the more rants he made, the
more he became a well-known brand.

Upon realizing that fact, he came up with Yeezy fashion in

collaboration with Adidas to produce high-end sneakers, shirts,
jackets, track pants, slides, women's shoes, and slippers.

And he is worth $1.8 billion, though he claims he is worth $6 billion,

which could be just one of his usual controversies.

When I study Ye (Kanye West), he is a man who has taken advantage

of controversies. He has turned what could have killed his career into
something that has built his $1.8 billion fortune.

We all have those embarrassing moments in our lives.

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Maybe you wanted to propose publicly, and you get rejected. Maybe
you got fired, and it’s in the news. You may find yourself in a nude or
sex video leak that goes viral.

You may say the most unacceptable thing, and people roast you for
your words. And you may do and say things, which cause others to
sue you and become a public discussion.

What do you do?

These are not moments we want in our lives. However, you must be
mentally fit and smart enough to realize that publicity is publicity,
whether it’s good or bad. You must take advantage of it.

Most socialites have mastered this. Sometimes, they even

deliberately do or say crazy things to get people’s attention so you
can always talk about them.

Socialites know that if people are not talking about you, then you
don’t matter. Socialites understand the value of social currency and
what it can do in your life and business.

People pray for a day they will go viral for something. And if that
happens in the way you didn’t like, why not take advantage of the
situation?

That awful moment or controversy can change your life. Remember,

one thief found Jesus and got saved on the cross. The situation was
wrong and so was the timing, but he took advantage and entered
paradise.

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BUILD A LOVE OR HATE PERSONALITY

One thing you will admire about socialites is their courage to share
things on matters they don’t fully understand. Social media
celebrities have opinions on sports, politics, diet, money,
relationships, and religion.

You notice that whenever they post something about any of the
above topics, some people will agree with them, and others will
disagree. It’s common like that.

These debates can sometimes get nasty, especially when the

socialite has posted something that a certain section of society does
not agree with.

Sometimes, socialites get asked to pull down the post and apologize.
Some social media celebs bow down to pressure and delete their
posts. Others even apologize.

However, most socialites are hardheaded.

Socialites understand that almost every post they share has people
who disagree with it. They have, therefore, drawn the line, which you
either have to cross or stay on the other side.

They know you cannot please people all the time. They understand
that living a public life will not be without scrutiny. And the scrutiny
is on everything you say.

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They understand that not every person is supposed to love them.

Some people will love them, and others will hate them. And it’s
perfectly normal.

You need that kind of mindset to enjoy your life. Seeking validation
will cause you not to do anything. Almost everything you want to do
will have people who disagree with it.

Giving yourself the permission to be right or wrong and accepting

that some people will love you and others will hate you, whether
right or wrong, is one of the most fulfilling realizations you will come
across.

It will free you.

This mindset will give you the audacity to do things other people feel
are not possible. You will have the courage to do things, even when
75% of the people do not agree with you.

This mental shift will give you the courage to go in a different

direction alone, leaving the multitude going in the opposite direction.
It will appear cocky, but it’s better than self-doubt.

People with self-doubt cannot do anything until everyone has

approved. Self-doubt has made many people insecure and short-
tempered because they think everyone thinks about them the same
way they think lowly about themselves.

I believe only a few people have guts. Be among the few.

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ENGAGE WITH ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE

When I started the journey of sharing my opinions on social media, I

noticed that the number of people who commented on my posts
increased. I started attracting different people to my profile.

And I am one of those who likes to appreciate people who engage

with me on social media. So, no wonder I prefer having followers I
can easily engage with.

I believe that having 50,000 followers is the highest number you can
easily respond to and engage. When the numbers are in hundreds of
thousands, you will choose who to respond to and the people to
ignore.

And this is common among people who have not mastered social
media. They created social media platforms for engagement. The
more people you engage with, the higher your social currency.

Russel Brunson teaches it is better to have 1,000 staunch fans who

will always buy from you than having one million followers who will
buy nothing you will sell.

Therefore, I learned that my work is for people who love to read. I

treasure people who get on my page and share the other books they
have read and their unique points of view.

It makes our debates and conversations rich and productive. It feels

good to debate and chat with people who share their well-
researched opinions. This helps you to learn as you teach.

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The temptation to most people with a following is to silence people

they do not agree with. You notice they hide comments from people
with divergent views and those who challenge them.

However, if you are smart, like a socialite, you will take any comment
into a positive. Someone might not agree with you, but if they share
something without abuse or disrespect, then your social media page
becomes a learning platform.

And when people realize you respect them on your platform, they
will also respect you. They will feel valued and appreciated. This
creates a feeling of significance in the people who love your work.

When people feel respected, significant, and valued, they will spend
money on your products. They will talk about you to their peers,
friends, and family. They will become your brand promoters.

I have witnessed people on social media defending a socialite as if

their life depends on it. People can go to lengths of writing articles or
posting pictures of you, depending on how they feel about you.

This is good for personal branding.

It makes you become the authority in people’s lives. You become a

celebrity for others. People consider you an important person. They
will invite you to their events and make you a guest of honor.

This recognition might seem minimal in the beginning, but they can
easily open doors to your life. You may sit among the rich, successful
leaders of your generation based on how you treat others.

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FLOW ACCORDING TO PEOPLE’S EMOTIONS

When you look at the patterns on social media, you notice people
like to share viral content. Sometimes, people are most likely to
respond to a political post than a business post based on what’s
trending on that day.

When I talked about authenticity, I talked about staying true to your

message. I truly believe in being who you are. However, you can still
tweak your message and include a dance in your business lesson if
TikTok is trending.

My content is usually business and money.

However, I have always tried to add the flavour of politics, religion,

football, and comedy to my messages. The primary focus is business,
but I can use a trending event to put it into context with business and
money.

This helps you to keep in touch with what is happening. People like
to hear the people they admire talking about the things they care
about. They have a desire to get your views.

When they see you are part of them, they realize you are one of them.
They take you as one of them. And socialites who get loved to such
levels end up wealthy.

The people who idolize them will buy anything from them and also
become their brand ambassadors.

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APPRECIATE PEOPLE’S CONTRIBUTION

Any successful person who claims to have become successful

without the help of others is a self-praising, narcissistic, and egoistic
liar. That person has failed to appreciate the support of others.

I stand at the podium because of the support of many people. If I

tried to mention specific people who have helped me, I would
actually leave out many people because there are too many to
mention.

I am a bestselling author because 11,000 plus people have bought my

books. There are people who have recommended my books,
promoted my books, edited my books, proofread, and even added
context to the writing of my books by providing a critique voice.

I am educated because my parents, neighbors, grandparents,

teachers, community, friends, strangers, and the government (not
scholarship) helped me complete my schooling.

My businesses have been successful because people buy our

services and products. They can decide to go elsewhere and buy
much better products, but I appreciate the support you consistently
give my business.

I am always grateful for the support.

And I believe you, too, have many people who have supported you
to become as successful as you are. And if you were to look back,
the list would be long.

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You need to appreciate those people. I am not saying that you should
pay them back because you can’t. You cannot pay back because if
the interest gets added to the help you got, you will be highly
indebted.

You must just acknowledge that you are successful because other
people supported your dreams and hard work. There are people who
work really hard, but they have no one to support them.

Always live with gratitude. You are standing on the shoulders of

giants. Acknowledge this because you will never run away from it.
You are successful with the help of others.

BLOCK AND DELETE TOXIC PEOPLE

Earlier, I talked about why it’s important to connect with everyone,

including people you do not agree with. And now I advise that you
need to block and delete toxic people.

It sounds counter-intuitive, right?

However, it makes common sense to block toxic people. The reason

you need to connect with everyone is that people are important in
our lives. I have a lot of respect for the value of people.

Every person you meet can add value to you. And it is just common
sense that you keep an open-door policy for people. When you are
too choosy, you will miss out on good people that you could have
judged on face value.

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Even as I encourage you to block and delete toxic, I still encourage

you to be as tolerant as possible before you block or delete people.
Give people enough time for observation and analysis before you
make that drastic decision.

When you make this decision, you should be at peace with yourself.
There are people I have blacked out from my life, who ended up top
people in society, and I still felt that I didn’t need them.

I have blocked and deleted family members from my life, and even
when I assess my decision now, I still feel justified. The reason is very
simple - some people are toxic and not worthy of being close to me.

I will tell you why you need to make these tough decisions.

1. Protect your mental health

There are people who can drive you crazy. Some people can stress
and drive you into depression. These people could be as close as
parents, siblings, spouses, children, friends, or colleagues at work.

There are so many people who have had mental health issues
because of friends, boss, spouse, sibling, parent, or child. And these
people close to you don’t even realize that they are hurting you.

I believe you must stand up for yourself and be mentally fit to get rid
of anyone from your life who you have assessed beyond a
reasonable doubt are not good for your mental well-being.

Just block them or delete them from your life. Distance yourself from
them and block their numbers. If they can’t respect your decision, put

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a restraining order stopping them from coming close to you

physically.

There are people in life who deserve this. Don’t even feel bad about
it. Be mentally fit enough to protect yourself from toxic human
beings. Some people just don’t deserve to be in our lives.

2. Protect your reputation

Imagine being publicly undressed with insults by your spouse,

sibling, friend, child, colleague, or parent? Imagine a situation where
you have spoken to this person to stop this behaviour, and they still
don’t change.

What would you do?

If you have laboured to build your image or personal brand like me,
this would be an issue of great concern. I have worked tirelessly to
build a name for myself for many years, and I can’t allow anybody to
destroy it just like that.

There are people in our circles who think they can say anything or do
anything, despite their words or actions affecting our reputation.
Such people deserve to be blocked or permanently deleted from our
lives.

These are people who can make you lose face in your marriage,
employment, business, or church. If your reputation is as important
to you as it is to me, such people should get blocked or deleted.

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3. Protect yourself from abuse, harm, or injury

In our communities, we have child molesters and abusers, gender-

based violent perpetrators, murderers, sexually abusive bosses, and
abusive spouses.

These issues are always coming up in our communities and have

been going on for many years despite people within the family or
community being aware of the same abuse.

I really get offended by such behaviour of protecting abusers.

If I deserve to be abused for me to stay married, employed or in

business, then I would rather lose all of them. We need to hold
ourselves to higher values and virtues.

You can’t allow someone to abuse you so you can continue to stay in
a marriage, job or business. That’s not a life worth living. Be mentally
fit to stand up for yourself and say no to abuse or harm.

We centre most of what is called life around decisions. The better

decisions you make about who you keep in your circle will also
determine the quality of your life.

When you notice certain people’s presence in your life is causing

your stress, unhappiness, and emotional breakdowns, learn to block,
delete, or walk away from such people.

You deserve a better life.

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SQUEEZE OUT THE JUICE

I
love tea.
I drink tea in the morning, mid-morning, afternoon and at night. I
like black lemon tea at night. And I just love the flavour of lemon
tea as I read or write in the night.

Panga Tea! That’s how I normally ask Chikondi, my first-born

daughter, to make the perfect cup of tea for me.

One day, around 22:00 hours, I wanted a cup of lemon tea. Chikondi
told me that the lemons were finished, except for the one she’d
previously used for my cup of tea at 20:00 hours.

She said that only a few drops of juice came out of the used lemons
despite all the effort of squeezing. But I still wanted that perfect cup
of lemon tea. Tea is some kind of addiction to me.

I told her to pour a little hot water on both sides of the lemon and
pour the little water back into the cup. After a few minutes, she came
back and told me that the lemon tea was ready.

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I asked her if she had tasted the lemon tea. She said yes and that the
tea tasted great. I told her that sometimes, that’s how you squeeze
the juice out of life.

PROMOTE CAPITALISM AND FREE ENTERPRISE

The debate between capitalism and socialism as a system for better

economic management has been ongoing for many years. And it
seems we will never reach a conclusion on this matter.

Zambia has experienced Far Left Socialist, Capitalist, Centre Left

Socialist, and Liberal rule from the political leaders of UNIP, MMD, PF
and UPND, respectively.

We still engraved the country with socialist ideas. We even have an

opposition party called The Socialist Party, led by Dr. Fred Mmembe.
The centre of ideology of these Socialists is around free things.

They promise free education for all, free healthcare for all and
subsidized social amenities. The language for most Zambian political
parties has always been socialist. Even the current ruling party,
UPND, won the elections on the promises of free things.

What is capitalism?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines capitalism as “an economic

system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital
goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and
by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are
determined mainly by competition in a free market.”

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My simplest definition of capitalism is “production of goods and

services for profit in private hands.” This sounds cool, right?

And what is socialism?

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines socialism as “a way of

organizing a society in which major industries are owned and
controlled by the government rather than by individual people and
companies.”

My simplest definition for socialism is “the production of goods and

services in government hands.”

Why am I sharing this with you?

As a businessperson, you must understand a system that supports

your aspirations. And when you look at the above economic systems,
the system which favors businesspeople is capitalism.

I want you to understand that Zambians love free things. No wonder

politicians always sell them the dreamland of free things (Socialist
Ideas) but govern them with common sense (Capitalist Ideas).

This means that capitalism works and is an ideology of common

sense. The good part about capitalism is that it allows a free market.
This means that economic affairs are driven by price, production, and
competition.

The socialists claim that capitalism breeds individualism,

competition, and consumerism. They also point out that it creates
wealth inequality in our societies.

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Capitalism is not perfect, but the same individualism, competition,

and consumerism opposed by socialists is what drives businesses.
Even successful socialist countries like China have used capitalist
ideas to succeed.

And the businesses employ people, pay taxes, and the politicians use
those taxes to hoodwink people with fake promises of providing free
social amenities.

But we all know where the money ends up. In their pockets!

Therefore, you will meet a lot of opposition as you run your business
from lazy people and government officials with an entitled mindset
of getting free things.

People think businesspeople owe them something. When you are

successful, radical socialists perceive you to be selfish and paint you
black in the eyes of the entitled masses.

The public officers are mostly corrupt and have developed a habit of
getting free money from businesspeople. The political parties are
mostly beggars with an entitled mindset of expecting businesspeople
to bankroll them.

This creates a big problem for your business. If you are going to
become a community business, you will run the business to the
ground. You must run the business by thinking, not by feelings.

Employees expect salary increments even when their annual

performance is poor. The government expects you to pay taxes even
when you have not made any profit.

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As a business, you must find ways of going against the free lunch
mentality. It has to be visible from leadership that your company is
performance-based.

There is no free lunch.

Socialists say that we have to share the cake. And I believe there is
nothing wrong with sharing. But the world is better when people are
more focused on baking more cakes than focusing on sharing other
people’s cakes.

As a business owner, you must promote capitalism and free

enterprise. You must oppose all kinds of socialist ideas. Most people
who claim to be socialists are capitalists who want to benefit from
the government deals.

OUTSOURCE 75% OF THE WORK

Labour has been a painful cost for many businesses for a long time.
Some companies have tried to reduce the labour cost by automating
some business activities, and others focus on paying less.

Many US companies outsource the production of their goods to a

labour force in India, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and
even African countries like Morocco and Lesotho.

The main reason for outsourcing has been cheaper labour in these
countries compared to the US and Europe. Outsourcing work to
cheaper labour is good for profits.

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This would offend the socialists, of course. But the benefits of

outsourcing work are immense. The socialists may only look at it
from the jobs point of view, but as a business owner, you look at the
capacity point of view.

And you can outsource work to local companies. But that should also
not stop you from outsourcing the company services to other
countries like India or China.

Countries like India, Israel, and China have advanced technology at a

cheaper price, which any smart business owner would take
advantage of to become efficient. Our countries have different
strengths and weaknesses.

The primary goal of any business is to make a profit. Period. A

business should not apologize for making a profit. Profit is good for
company expansion and creation of new jobs.

Any business that is not making a profit will eventually close and end
employment for hundreds or thousands of people. That’s a terrible
situation. The business must, therefore, make a profit.

And to make profits, you must take advantage of cheaper human

resources and technology. If the cheaper human resource is in India,
I will take advantage and hire an Indian.

Some of the companies you will outsource to are local specialized

companies. These companies could be in IT, graphic designs, public
relations, media, advertising, consulting, accounting, etc.

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There are many services to outsource to other companies. We will

outsource some for technical expertise reasons and others for cost
friendliness.

Overall, it becomes a win-win situation for both your companies and

the companies getting your outsourced services. Even as you grow,
the other companies will also grow together with you.

You need to understand that small businesses may lack capacity to

employ many people and pay salaries every month. And if you can
outsource 75% of the work, you will have fewer management and
financial issues to handle.

When building a small business, you must leverage all kinds of

opportunities. Outsourcing is one opportunity that helps small
businesses to spend less on staff wages and technological
expenditure.

Instead of investing more in a bloated staff headcount, you can use

the finances to build and grow the business. When the business
grows, you can employ more people in your company.

But whilst you are in the building stage, outsource more work.

GET SMART AND AMBITIOUS PEOPLE AROUND YOU

The first law in the book, The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is
“Never Outshine the Master.” This will tell you that most masters or
leaders cannot deal with people who are smart and ambitious.

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Most leaders, especially in the African leadership style, love puppets.

People at the top love to be surrounded by yes men. The masters
want to be surrounded by people who always agree with them.

No wonder we have a leadership crisis.

I believe that a person who wants to succeed fast and great must
surround himself with smart and ambitious people. The reason is that
these are the people who will bring new ideas to the table.

The yes man's group mostly comprises dull, short-sighted and

servants who are not bold enough to tell the master that he is wrong.
And as a master, people like that will always mislead you.

They will watch you go the wrong way and let it be. They will never
challenge anything because they don’t see themselves as part of your
success.

However, smart, and ambitious people always think they will take
over from you. It might threaten you, especially when the person is
dangerously ambitious.

But every man is ambitious, and the one who comes out in the open
with his or her ambitions is easier to manage than the yes man who
pretends to be by your side.

The smart and ambitious guys will help you build an empire. Since
they want to be the next future leaders of the empire, they guarantee
you success.

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This goes down to friends, employees, and spouses. It should never

challenge you to have a smart and ambitious partner. This is a
common fear among men. Men fear smart and ambitious women.

With choosing friends or employees, avoid being surrounded by

people who are less qualified, unintelligent, and lethargic. They will
not help you succeed.

Choose people who are smart, intelligent, and driven. Being

surrounded by such people is the surest way of becoming successful.
They will not want to fail for their own selfish reasons.

And since they are chasing their own success, driven by their selfish
ambition and intelligence, your association with them will bring
guaranteed success to you.

ANALYZE AND EVALUATE THE BUSINESS CONTINUOUSLY

Every business has challenges. When you are analyzing

continuously, you’ll notice that certain segments of your business are
not working.

There could be issues with your production lines, distribution

channels, marketing, operations, or client experience. Challenges in
any business segment will end up affecting the entire business.

Businesses that have efficiently stayed longer in the game are great
at knowing what is not working. Top-notch businesses don’t like
surprises.

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And you must have two things to win at analyzing and evaluating the
business. The first is that you must have the data, and the second is
a management system that will process the data.

We are living in the best time of our lives. Technology has simplified
our work. As the business owner, it’s your job to invest in a
management system that will help you analyze and evaluate data.

The information you will get from analyzing and evaluating data will
help your business make better decisions for the organization. The
decisions can help the business expand, stay the same or close.

These decisions are necessary, depending on the data you have.

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO IMPORTANT KPIs

A business that ignores the numbers is not a business. And the key
performance Indicators will tell the decision-makers about how the
business is performing.

Every business must decide based on the five (5) Key Performance
Indicators below.

1. Revenue (Top Line)

Without sales, a business is dead. No business will survive if it’s not

capable of selling its products or services. In my book, How to
Market And Sell Like a Prostitute, I mentioned that if you are not
willing to sell, get out of business.

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Business is about making sales. You must sell your products and
services. The money for the company is in the selling of goods and
services. You must track the sales consistently.

The numbers for the sales you make weekly, quarterly, half-yearly,
and yearly must be available for analysis and evaluation. These are
the numbers that will help you make better decisions.

2. Profit (Bottom Line)

After making sales, there is the cost of sales and other operating
costs. You can never run away from certain costs for running your
business.

However, you can reduce the cost of running your business. The
higher your cost of sales and operating costs, the lower your net
profit.

Your job will, therefore, include tracking the costs for the business
and finding ways to reduce variable costs. The reduction of costs will
give you a healthy bottom line.

As a business owner, It’s your job to make a profit. This number is

crucial for you. It is a number worth watching closely. When you lose
control of this number, your business will easily get in trouble.

3. Cash Flow (Working Capital)

How much cash does your business operate on daily? If there was
an emergency, would there be enough cash to cover that
emergency? What period can your cash flow cover?

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Don’t confuse cash flow with revenue. The sales revenue or the
money you sell is not the same as the business cash flow. Most
businesses, especially small ones, confuse these two.

Small businesses think that cash flow is sales revenue. The easiest
way to calculate cash flow is by subtracting non-cash income from
the income and add non-cash expenses (Depreciation) to the
income.

Having a clear picture of your cash flow helps you avoid financial
emergencies. You will handle financial monsters as they come
because your cash flow is intact.

4. Client Experience (Client Feedback)

Are your clients happy? Or maybe you don’t care?

The easiest way to get out of business is to have dissatisfied clients. I

know you know several businesses that don’t seem to care about
their clients.

You might not face the wrath of your clients right now, but the time
will come. Measuring client experience is great for the success of
your business. If you want a fat profit margin, turn your clients into
raving fans.

Set up a measurable client feedback system, which allows you to

know whether your clients are happy with how your employees treat
them.

Don’t leave it to chance.

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Unhappy clients are great at spreading the bad news. They will tell
everybody about the unpleasant experience. In the long-term, this
will make you lose business.

People buy based on recommendations from family, friends and

colleagues. And when your clients are happy, it becomes easier to
keep your existing clients and get new ones.

You must take the client's feedback seriously. Have the numbers
from the client satisfaction survey. Analyze and work on the issues
commonly referred to by your clients.

Your aim must be to delight your clients.

5. Employee Performance (Resource Utilization)

What about employees?

I believe you don’t work by yourself. You may have one, two, or more
employees in your business. These people represent your business.
Are you measuring their performance?

It’s important to measure your employees’ performance. It helps you

identify employees to promote and employees to fire. Otherwise,
you may end up keeping and firing the wrong people.

You must set targets for employees. These must be weekly,

quarterly, half yearly and yearly targets. You should assess your
employees based on these sets of targets.

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This is good for employee competition and the overall performance

of the business. When employees work towards goals and set
targets, their performance will easily be measured.

And these numbers will also help decide in the human resource
department. Most companies have people they should fire and lost
people they should have kept.

Create a system that will help you use the capabilities of your
workers. Without the proper understanding of the KPIs of resource
utilization, you may not get the most out of your employees.

DON’T BE OBSESSED WITH INNOVATION. COPY WHAT WORKS.

Many people assume or believe that Elon Musk is the inventor of

electric cars. However, the first electric motor was built by a British
inventor named Robert Anderson in 1832.

A British inventor invented the first viable electric car around 1884.
His name is Thomas Parker. He was called the “Thomas Edison of
Europe.” There are other names like Thomas Davenport of USA and
William Morrison.

Elon Musk did not start the idea of building electric cars. Two
entrepreneurs called Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning founded
Tesla, Inc in 2003. They appointed Elon Musk Chairperson in 2004
after funding the project with $30 million.

Despite being invented as early as 1832, the electric car is

synonymous with Tesla and Elon Musk. The success of the Tesla 3

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after becoming the best-selling electric vehicle teaches you don’t

always have to be the first.

Facebook is not the first social media platform. Brazil dominates

football, but it started in Germany. The system of using money may
have been discovered by The Kingdom of Lydia (Turkey), but the US
dominate the financial world.

The challenge we have with exponential growth is not being able to

find innovative ways of doing things. And sometimes, the innovation
can be discovered by other people or companies.

If you are proud, you may continue looking for your own way, but it
may take you longer. Companies that have grown to exponential
growth try to model the new ways of doing things as quickly as
possible.

If you check these social media platforms, they are all the same to a
larger extent. However, there are a few things that make LinkedIn
different from Facebook and Instagram different from TikTok.

But when you study closely, you’ll find that they all have video, text,
messaging, commenting, and liking features on all their applications.
For example, when TikTok dominated videos, Instagram introduced
Reels.

I believe you should innovate, but you should easily copy models that
are working. Being obsessed with being the inventor or innovator will
delay the exponential growth of your business.

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GRIND OUT RESULTS IN DIFFICULT TIMES

I am a soccer fan of Chelsea Football Club.

In mid-season of 2012, Chelsea fired Andre Vilas Boas as their coach

and appointed assistant coach Roberto Di Matteo in charge as a
Caretaker Coach. At that point, Chelsea had an aging squad of the
likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

And this squad was at the point where they felt they needed to win
the Champions League, or they would never win it at all. The careers
of most players in the Chelsea squad were ending.

Chelsea’s opponents in the semi-final of the Champions League were

Barcelona who had Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta at the peak of their
careers. In the final, Chelsea met Bayern Munich, the Bavarian Giants
who were unstoppable with the like of Ribery, Muller, and Robben.

Both matches were very difficult for Chelsea to handle. No one saw
them knocking out Barcelona and going to Allianz Arena, the Bayern
stadium, and lift the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

It was a 2012 Mission Impossible.

The most difficult match was the Barcelona game where the captain
of Chelsea, John Terry, was red carded in the 18th minute and sent for
an early shower.

Barcelona were at their best. They had the best team in the world.
Messi was the greatest player in the world. And Chelsea was an aging
squad with one man down for 76 minutes.

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Barcelona tortured Chelsea. They dominated the entire game.

However, Chelsea produced the finest defence and precise

execution for the two goals which thwarted Barcelona. The precision
and tenacity helped Chelsea beat Bayern in the final through
penalties.

If you watched that match, you could feel Chelsea’s pain. They had
to make tough decisions, like playing 5 defenders instead of 4. They
had to sit back for the rest of the game and wait for the attack from
the best teams.

That’s not fun. It’s exhausting and unattractive for fans to watch.
Chelsea’s style of play was just about waiting to clear the ball from
defence. It disappointed many people who supported Barcelona or
Bayern.

They say it was boring and disappointing. But they were also
tactically disciplined and precise in their attack.

Chelsea is on record as The Champions League winners for 2012.

Their aging squad beat the two best teams in that year to win the
Champions League. They won both matches by grinding.

No one cares about how they beat those two teams. What people
care about is the team that won the Champions League in 2012. And
that team was Chelsea.

Even in business, you will get situations where you have to make
tough decisions. The business will find itself in the worst viable
position where you have to decide to swim or drown.

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But as people, we usually get stuck in the pain of our difficult time
and the pain of our problems. Most people cannot see themselves
getting out of their problems. They don’t focus on thinking about the
way out.

The power of positivism over negativity is amazing. Even in the face

of massive adversity, we can choose to move forward. Most people
cannot overcome difficult times because they lack positivism.

No wonder you need the mental shift. You must flip the coin.

We're so focused on the pain and misery of what we lost. We focus

on the end, and we get bogged down on the problem. One of the
greatest gifts of difficult times is that it can become a new beginning.

Some of the hardest moments in your life will become some of the
greatest opportunities. You should have it in your mind that no matter
what obstacles or adversity you come up against, you will overcome
them.

You should just learn how to bounce off the challenges. And to
bounce off quickly from the challenges, you must REACT. And here
are the steps you need to REACT.

Recognize your difficult times

This is really one of the hardest things because when life ambushes
us, our very first step is usually denial. We don't want to admit it. We
just hope and pray for the difficult times to go away on their own.

The bad news is that denial doesn't help.

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You must recognize the challenges and face them head on. You will
never solve the problems until you come to terms with the reality.
And you must acknowledge and articulate that there is a problem.

Evaluate your resources

You must take an inventory of all the resources you need to get out
of your difficult times. The Ngonis say, “Kauli nako, ndiye kaupaila
njoka,” which translates as “What you have in your hands is what you
should use to kill a snake.”

There are resources you can use to solve your problems. When these
hard moments come, think about what you have. Your resources
could be family members, friends, bank savings, loan facilities,
financial advisors, lawyers, or maybe the church.

You must evaluate these resources and take stock of your inventory.
This is the time you will understand the resources to depend on and
those you must discard. Because some of your resources will
disappoint you.

After evaluating your resources, take the next step.

Assess the options and outcomes

Don’t panic with a false sense of urgency. We put ourselves in a

worse situation because we did not think through the steps. Instead,
think through the workable options and outcomes.

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It's critical to take inventory to look at our options and look at the
outcome. And one of the hardest parts of this step is that there is no
good option and outcome when we are in a crisis.

Whichever option you choose may not give you the best outcome.
You may be in a position where every decision you may make may
end up being a poor decision.

But you must choose the best of the poor decisions. Just like Chelsea,
you will decide to play to entertain others or play in the most ugly
and painful way but come out victorious.

Choose a direction and communicate

This is absolutely critical because you will never face challenges

alone. People who are close to you get pulled into problems with
you.

The family, business, employees, colleagues, and partners are all

going to get in trouble with you. They will experience misery and
agonizing stress with you.

Many of us don't want to do what needs to be done. You don’t want

to experience the short-term pain for the long-term game. This is
where you have to step up.

Choose the direction you want to communicate with the people

close to you. They must know the next steps. The people close to you
must not be in the dark. These are your resources, remember?

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You must explain the direction you want to take and how you are
going to do it. You must give them hope. Hope is a powerful ally.
Hope will give you the strength to make the final important step—
action.

Take action

Execution is non-negotiable. I have seen so many businesses and

individuals that have gone through challenges but continue to go
back and forth without ever taking action.

They wait for the perfect moment.

They are waiting for the validation. They are waiting for enough
capital. And they are waiting for one contract, which is going to be
the tipping point to allow them to get out of the crisis.

I hate to tell you this, but the perfect moment will never come.

The time to move is now. The time to get off the difficult times is now.
And the fact is that people who take action and leap from their
difficult times build resilience and tenacity.

They actually thrive.

They shoot back from their difficult times, and they can move out of
those challenges faster. The fact is that the longer you sit in those
difficult times, the harder it gets to move out.

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Challenges will always come. And they come when you least expect
them. You may not have had challenges right now, but one is
definitely coming to you. It’s part of life.

But here's the good news. You have a choice. You have a choice in
how you're going to deal with those difficult times. And you must
choose to move forward. You must choose to overcome.

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GET THE REAL MBA

W
e live in the world of MBAs.
The Master of Business Administration qualification is
one of the elite qualifications for people looking for
executive jobs or speeding up their business. It is a qualification
common among elite employees and business owners.

While many prominent business executives hold the MBA

qualification, businesses need out-of-the-box thinking to bring
innovation and offer a different perception from the market.

An MBA qualification is great in helping you get a job or business

contract, but you need to do more to get better results as you
manage the business. It does not end with the qualification.

You must embrace unorthodox thinking. Flip the coin.

When you have an MBA, and you mix it with “out-of-box thinking,”
you will dominate the market. You are no longer a textbook
businessperson. A mixture of education, street wisdom and common
sense is what I call a Real MBA.

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START, BUILD, AND MANAGE A BUSINESS

There is a common saying which says, “use it or lose it.”

The Master of Business Administration is a qualification that helps

learners build their leadership qualities and learn business principles.
The MBA prepares students for the proper business environment.

This means that having real business environment experience helps

people hone the skills necessary for running a business. Therefore,
you have seen many people with fewer qualifications being
successful in business.

There is a difference between theory and actual business situations.

From financing, leadership, product design, profitability, business

operations, supply chain management, etc., there is a difference
between answering exam questions and solving these challenges in
an actual business.

Therefore, I believe that Business Management graduates and Master

of Business Administration postgraduates should get the courage to
start their own businesses.

I also encourage the people without an MBA but who are running a
business to pursue the MBA qualification. It makes sense when you
are running a business and studying about business.

You can literally apply what you are learning in your business. Even
when you are doing research, you can use your own business as a

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focal point for your thesis. The results of such studying are beneficial
for your business.

I believe that combining knowledge from an MBA and running your

own business separates you from the crowd of job seekers. You
position yourself for money and wealth.

It’s wrong for someone who has mastered the art of running a
business to be preaching that business is not for everyone. It sounds
ridiculous, to be honest. When you know how to run a business, you
must run a business.

Start a business.

The abundant wealth you want is in a business. And if you are running
a business, the chances of becoming rich and building wealth are
very high. So many wealthy people I know are businesspeople.

Start a business.

When you build a business, it will create employment for you, your
family, and others. In a world with few jobs to fight for, be the outlier
who will create jobs and not seek a job.

Start a business.

The success of your business will create wealth for you and your
family, which will create the time to do the things that make you
happy. This will also help you leave a solid inheritance for your
grandchildren.

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Start a business.

When you have built a successful business and made a lot of money,
you can help to change the world. You will be able to contribute to
the things you care about.

Start a business.

I know you want to live a significant life. Money can help you achieve
that aspiration. And a business can easily put you in a position where
you decide how much you must earn to live the life you want.

Please start a business.

If you really want to be a Master in Business Administration, you must

run your own successful business. I think you are afraid to start a
business. Prove me wrong and start a business.

TURN YOUR CLIENTS INTO ADDICTS

When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you look at is your
phone. After opening the phone, you either go to WhatsApp,
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or music streaming
application.

Most of us have become phone addicts, even though we don’t like to

admit it. We can barely live without our phones. Our phones and the
applications on our phones control us.

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They trap us. The phone companies and those who make these
applications have turned us into addicts or junkies. They know what
controls us and make it part of their product design.

And since success leaves clues, we can easily copy what these
companies do to make their users become addicts. There is a way
they design these platforms to make them addictive.

Almost all addictive products or services have these processes.

Free offer hook

Almost every addictive product or service starts with a free offer.

Cigarettes, cocaine, and social media platforms all start with free
offers.

During my childhood in the ghetto, the guys who used to sell

cigarettes would offer boys free smokes. We know the cocaine
industry notoriously introduced drugs to high school and college
students.

The social media platforms ask the users to sign up for free. And great
marketers like to offer the first service for free. The idea is to hook
you into the product.

Once you enjoy the product or services, the terms and conditions
apply. You either start buying the products or services or become the
product or service.

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Emotional attachment

The best way to make people addicted to products is by creating an

emotional attachment to the products. You must find a way of
making your clients feel something about your products.

Social media platforms make you feel special with reactions. I know
people who feel good to see a higher number of likes on their
content. They feel good to see the likes, loves, hahaha, and shares.

Drug dealers will tell you that their drugs will make you feel high. And
getting stoned or high feels good for some people. That feeling keeps
the drug addicts hooked on drugs for life.

Some products make the users feel significant. Gucci, Versace, Rolex,
Ferrari, Mercedes Benz makes their clients feel important and rich. It
makes them flaunt their clothes, cars, and watches.

The feeling you attach to your products becomes the emotional

attachments that hook your clients like junkies.

Fear of missing out (FOMO)

When you study all the products that make people become addicts,
they have a feel of community. When you are not on Twitter, your
family and friends will ask you why you are not on Twitter.

In short, addictive products make you feel like an outcast or dated.

When everyone is using WhatsApp, and you are talking about text
messages, you seem lost.

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And since human beings are social by nature, most try to fit in. This
is how people end up abusing drugs and smoking weed. Their friends
or colleagues make them feel like they are missing out.

This causes many people to make impulsive decisions. They buy

things they are not supposed to buy because they don’t want to feel
like they are missing out.

Once they are hooked into the products or services driven by the
FOMO agenda, it becomes difficult to stop.

Dependability

If you depend on weed to feel good or high, you will most likely never
stop smoking weed. The reason is that your happiness or good
feelings depend on weed.

When you depend on social media for marketing and selling

products like me, you will mostly spend half the day on social media
or hire a social media manager for it.

Most addictions have the subtle enslavement of the mind. People

who get addicted to games, pornography, begging, eating, shopping,
dating apps, gossiping, movie series, etc., don’t even notice how they
do it.

With careful study, you’ll notice that there is someone making money
around all these addictions. Social media and internet applications
come with a paid subscription service.

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Eating, shopping, and movie series have people making a killing out
of selling you junk. And so are drugs, sex, and alcohol. They make
sure your life depends on their products.

****

Having understood that, you must flip the coin. Instead of the one
addicted, you must make other people addicted to your products or
services.

I am one person who practices what I preach. You are reading this
book because I am turning first-time readers into book readers. I
gave people the first and second book for free to hook people.

After getting people hooked on my writing, I started selling the books.

The people who enjoyed reading my books (emotional attachment)
told their friends and family who didn’t read my books to read them.

And with the fear of missing out, other people bought the books as
well. After realizing that my books were useful, people depended on
them for business and money advice.

I have followed this process. You can do it too for your business and
the products or services you offer. Let me give you another example
that can easily work for any type of business.

Imagine I sell spare parts for Subarus.

The first thing I would do is create a page where I would share tips
on maintaining Subaru cars to make them look better and run faster.
We will even invite people for a free engine check.

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This is the free offer hook stage.

Knowing the Subaru drivers, I will regularly confirm on my page that

there is no better car than a Subaru. My validation of their feelings
and thoughts will give them an emotional attachment to my page and
business.

And since I have validated that Subaru is the best car in the world,
Subaru drivers will follow my page and share every post about
Subaru from my page. They will actually tell others to follow my
page.

With the fear of missing out, some of my followers’ friends will end
up buying a Subaru. And since they get Subaru maintenance tips
from our page, they will also come for a free engine check.

The free engine check will create a certain level of dependability that
they will always come to our Subaru garage for a check whenever
they have a problem with their car.

And if our clients follow this process, they will not buy spares from
any other shop but our Subaru spares shop. You need to remember
that this person depends on us for advice.

And one tip we will share is “Be careful taking your car to people who
don’t understand the Subaru.” This will make our clients become our
eternal clients. They will depend on us for every Subaru need.

They will become hooked on us for life.

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MASTER THE ART OF USING OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY

Most successful businesses have mastered this art. A substantial

business is usually one managed by the owner or CEO who has
mastered this art of resourcefulness.

Financing is a tremendous challenge.

When you start your business, getting funded is the biggest hurdle
you will face. We have very few people in Zambia who can finance
a business.

Many banks in Zambia don’t give loans to startup businesses because

of their high risk of failure. Parents and guardians would rather give
you money for further education than invest in your business.

The government has no interest in spending money on young and

vibrant entrepreneurs. There is a lack of political will in helping
businesses to thrive and build the economy.

They may claim so, but you will notice their lack of will through the
amount they allocate towards CEEC (Citizens Economic
Empowerment Commission) and Zambia Development Agency,
whose focus is helping foreigners to invest in Zambia.

Friends, family members and colleagues will rarely help you with
initial or working capital to build your business. They have no interest
in your business. The onus is on you to find ways of getting financing.

What do you do?

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1. Get in the circle of rich people

When people complain about a lack of support from their colleagues

or friends, I can tell that their circle is full of poor or average people.
Our circle of friends is our support system, and their financial status
becomes our financial status.

This does not mean you have to neglect your poor friends or family
members, but you must endeavour to spend more time with rich and
successful people.

If you have a rich relative, visit them. Pay them a visit and ask for
nothing. Just become useful to them for a sustained period. Offer to
help them with their troubles, which you can do.

2. Don’t ask for money. Offer something of value.

The biggest turn off for most people with money is someone who
asks for money, and many people ask for money from rich people.

Many rich people get tired of the begging mentality. They are in a
position where they’re always waiting for someone to beg for money
because they think everyone begs for money.

And when you are with them and don’t ask for money, you get
perceived differently. Remember that life is about perceptions.
People can either perceive you as a beggar or a business partner.

The difference between being perceived as a beggar or business

partner depends on you. Don’t ask for money if you want to be

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perceived as a business partner. But if you are fine with being

perceived as a beggar, keep asking for money.

Discover the problems of rich people.

A rich person could be your uncle, auntie, friend, church mate or

neighbor. Try to find out what is not going well in their life. You need
to understand that rich people have problems too.

They just don’t have the same problems as you.

When you have discovered their problems, offer to help in your own
way. You must do this genuinely as someone who cares. Helping rich
people gives you access to them, and it gives you an opportunity to
be in their circle.

As you spend more time with that rich person, you will see
opportunities or learn ways to create an opportunity for yourself. You
will meet more successful people in that rich person’s life, and they
may like you.

Once you get to the level where the circle likes you, they will not
want you to be the same. They will want you to drive a luxury car or
live in an exclusive area. This may force them to open you up to
opportunities.

3. Prove that you are a big deal

When I got my first consulting job, I did not even know that there
were people who would pay me for consulting. The person who
approached me already knew me from the time I worked in the bank.

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They approached me with enough knowledge about me such that I

didn’t ask for the job, but they offered me the consulting job. And it
was worth a lot of money. I got paid a sum of K400,000.

I asked the guy who approached me why he asked me to provide the

consulting services they needed? And he said, “Edwin, we have been
watching you for some time. You are kind of a big deal.”

We couldn’t offer you this job when you were working for the bank,
but we knew that sooner or later, you would leave your job and then
we could give you this offer.

He told me he and his management team had read my books and

followed my posts on social media. I felt a bit embarrassed when I
recalled some of my social media rants.

But, with a grin, he said, “Don’t worry about some of your posts on
social media. We understand you like to get attention at all costs.
Maybe that’s why we came to you.”

And he laughed my worries off.

Someone has hired me before based on their assessment of my past

performance without my knowledge. So, you need to prove every
day that you are kind of a big deal.

People like to give big jobs to people who are a kind of a big deal. You
can get a job or business offer reserved for people who are a kind of
a big deal if you can prove to be that person.

Prove it every single day.

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4. If it were you, would you invest in you?

The last thing to consider when you are seeking financing from others
is whether you could invest in yourself if we flipped the coin. It’s
easier to think that people should finance you.

However, do you think you would finance someone like you? Do you
think you have proven beyond reasonable doubt that you are worth
investing in for profit?

This is so important because we all operate from our own selfish

interest. I believe that if you want people to help you with finances,
you need to ask yourself what they will benefit from doing so.

People give out money when they either benefit or doing so will help
them look cool. As a hungry businessperson, you must know what
rich people like and what can make them pay you an enormous
chunk of money.

If you can flip the coin and understand from the side how they would
benefit from helping you with money, you are ten steps ahead of the
race to financing.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GLOBALIZATION

Last year, I launched the framework for Panga Tea. Because of my

addiction to tea, I came up with my brand. And the only name I could
find is what I tell my daughters every day and evening …Panga Tea
(make tea).

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Considering that the production of tea is costly, I spoke to local tea

producers to make an OEM tea brand for Kawiwi International. After
a few meetings, I realized that Panga Tea would not work.

The companies who talked to me gave me a list of requirements,

including a cash deposit. Others asked that we get our own machines
for packaging because they could not package the tea for us.

Other companies were just not willing to work with us because they
did not want Panga Tea to become their new competitor on the
market. The whole Panga Tea idea started to dim.

But I am not wired in a way that allows me to give up just like that.

I knew that Zambian Tea producers were not willing to work with
me. I would find companies in other countries who probably would
find this arrangement profitable.

I asked Google Assistant to find a list of tea-producing countries in

the world. India, China, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South
Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia were on the list.

Since I had failed to get a tea production business relationship in

Zambia, I crossed Zambia as soon as I saw it. The closest became
Malawi and Zimbabwe.

I asked Google Assistant to find me the companies in Malawi that

produce tea. I got the list and wrote emails to all the companies. Up
to this day, I have not received a response from Malawian tea-
producing companies.

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I wrote emails to companies in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda,

Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia, and only received responses from one
company in South Africa, and two companies in Kenya.

The rest of the companies have not responded. Maybe the emails on
their website have changed, or they saw the emails and never
wanted to respond.

Of the three companies which responded, none of them wanted to

start with a smaller minimum quantity. The minimum quantity for
most of them was a 20-foot container.

This prompted me to try Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and China. When I wrote
to the companies in these countries, 75% of my emails were
responded to, and they flooded my inbox with offers.

As I am writing this book, the production of tea has started with a

company in China. They have already sent samples, and the
contracts have been signed.

Why am I sharing this story?

This story is important because globalization made my Panga Tea

business idea work. If not for globalization, the idea would not have
worked.

You need to understand that there are certain requirements in your

country that are very flexible in another country. There are deals that
may fail in Zimbabwe but are workable in Namibia.

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A salary deemed small in America can create opportunities for a

company in South Africa, which can become a call center for a
company in the USA.

The company in America will have the opportunity of cutting

business costs while the company in South Africa will appreciate the
business opportunity. The salaries considered meagre in the USA
may actually be middle-income salaries in South Africa.

When you look at this entire game, you’ll notice that the world has
opened up. The opportunities are vast, and it’s easy to do big things
even when you are a small fish.

You’ll realize that the cost of production for many goods is way
cheaper in countries like China and India. And this can help you
produce a competitive product at a cheaper price compared to
producing the same product in Zambia.

Instead of competing with another country in their area of strength,

it becomes wise to collaborate with companies in other countries
and provide better products or services to the market.

Love your country but think outside the borders.

CONTROL THE MEDIA NARRATIVE

Have you noticed that when a government gets overthrown by a

military takeover, the first act by the militants is to take over the
television and radio and announce that they are in charge of the
country?

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Why do they do so?

It’s because the media holds the keys to power and wealth. Before a
political party governs, it will start by dominating the media space.
You can tell the person with power by the media coverage they get.

When you study the most talked about people in the world, Elon
Musk, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg are
among the most talked about entrepreneurs.

And whenever the media is against them or their companies, their

businesses suffer stock plummets, and they lose billions of dollars.
For Donald Trump, it even cost him the presidency.

The problem is that the media can make or break you.

We live in a world of misinformation and fake news. TV and radio

stations have become broadcasters of opinions instead of news.
Hired guns can easily pay the media to speak negatively about you
and your business.

And this can easily turn sour for your business. When the media
makes negative headlines about your business, you can easily lose
business or business partners. There are many businesses that have
been affected by media propaganda.

When the media is on your side, it is good for business. And when
the media is against you, it becomes difficult to run a business. The
media can easily create a narrative in favour or against your business.

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Therefore, you must be in control of the narrative created about you

and your business by the media. The media must be in your hands.
Have a say about what the media says about you.

How do you do that?

1. Become friends with media personalities

As a business owner, you cannot afford not to have friends in the

media space. The people who make the news should be among the
most important contacts. When you have friends in the media, you
can easily get free coverage as a business.

The media personalities include people in charge of television, radio,

podcasts, social media pages, YouTube Channels, blogs and
vloggers. These people can shape you and your business.

2. Spend money in the media space

Advertise in the media space if you want some level of control.

Imagine there is some damaging news on the news desk and the
news editor is your friend? When the media house realizes you spend
money in their company, the story can easily get discarded.

Many stories never get published because of self-interest. You

cannot bite the finger that feeds you. So, the company that spends
on advertising in media houses will always get treated better.

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3. Create your own media space

If the media turns against you, you can create your own voice. When
you have your own engaged TV, podcast, social media, YouTube,
magazine, newsletter, or blog, you can speak to people directly.

When Jeff Bezos realized he was not getting favourable media

coverage, he bought The Washington Post. The paper was not
making money, but Jeff Bezos said it would give them a voice in the
American democracy.

So, you might as well come up with a medium that gives you and
your business a voice when you are not getting the attention you
want. Otherwise, you cannot afford to live outside the space of the
media.

DON’T PAY LESS, LATE OR DON’T EMPLOY PEOPLE

One of the biggest issues Adam Smith addressed in his defence of

consumer capitalism was that it did more good than evil and could
still reward social lives. Adam Smith believed that capitalism with
empathy is possible.

We have subjected the world to the slave trade, human trafficking,

forced labour, child labour and terrible working conditions for
workers in the name of making more profits. And that’s not
capitalism.

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But many people have tried to associate business, free enterprise,

and capitalism with these social injustices, forgetting that there are
many businesses and corporations that promote better social lives.

Capitalism is not why people decide to abuse others for their own
profits. Humans are just inherently selfish and self-seeking and will
take advantage of any system to benefit themselves.

Even in socialism, people have used state wealth to pursue personal

agendas. The world has witnessed socialist leaders like Joseph Stalin,
Fidel Castro, King Jung Un and Bashar al’Assad, who were among the
worst dictators.

Rich people or wealthy people control a lot of things. Rich people

control people with power so that they can promote laws that favour
them and not their workers.

With this understanding, I believe it is a moral issue for businesses

and corporations to pay decent wages. Muslims, Christians, Hindus,
and African traditions of Ubuntu support this idea.

The Bible says that you must not cheat your workers of their wages,
and you must pay them on the agreed date. Business owners have a
moral responsibility to take care of their workers.

Paying your employees less wages put them in a terrible financial

position. They will not buy from you, and they will not perform to the
level you want them because their mind will be outside your
business.

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Paying your employees pushes your employees into debt, which will
affect their productivity. This can furthermore affect your reputation.
I am sure you know of the story about a homeless employee of
Amazon.

If you feel your employees are not worth paying more or paying
earlier, then don’t employ them. Employees play a huge role in the
business' success, and they deserve respect and recognition.

Running a business and being wealthy gives a deeper and greater

responsibility. But, as a business owner, you need to understand that
employees have families who look up to them.

When you pay less or late, especially when it’s done when you can
pay early or more, it just makes you a narcissistic and uncaring
moron. You are not a businessperson.

And if you are such a person, don’t employ people.

TURN YOUR WORKPLACE INTO A PLAYGROUND

When I was an employee, I heard a common phrase or comment

from managers and supervisors. They used to say, “Hello, this is a
workplace and not a playground; concentrate on doing your work.”

And this made many people hate their work.

The workplace is obviously an organized place that needs rules. No

wonder it’s called an organization. But when the workplace becomes
a place for mundane rules, you will sap the life out of your workers.

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Many companies focus on creating after work fun activities without

paying attention to how people spend the eight hours. Why would
you want workers to join your evening party when you were a nasty
boss the whole day?

No one will join you at the evening party.

No wonder you have parties that your employees don’t want to be

part of. Even when you come up with company games, no one wants
to take part because it sounds like you are trying to cover up for being
a horrible manager.

So, instead of acting nicely, why not become nice? Instead of

pretending to care about people in your organization, why not care
genuinely?

Many organizations have corpses reporting for work. Most

employees are angry, stressed and lost. They only report for work
because they have not found an alternative source of income.

You can flip the coin as the owner of the business.

You can turn your company into a great place to work. You can make
working in your company feel like playing games on the phone or
laptop. And you can make people feel alive.

They will start looking forward to coming to work. And it’s possible.

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TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR BOSSES

1. Open yourself to casual chats with employees. Be a cool boss.

2. Stop treating employees like kids. Treat them with respect.

3. Caring about people is easy. Stop faking it to get your way.

4. Don’t boss people around. Unless you have your own insecurities.

5. Remove the mundane rules. Allow people to have fun at work.

6. Don’t text and don’t call when people knock off. They have a life.

7. Allow disorder as part of order. You can’t control everything.

8. Flexibility is your strength. Learn how to bend without breaking.

9. Remember that your employees can think. Listen to them.

10. Just like you want more money, your people want more too.

These commandments may seem funny, but I studied many great

business owners and CEOs who use them for the success of the
business.

If you want to know whether you are doing a great job as a manager
and business owner, try to crack a joke. If only you and your buddies
are the ones laughing at your jokes, then you need to change.

One joke from a leader sparks laughter, more jokes, conversations,

and hindsight. If the workplace is normally quiet, with robots on their
workstations, just know that people are updating their CVs.

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Flip the coin and make your company a place where people work
and play. It will not be easy to achieve, but making work feel like
playing games will surely get you there.

GIVE A SHOT TO RAW TALENT WITHOUT EXPERIENCE

Almost every job card in Zambia has work experience as part of the
requirements for candidates seeking employment. Companies are
obsessed with employing experienced people.

It’s fair to ask, to be honest.

Who wants an employee who has to be trained before they can

become efficient in their jobs? We all want people who settle quickly,
so we can achieve our goals as quickly as possible.

The desire to get experienced employees has made many companies

miss out on raw but talented employees. And we end up staffing our
companies with the same old thinking common in the industry.

It takes a new mind to change the game.

As a soccer fan, I will give you an example of Messi, the former

Barcelona football greatest. Messi was raw talent discovered by
Barcelona academy when he was only 13 years old.

He got nurtured and developed for 4 years and made his debut in
2004 at 17. Since that debut, he helped the club win 10 La Liga titles,
8 Super Cups, 6 Copa Del Rey, 4 Champions League, 3 FIFA Club
World Cup, and 3 UEFA Super Cups.

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They centred the Barcelona team around Messi for 17 years and
together won 34 trophies. He was signed for no fees except for the
money spent on developing his talent.

What an investment!

And before Messi left, Barcelona spent enormous sums of money on

players like Phillipe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine
Griezmann, and Frenkie de Jong for a combined investment of 500
million pounds.

Yet the return of investment from these players is dismal.

Barcelona bought the players based on solid data analytics that the
above players were proven superstars who would settle quickly and
produce the results needed to win trophies.

But the reality was far from the expectations.

I believe this works for businesses as well. Businesses need to invest

in raw talent. They are cheap to get, but they can become the
cornerstone of your business when you nurture and develop them.

PROMOTE COMPETITION AMONG YOUR EMPLOYESS

When I was working in the bank, there was a rating called 1A. They
gave this rating to an employee who exceeded their performance
and also lived certain values.

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In football, this would be like a player who scores most goals, makes
more assists, makes more defensive intercepting tackles but without
a yellow or red card. That was the 1A.

People who got this exceptional performance got Short-Term

Assignments at Exco Offices (Management Directors). And the 1A
raters didn’t take long to receive promotions and salary increments.

They communicated this during the induction of new employees.

Exceeding your performance meant performance above 100%. If
your sales target was K800,000, you needed to close deals around
K1,000,000 to be in the elite of the 1A Club.

People who are driven like me always aspired to get those numbers
while living the values of the bank. It was the only way to get better
pay, bonus and promotion.

Being rated 1A meant something. It created very stiff competition

among employees because of the benefits attached to it. Almost
every employee worked so hard to exceed the targets.

Now let’s flip the coin.

As the employees were exceeding the targets, the bank was making
profits. The more employees competed, the better productivity in the
company.

This meant that competition among the workers was great for the
overall performance of the business. The business increased staff
productivity, sales revenue, and profitability.

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And that’s the dream of every business.

As a CEO of your business, create some competition among your

workers. Come up with rewards like dinner with your spouse, the
latest iPhone, or shopping vouchers.

Make your employees understand that your rewards are for high
performance. And as they selfishly want to achieve their goals, so
your company will achieve its overall goals.

BE COMFORTABLE MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS

Have you ever struggled to fire a grossly incompetent employee

based on other reasons? Have you failed to recover debt because
you felt pity for the person who got your money?

Have people swindled you or taken advantage of you because you

are a good person? Have you lost money or business because you
felt bad suing a business associate?

Many of us have experienced people stealing our things, and we just

let it go like nothing has happened because we care too much. I have
seen people being taken advantage of because of being kind.

Being kind is a wonderful thing. Being a good person is a very great

thing. Thinking about others as you decide is an honorable thing to
do.

But you must be okay with making such decisions when you need to.

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Grossly incompetent employees can take the business to the ground.

Business associates can easily take advantage of you and make you
lose money. The business environment can be hostile.

Sometimes, you must do what is required. You must be comfortable

firing, suing, and reprimanding people as long as you are sincere and
fair.

Making tough decisions is part of doing business. Some decisions you

will make as a business owner or CEO will affect people gravely.

However, if your decisions are fair, you must be comfortable with

those decisions. It comes with the job.

AVOID EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT WITH YOUR BUSINESS

Starting and building a business is like raising a child. It is very easy

to get emotionally attached to the business. Many businesspeople
who suffer from depression when the business collapses are not only
affected by money alone but emotional attachment.

If you have a child, you must recall the day you were told that you
are expecting till the day the child walked. You will recall the
sleepless nights when the baby was not feeling well.

You will also remember the days when the baby called you papa or
mama. And you will also recall the day when the baby fell from the
chair and got hurt. We emotionally get attached to the memories of
our children as parents.

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And it’s the same with business.

You will remember how you got the first idea. You will laugh at how
stupid the idea seemed. The fears and the courage will be vivid in
your mind.

Remember the good days, bad days, and crazy days. The entire
journey of running a business is very close to our hearts. It feels great
to have a business you built from scratch until it became successful.

This is the business you will use to inspire others to start their own.
Many people will admire you and try to replicate your success. The
brand will make you go to bed with a satisfying smile on your face.

And then comes the day when it breaks into pieces.

What do you do?

These are times when people die of depression. This is also when
business owners get desperate and make poor emotional decisions.
Instead of floating, you may end up sinking.

You need to realize this as a business owner.

A substantial business today may not be a glorious business

tomorrow. The brand you build with sweat and blood can come to
its knees right in your face. The millions you made in the past can
become thousands.

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You must let go of the dying business and save yourself from sinking
with it. You may be tempted to spend everything you have to save
the business, which could be the worst mistake.

You must reach a point where you separate the business from
yourself. Even when the business fails, you should be willing to
safeguard your heart.

We don’t run businesses to become slaves of the same businesses.

Business should not enslave you. You should protect yourself from
the failures of your business and be willing to let go when it fails.

The real MBA is about the welfare of clients, employees, and you. Flip
the coin around people, and the people will take care of the numbers.
And make sure you enjoy every bit.

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INVEST, MULTIPLY AND LAY WEALTHY

I
n Zambia, most people have had a shot at wealth. Several people
have made money, but few have kept the money or multiplied it.

There are so many stories of grace to grass.

I know that when a rich man loses money, some people celebrate. I
am not one of those people. No wonder I started Kawiwi Financial
Advisors. People shouldn’t go back to poverty after tasting wealth.

It is not right.

I believe that when you have access to money, you must now gain
the skills to invest and multiply the money you have made. It’s not
easy, but it is doable when you have the will to do it.

The steps in this chapter are important for people who have money
and are looking for ways in investing to multiply and sustain their
wealth.

In my book, Hustle Like a West African, I talked about investments

such as Fixed Deposits, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Stock (Shares) and
Crypto Currency.

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In this chapter, we are going to look at other ways you can invest in
multiplying and sustaining wealth after utilizing the above vehicles for
investments.

I also believe that wealthy creation brings happiness and a better

quality of life. My last thoughts in this chapter are about finding
peace, lifting others, enjoying your life, and being happy and fulfilled
in your success as you prepare for death.

BET ON STARTUPS FOR INVESTMENT

In 2004, a group of Harvard students created a social media platform

called Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew
McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes were the founders.

However, these young lads could not turn the idea of social media
into a business. They had no money to fund a monster of a project
like Facebook, which needed over $500 million.

Then came a guy named Peter Thiel, who invested the first sizeable
amount into Facebook. He invested $500 million. Peter Thiel and his
associated investment funds held over 44 million shares in Facebook
when the company went public.

By 2012, Peter Thiel was ready to sell his shares and cashed in a
whopping 1 billion dollars. This is also the same venture capitalist
who had earlier invested in PayPal, making him a multimillionaire
when PayPal was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion.

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He has also invested in Airbnb, Lyft, and SpaceX from the millions he
made from the sale of PayPal. He has a net worth of $2.6 billion. Most
of this money came from his investments in the new ideas of tech
entrepreneurs.

Peter Thiel took a gamble and invested $500,000 on a social media

site, which he probably didn’t know how it would go. He also
invested in SpaceX, which had a lot of challenges before becoming a
$100 billion company.

When you study most successful startup businesses in the US, you
find that filthy rich people have bankrolled them. They are always
looking for businesses to invest in and get the rewards without
running the businesses.

In Zambia, it’s rare to see rich people investing in startup businesses.

Banks don’t invest in startups. The government doesn’t fund startups.
Venture Capitalists that invest in startups are non-existent.

This makes it very difficult for most startups to start their business
quickly and become successful much easier. It’s not like we don’t
have rich people in Zambia. We have them, but most are greedy.

They don’t understand that their greediness is also stopping them

from getting more wealth without running other business. They miss
out on great investment opportunities on the great ideas of the newer
generation.

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People who have mastered investments, like Warren Buffett, know

that you are most likely to win if you are investing in the future. The
future has newer and better ideas.

And being part of the new startup businesses gives you two
outcomes:

1. Feeling of contribution

We all have the desire to contribute to the success of others and the
betterment of the world. Betting on startup businesses is one way of
contributing to the betterment of the world.

You can change the lives of the young men and women who access
your investment. These are people who will hold you in high respect.
You will be the hero in their lives.

And this can be another way of living a fulfilling life. Impacting the
lives of others makes you feel like a good person. And it will make
you happy.

2. An opportunity to make more money

The investments you will make in startups will either become losses
or profitable. This is part of the game of investing. However, the few
wins you will have can easily put you on a pedestal.

Imagine making an investment in a startup for K100,000, and the

company is worth K50 million kwacha in a few years. This will make
you richer without the pain of running a business.

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I advise you to consider investing in a startup business. Draw up a

contract with your lawyer and see how this can help you make a
difference in people’s lives and grow your wealth.

ACQUIRE OR MERGE WITH OTHER BUSINESSES

Sometimes, you will need to collaborate with other businesses for

growth. And there will be a time when you will need to acquire a
business for strategic reasons.

As a business, you may find that your distribution is not up to

standard, but there is a smaller company doing well in that area. They
may want you to merge with them or may want to be bought.

In Zambia, Rabobank bought a stake in Zanaco, Access Bank, merging

with Atlas Mara, and Finance Bank was bought off earlier by Atlas
Mara.

Companies pursue mergers and acquisitions for several reasons. The

most common motives for mergers include:

1. Value creation

Two companies may undertake a merger to increase their

shareholders’ wealth. The consolidation of two businesses results in
synergies that increase the value of a newly created business entity.

Essentially, synergy means that the value of a merged company

exceeds the sum of the values of two individual companies. The two
types of synergies are revenue and cost.

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Revenue synergies improve the company’s revenue-generating

ability, for example, market expansion and product diversification.

Cost synergies reduce the company’s cost structure. A successful

merger may cause economies of scale, access to new technologies,
and even eliminate certain costs. All these events may improve the
cost structure of a company.

2. Diversification

We also consider mergers and acquisitions for diversification

reasons. Your company may use a merger to diversify its business
operations by entering new markets or offering new products or
services.

It is common that you may arrange a merger deal to diversify risks

relating to the company’s operations.

3. Acquisition of assets

A merger can be motivated by a desire to acquire certain assets that

you cannot get using other methods. You may arrange mergers to
gain access to assets that usually take a long time to develop
internally.

An example would be your company getting access to new

technologies through a merger with a highly technologically
advanced company.

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4. Increase in financial capacity

Sometimes, you will face a maximum financial capacity to finance

the business operations through either debt or equity markets.

Lacking adequate financial capacity may push going into a merger

with another company. As a result, your merged entity will secure a
higher financial capacity that can get employed in further business
expansion.

5. Taxes

When your company generates significant taxable income, you can

merge with a company with substantial carry forward tax losses.
After the merger, the total tax liability of the merged company will be
much lower than the tax liability of your company.

Mergers and acquisitions are complex, and they need expert,

specialist advice before you can consider them. You will need to
evaluate your business and the business of the other company before
considering an acquisition or merger.

However, with careful and calculated moves, they have helped

companies survive in times of declined growth and help some to
grow exponentially.

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UTILIZE THE ACCOUNTANT, LAWYER AND FINANCIAL ADVISOR

I have mentioned that before you invest in a startup business, you

need to draw a legal document. I have also mentioned that you need
expert advice before you consider a merger or acquisition.

This is where accountants, bankers, and lawyers become useful.

Actually, any business worth its salt should have an accountant,
banker and lawyer on their speed dial.

A business will always need financial statements, legal documents

and investment advice. These three people are crucially important in
the success of your business.

Accountant

Bigger businesses have someone they call a Chief Financial Officer or

CFO. For smaller businesses, an accountant is enough. But he will
eventually grow to CFO with the growth of the business.

The accountant will help you with cash flow projections, financial
planning, as well as analyzing the financial strengths and weaknesses
while proposing corrective actions.

The accountant will help you manage your risk appetite by identifying
risks and opportunities for the company. Before you make a decision,
the accountant will help you analyze the decision you want to make
and give you the financial impact of that decision.

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This helps you make better financial decisions with employing, firing,
product development, business expansion, acquisitions, mergers,
and closures. Don’t make commitments without the CFO.

Lawyer

Whatever you want to do, there will be legal implications. Every

decision you make can easily turn sour, and you can find yourself in
court or making huge settlements.

Running a business without a lawyer is a sign that you are too small
or just an amateur. And you will soon get in trouble and wish you had
paid for the services of a lawyer much earlier.

The lawyer will draft and interpret the legal documents you will sign
on behalf of the business. The legal advisor will conduct legal analysis
and advise on the legal implications of all your decisions.

The legal advisor will advise you whether to proceed with court or
settlements. They will also draft policies to help your business
comply with government regulations.

Financial Advisor

I understand the impact of AI and Robo Investment advisors on the

jobs of white shirts and blue trousers elites. However, they are still
relevant. These people have always helped rich people get richer.

A great relationship with a financial advisor will help you make better
investments. A financial advisor will help you with investments,

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trusts, estate, and insurance. All these are part of building and
maintaining wealth.

Some banks have financial advisors, but most of them are just
salespeople selling the financial products of their banks. There are
also wealth management companies that help with financial advice.

According to my research, the best financial advisors are those you

pay for, not those who sell you products of the companies they
represent. Therefore, the fees-based financial advisor is better.

The commission-based financial advisor will always try to lead you

to buy investment and insurance products of the companies they
represent. Hire independent financial advisors.

They are worth the fees they charge. They will help you build wealth.

EXPLOIT POLITICS, TAXES AND LAW

The reason for writing this book is for you to understand your
community and use the resources of that community to your
advantage.

Many people complain about politics, taxes and the dubious laws
that govern countries. Some people wait for five years just to elect
another political party or president only to get worse taxes and laws.

I don't work like that. I like to work with what's available.

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POLITICS

On my Facebook personal profile, I like to post musings about

politics. And I really post whatever I want and end up annoying
almost many political supporters.

When I post negative stuff about the ruling party, the guys in my
circle, who don't like the ruling government, like that. But the ruling
party supporters will roast me in those moments.

And when I praise the ruling government and their party, the guys in
opposition tell me they will not support my work by not buying my
books.

This has caused some close compatriots to advise me to stay away

from politics and stick to business and writing.

However, this is advice I have knowingly discarded. Not that it is

unwise or that the people advising me are wrong, but because I know
how things work.

When you give me a list of the 50 richest people in Zambia, I will

show you that 70% of those people benefited from political deals to
build their wealth.

President Hakainde Hichilema was involved in the government's

privatization, and he got very rich afterwards. He actually mentioned
in a TV interview that he was paid well for evaluation work he did for
the government during the privatization of national assets.

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Mr. Charles Milupi and the late Hanson Sindowe, among the richest
people in Zambia, are shareholders of Copperbelt Energy
Corporation, a by-product of the horrendous privatization of ZCCM
(Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines).

The likes of Goffrey Bwalya Mwamba, Andrew Sardinis, Noble

Findlay, and Dr. Rajan Mahtani have had decades of business
dealings with governments of the day. Many of these people are
friends with the governments of Zambia.

When you dig deep into most rich men and women in Zambia, it's
very difficult to separate them from politics. They are full participants,
friends, or sponsors of the ruling party.

Considering that the government is the biggest spender and buyer of

goods and services, most people realize that you must be involved in
the country's politics if you want to get rich quickly and fast.

Some business owners have even created a strategy of sponsoring

both the ruling and opposition party so they can perpetually benefit
from government business and dealings.

I am sure you’re wondering whether I insinuate that there's always

corruption in these business deals with the government. And my
answer is yes and no.

It is true for some people and not true for others. But it is public
knowledge that many businesspeople have gone to bed with the
government with no sort of protection, such that corruption was the
offspring.

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However, some businesspeople have gone to bed with the

government while using protection and in the most cunning way so
that you can't even prove that someone got screwed.

And we also have a few clean businesspeople who have gotten the
crumbs from government tenders and made the most out of that
government business deal.

Therefore, we agree that the government is the business, and

business is the government. So, why would I shun politics as a
business if that's where the money is?

TAXES

Taxes are high in Zambia, but politicians don't care about that. You
can complain year after year, but the taxes have always been a
burden even after the change of government.

First, politicians have become addicted to pocketing the money we

pay as taxes. Second, they have failed to use the money collected as
taxes to improve the welfare of people.

As a business, taxes are just one of those expenses you wish didn't
exist. By the way, you pay taxes to the government for politicians to
decide how they spend the money.

Am I against paying taxes? No!

But I am telling you to pay the taxes you want and not the taxes the
government wants. Remember that taxes get paid on the profit

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AFTER expenses. Engage a tax or financial advisor on how to pay

fairer taxes.

I suggest you sit down with your accountant before you declare your
profits, so you can find one or two more expenses you can knock out
from that figure and pay the taxes you want.

You also need to understand that politicians decide the tax policy,
and if you are one of their buddies, they can exempt your industry
from paying taxes.

The politicians also decide the exemptions and rates of taxes. If you
play the game right, you can pay the taxes you want, not the taxes
politicians want.

If you are involved in the country's politics, you can easily be on the
good side of taxes. You can easily enjoy tax holidays after
negotiations with the government.

You can be one of the companies allowed to change names after

enjoying tax holidays for five years so that you can qualify for another
five years of tax holiday.

But you cannot enjoy any tax benefits if you are not part of the clique
of political men and women. This group of elite politicians has helped
one another build wealth.

If you are not one of them, they can send the Zambia Revenue
Authority to camp at your premises and ensure that your business is
closed because of due taxes.

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Every year, you can pay tax penalties for not being part of a certain
political sect. You can lose everything if you are not friends with the
tax policymakers - politicians.

LAW

The law is fair, but not the players. Always remember that.

No business in the world is not regulated by laws or policies.

Governments regulate almost every business you want to start. And
the government is a group of politicians.

The government or government agencies are usually the regulators

of businesses. Starting with registration of the business to operation,
there will be regulations you must follow.

And politicians, or the people appointed by the same politicians,

enact these regulations, policies, or laws. When you dig deeper, even
in government agencies or commissions, you find that the people
holding those positions are politicians.

Let me give you an example of one popular issue, which has divided
Americans for so many years.

American politics have always had gun ownership debates.

Regardless of whether people should own guns has nothing to do
with the citizens but businesspeople.

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In every election, there is a call to change the laws of gun ownership.

However, the National Rifle Association and other conservative civil
gun rights groups sponsor candidates who support gun ownership.

The National Rifle Association has sponsored republican candidates

who promise to protect gun ownership laws.

When you peep through the hole, you can see gun business owners
protecting their businesses. It's plain to see that they sponsor the
NRA, which endorses gun-supporting candidates for their own
business interests.

Interpreting whether guns are good or bad is not the interest of this
author. But you need to understand that businesspeople influence
the enactment of laws.

When a law impedes the success of the business, find a way to

change the law. No wonder laws get repealed or amended.

And this can only happen if a business is involved with politics, either
directly or indirectly. As a business, it is important to have lawmakers
near you rather than further from you.

Lawmakers can create a law to put you out of business the next day.
The Members of Parliament can create laws making it a crime to
continue doing your kind of business.

We all know the number of times Big Tech and elite business owners
have appeared before congress because the lawmakers believe their
business is out of line.

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The CEOs of Google LLC, Meta, Twitter, Amazon, and Apple have all
previously appeared before congress because the lawmakers
believed they were doing something wrong in their businesses.

In Zambia, we also witnessed countless times how rich

businesspeople switch political parties’ allegiance when the party
they supported loses power.

The reason is very simple: politics is business, and business is politics.

You can't separate the two. You just must play along and play it so
well.

When you get so rich, it's important to invest in young and upcoming
politicians. Most of them lack the financial resources to win elections
despite being darlings for their people.

You must help such politicians to rise. Let them depend on your
pocket for media and campaigns. The time will come when they
return the favour.

There are people who might think that I am promoting corruption. I

am not. I am teaching positioning right here. You need to position
yourself well as a business.

And when you look at the complete picture, the president, the home
affairs minister, the inspector general of police, the prison and
correctional services and even the High Court judges are politicians
or political appointees.

The person who decides the laws is a politician. The person who
arrests you for breaking the law reports to the person appointed by

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a politician. Someone who approves your tender reports to a

politician.

The entire game of life is politics. It's okay to stay away from politics,
but you also need to understand that political decisions will affect
your business at some point.

I am not saying you should become a politician or that you should

join politics. But you shouldn't be further from politicians or politics
itself. They are the people who create laws and policies which also
affect business.

Politics is a business. Business is politics.

INVEST IN LAND AND REAL ESTATE

"The person who owns your land is the person who owns your
wealth." - Joshua Maponga.

When I previously wrote you must start with building a business

before building a house, I did not mean that real estate is not
important.

Land and real estate are part of the wealth formula. You cannot
remove land and real estate in wealth accumulation. It's just that land
and real estate take a long time to give return on your investment.

Therefore, land and real estate are the investment you make after you
have made enough money in other kinds of businesses. If your

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business is real estate development, then the ball game becomes

different

Why is land and real estate important?

We live in a digital world where people can do business without

having a physical office. As a result, many businesses thrive and make
billions of dollars without having many physical locations.

However, you need a house for your home. You need land for
farming. You will also need land for commercial activities. And you
will not just have a piece of land but also build on the same land.

Once you build on your land, you will use the land for a home or
commercial activities. Owning real estate or land will help you avoid
the cost of renting.

Property will also help you access loans from financial institutions
that require collateral. This puts you in an excellent position to access
financing when you need it.

Real estate and land have proven for many years that it appreciates
and not depreciates. This means that land or property you bought for
K500,000 today may be worth K1,800,000 in five years’ time.

This would become a substantial investment on your side if you sell

the property or land. And the profits are even better if this property
or land got rented, and you collected monthly rentals from it.

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The only challenge with land is the risk of failing to dispose of it if you
move to another country or place. Selling a house is not as easy as
selling tomatoes.

And if you are in a hurry to dispose of your land or property and you
have no intentions of keeping the property, it becomes tricky. The
other challenge is failing to get tenants for your property.

You may have a property which needs maintenance and yet not bring
income in the form of rentals because there is no tenant available to
rent it. This is very common in Zambia, with many malls and
apartments unoccupied.

However, property and land are low-risk investments, which you

should consider as diversification when you have made enough
millions.

It will also help your children to avoid renting property when they do
not have enough income. You can easily give some of your house to
your children as gifts and help them build on their wealth without
spending a dollar on rentals.

Property and land are investments everyone must have, especially

after you have made your money in business.

BUILD YOUR LEGACY AROUND PEOPLE

Whenever I read news of a rich celebrity who committed suicide

after battling with depression and loneliness, my heart breaks.

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Human beings are social animals. They love company. Whenever a

human being is separated from his fellows, he is as good as dead.
This is not something any person can stand.

You can imagine that isolation is one form of punishment when you
break the law. And when you break laws within the prison, you get
punished further through isolation.

This means that being alone or lacking social interaction is something

that cannot be substituted by technology or money. On the flip side,
you can use technology and money to become a better social being.

My wife and I have always talked about building a big family when
we become rich. We want to have a family wherever we go. We
even intend to adopt more kids and make them our own.

We still want to build a hospital in remembrance of Israel Ngwane.

We want to sponsor skills development among vulnerable children.

I believe there are so many kids out there who just want a little help,
and they will stand on their own. I think there are people out there
who can become better human beings when you meet them and
help them.

What am I saying?

A rich person can easily bring people into his or her life unless you
don’t know how to use money. The problem is not money but
yourself. You have closed yourself up to people with the stacks of
money you made.

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When you have money, there is so much you can do without going
broke. You can bring happiness to people's lives by providing one
meal.

Wouldn't that make you happy?

What you must do is discover your passion and build people around
it. If you love football, build a soccer academy where young
footballers grow from talent to professional football players.

If you love seeing more entrepreneurs, build young and driven

entrepreneurs into business moguls. Mentor them and train them to
become successful like you.

Wouldn't that make you happy?

What about adopting children who are fatherless and becoming a

father they never had? Imagine raising a child who got abandoned
and giving him the best of life in your home.

Wouldn't that make you happy?

When you have money, you can make the world a better place in
your own small way. You can touch people's lives. And the more lives
you touch, the more you will enjoy life.

And life will become meaningful. The money you have will bring
more happiness when you decide to use it to touch people's lives.

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You will have sons and daughters that you did not bear. You will have
a family without a blood connection. And you will have a community
that loves and cares for you.

Because that community will be full of people whose lives you touch
with your wealth. And you will be rich and happy because you will
have both money and people.

FIND WAYS TO ENJOY YOUR LIFE

Now that you have made money, what’s next?

What do you do with the money you have made? Hold it in figures
and get satisfied just feeling that you are wealthy? Or maybe use the
money to make yourself happy?

The common debate about money and wealth is that money does
not make you happy. I agree that money may not make you happy,
but it does a lot to get you what makes you happy.

Happiness is a choice. You can decide to be happy with less and sad
with abundance. However, being unhappy with abundance has
nothing to do with money but issues to do with your mindset.

Be spontaneous and intentional with happiness. If you find something

that makes you laugh, please laugh. There are so many things you
love to do that make you happy.

I have ten rules for myself about happiness.

1. I own my happiness. I don’t depend on others to make me happy.

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2. I try to make new friends & learn new things every day.

3. I spend money on myself, people I love, and the things I love.

4. I have accepted the real brutal world, and I try to count my

blessings.

5. I know what tickles me, and I try my best to get it.

6. I don’t expect a lot from people, and I try not to judge people.

7. I try to replace worries with gratitude.

8. I intentionally think good thoughts and avoid overthinking.

9. I set goals for myself, and it feels great to achieve them, whether
big or small.

10. I ignore any form of negativity and easily cut off complainers.

People are not happy despite being successful because the opinions
of others mostly hold them in bondage. And some are not happy
because they are greedy.

We still have people trapped in poverty and lacking a mindset who

feel guilty about spoiling themselves. This is because they have
programmed themselves to think that making themselves happy is at
the expense of others.

This thinking has kept many people in bondage to unhappiness. We

have successful pastors who can't take a holiday to Hawaii. We have
first-born children who can't buy a car.

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We have successful people who act poorly to please the masses. For
what? At whose expense are you doing that? When will you gather
the courage to make yourself happy?

The problem that comes with the fallacy of trying to impress people
is that you will always get hurt. It may not impress the people you
want to impress. And it will hurt your feelings.

If happiness is in little things, imagine when you can multiply those

little things. I think you can be happy with less and much happier with
more.

Enjoy your life. Spoil yourself.

PREPARE FOR DEATH

This is one tough conversation I have had with people. My wife hates
it, and many people shun talking about death.

But death will come for each one of us. We will surely die, so says
the Bible. We are mortal men, and death is the final destination of our
lives.

We will get there.

However, you need to prepare for death. Failing to plan for death
causes family conflict and business down when there isn't a proper
plan.

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When you read the Bible in 2 Kings 20 verses 1, God sent Prophet
Isaiah to tell Hezekiah that he was going to die and that he MUST PUT
HIS HOUSE IN ORDER.

When you are successful, there is an assumption that your wealth

will sustain your family for generations without a will, putting aside
family conflict.

When you are living, you sometimes cannot put your ideas into
writing and pass them to your successors for implementation and
continuity.

We have also seen families who have sidelined dependents who

were cared for and considered children by the deceased.

And there is also an issue of beliefs. Whether you are Christian,

Muslim, Jewish or Hindu, you hold a belief about whether there’s an
afterlife.

These decisions are personal, and I am not here to preach to you

about my religion, but I know that even in your religion, there is what
you believe in terms of life after death.

Life is a personal journey. But you need to understand the impact of

your life on others. You need to have a vision of the life of your family
and friends without you.

What kind of life do you want them to live? Do you want your
children to be united? Who will be their leader after you are gone?
Have you appointed a family or business leader?

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If you have kids outside of marriage, which you have hidden from
your family, have you thought about them when you are gone?

If you have held grudges with anyone in the family, business, or

politics, have you considered the path of forgiveness? Do you want
to die with a pure and free heart or a heart full of anger and pain?

What about your death? Where do you want to be buried? Is there a

funeral policy and plan that will take care of all the family funeral
expenses?

What about documents for pensions, savings, bank accounts,

contracts, business agreements and all the people who owe you
money? Does the family know about them, and will they be able to
recover them when you are gone?

We should live our lives in full. Regardless of whether you live it once
or twice, you must live the life you want.

There are two sides to every life. There is a life of abundance and
happiness and a life of lack and anguish.

Both lives are never accidental. You decide the side of life you want.
I urge you to flip the coin and stay on the side that has abundance
and happiness.

Best wishes as you flip the coin.

You can do it.

Thank you.

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