ABOUT THE BOOK - What I want my Child to know about Growing Money Trees

I congratulate you for getting a copy of this book. In it, you will discover all you need to know and do in order to 
manifest a fruitful life; a life of meaning and purpose; of genuine opulence and happiness. This is the unfailing 
promise! If you ever desire true wealth, you now hold the right tool.

Anyone can become wealthy that is willing to follow the basic principles of industry and frugality; the two main pillars that stand the frame of prosperity. This is the core message of Growing Money Trees.

In the series of What I Want My Child To Know, this book is the third. It comes in six reader-friendly chapters. Each chapter begins with a key message; a success principle you need to know, then the steps you must take, and finally, a call to action.

Chapter one deals with the fundamental law of sowing and reaping, the natural way to generate the abundance seed; the so called start-up capital; how to plant it, nurture it, protect it, until it grows to become the fortune you always desire.

Chapter two gives you the basic mindset of all wealthy people; the thought pattern that attracts prosperity and 
opulence.  It  shows  how  greatness  is  attained  and sustained, and the fact that you carry the capacity to become  a  legend  in  whatever  career  you  pursue.  It explains and illustrates the pathway to greatness.

Chapter three, the Miracle of Imagination, describes how you can form the mental model, the vision and 
conception of the kind of life you truly want. It shows the pain-free way to matriculate from poverty to prosperity.

Chapter four tells you how the forest is made up of many trees, and that, to become wealthy in the class of a 
billionaire, like the forest with a single tree, a single line of business is not adequate. It shows you how to start with one business, make it thrive without you, and then, you get the way to create many more businesses that grant torrential streams of income. You also discern the proven technique of multiplying your income without expanding your efforts.

Chapter five, the way to wealth, you will learn about the seven inspiring stages to financial freedom. You are then 
led to establish the stage you currently operate. Finally, you see the ascending stairs that take you onward and 
upward to higher stages that hold better promise. You also get to enjoy the amazing Parable of climbers.

Chapter six puts all the earlier chapters together in a concise, memorable and practical manner that allows the core message to penetrate and invigorate. You walk away anew, refreshed and empowered.  

 CHAPTER ONE

How To Grow Money Trees

“Wealth can only be accumulated by the earning of  industry and the savings of frugality” -John Tyler (10th United States President) 

1. The Goal.

Our   goal   here   is   to   grow   money   trees,   not money shrubs. Trees take years to mature, and shrubs,
months. Money grows on a tree of patience, or so the proverb goes. To become wealthy as to grow a money
tree, it doesn't take days, it takes decades. John Heywood said;

“Soon gotten, soon spent; ill gotten, ill spent.”

Your attitude must, therefore, be like that of Moliere who said;

“The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruits.”

The goal is, therefore, to grow money trees with patience and peace. 

2. The Seed.

The seed is the most important factor. It is always very vulnerable. There is that natural temptation to cook it,
and eat it. This is the first challenge you must   overcome. Those who cannot sow their seeds cannot grow the tree

3. Sowing.

How do you sow? You dig a little hole in the soil and put the seed. You then cover it up with the dug out soil so rodents don't feed on it. The seed of your money tree is your first savings. It may be called abundance seed. Rather than open the soil, you open a bank account. You cover it up  by  keeping  your  mouth  shut  about  it  or  natural predators of your  money will bounce on it and make a feast. Solomon Gabriel said it well;

“The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence.”Silence is also the first step in the acquisition of money.

4. Nourishment.

The planted seed will require water, sunlight, manure as regular nourishment. If your abundance seed   here   is N1,000, regular nourishment will come in the form of your monthly savings.

5. The Ancient Law.

The Babylonian Law of money recommends that you save at least 10% of your income before you proceed to spend the rest. You pay yourself first.  The general recipe for poverty is to begin by spending your income as it arrives with the mind set that you would save the remaining. And as you know, nothing ever remains. The key to prosperity, and to frugality, is to save first, and then, to spend the remaining.

6. Other Nourishment.

Beyond the watering or irrigation with a portion of your monthly stipends, other nourishment shall come in the form of the tips you get, unpaid arrears of money that arrive, fresh promotion you earn, monetary rewards like commission, bonuses and money owed you that is paid back. Since you were not expecting all these monies, the rule is that; “you can live without them.”

Therefore, resolve to live without them. Put them away. The  danger  is  for  you  to  think  that  it  is  small  and insignificant.  Remember  that  small  is  great!  Richard Branson was once quoted that;

“the pounds my people want are contained in the pennies they throw away.”

Many small coins make the currency. If you negotiate a good deal or buy items on sale, this may constitute
considerable savings. Your duty is to save the difference. Put it away as nourishment for your new abundance tree.

7. Self Regulatory Growth.

The growth of any tree continues automatically and so are the natural nourishment of the soil, rainfall and

8. Fumigation.

Just as you might spray the young tree to ward off insects or diseases, you need to protect your new account from
natural spenders, clever borrowers, unlucky people, problem prone people. These are natural enemies of your savings, or desperate rodents  as  in  the  seed example. They are as dangerous to your new savings as a snake is deadly  to a little child. You will fling them apart! Save your savings the horror! Keep it away from money  grubbers.  Associate  with  people  who  have enough  money  of  their  own,  who  will  not  think  of borrowing  your  money.  Formulate  a  zero  tolerance policy on natural borrowers. Keep your savings plans secret  and  sacred.  Be  determined.  Realize  that,  as Friedrich Nietzsche said'

“For a tree to become tall, it must grow tough roots among the rock.”

9. Natural benevolence.

John Wesley said; “Make all you can, save all you can,give all you can.” 

The xylem and phloem chambers of a tree are conduit pipes that allow the inflow and outflow of food, water
and nutrients. Trees grow by allowing nourishment to go up by one chamber and food to flow down by another
chamber. It also allows water vapour to escape through the tiny holes in the bark of the tree. The tree retains only
what it needs to exist, and to further its growth. It shares with its environments, so must you. You begin by giving
10% of your income away to charity or as tithe. This helps to purify your life in more ways than you can imagine. Do not wait for an extraordinary situation to do good; try to use  ordinary,  regular,  situations.  Make  your  giving automatic so you don't feel guilty when you turn down natural beggars or predators of your savings. To this; “NO” will always be appropriate and convenient. Be proactive about giving. Make it automatic.

10. Nature is Organized, Orderly.

Pace yourself as you spend your remaining money. If N15,000 is all you have left to spend after deducting your savings and your charity, ensure you do not spend beyond N500 in any given day. Be mindful of your spending. Never let television advertisement or what you see on window shopping dictate what you want. Charles Caleb Colton wrote;  

“We are ruined, not by what we really want but by what we think we do: therefore never go abroad in 

search of your want. If they be real wants, they will come home in search of you, for he that buys what he does not want, will soon want what he cannot buy.”

Never buy what you don't need because it is cheap or it is well displayed, or because of the thought that you might need it later.

11.Let the tree Grow.

The really difficult bit isn't growing the money tree; it is getting the tree to bear fruits. Typically, as the plant gets
bigger, it gets pruned so often it hardly gets to make any leaves,  let  alone  bearing  any  fruit.  Shaving  off  the
savings into unproductive channels, spending a bit from it  regularly  carries  the  capacity  to  kill  the  innocent
seedling.

12.  The Long term perspective.

If you keep nourishing the money tree; week in, week out; month in, month out; year in, year out; gradually you get a good sized tree that will be strong enough to withstand minor predictors or even a bad weather. This must  be  your  aim.  At  this  level  you  can  then  have sufficient fruits to share more freely. This may be the idea that led Thomas Fuller to proclaim that;“he that plants trees loves others beside himself.”

As the twigs divide, so the tree grows. In due time, some twigs will bring forth buds, and then flowers, and the flowers will produce the fruits. Your Job is to wait, and allow the twigs to generate the fruits. It is foolish to eat the twigs. The edible portion is the fruits. 

The money you save and invest will generate interest and profits, which you reinvest, and nurture until the resultant profits generate opulence. Your working capital is the poisonous twig you must not eat.

13.  Getting out of the hole.

Sometimes rather than dig a hole, you actually find yourself in a hole. The improper thing to do under such circumstance is to keep digging. Your job will consist of digging yourself out of the hole. The trick here is simple. Plant  a  seed  in  one  corner  of  the  hole  and  then progressively  dig  yourself  out  of  the  hole  while  you nourish the seed at the same time. The hole we are talking about here is your existing debt.If you are in debt, start with your saving plans, and at the same time, arrange a payment plan with your creditors. Stop borrowing further.

14.  Become mindful of your preference.

Make investing a priority rather than spending. Focus on growing   money trees in the year to come rather than a material object to acquire. Be frugal. Be modest. Francis More said;

“The most substantial people are the most frugal, and make the least show, and live the least expense.”

15.  Getting the seed.

The   two   chief   reasons   behind   your   current employment; the purpose of your job is always to get money to invest (save), and to get experience to deploy. It is not to get money to spend. Always see  your  salary  as the opportunity to get abundance seed, to save, in order to grow a money tree.

16. The Sunlight

Inspiration is to your regular savings what sunlight is to your tree. The tree soon wither without sunlight. Just as the consideration of Sunlight energy will not allow you to plant your trees indoor, you must give adequate attention to sources of regular inspiration and motivation. The energy  of  inspiration  is  the  key  to  all  enduring investments. Doors of opportunity are always closed to an uninspired mind. As you keep saving, it is inspiration first, and then investment opportunity next. How do you get the needed inspiration?

17.   Knowledge.

Frugality is half the battle of life; it is not so hard to save money  as  to  invest  it  well.  Savings,  though  very
motivating, will by itself, not inspire you to the extent that you see and employ credible investment opportunities.
You tend to see spurious opportunities that make you loose your entire savings. You need knowledge.

Reading begets knowledge. To know is to grow. To learn is to earn. Not knowing the right step to take is the main cause  of  investment  mistakes.  Wisdom  is  the  key. Wisdom is applied knowledge. Knowledge begets  inspiration  and  intelligent  steps.

Inspirational  books,  seminars  and  audio  cds  help stimulate the mind which in turn generates  ideas   and
energy that remove the thick cloud that hides the door of credible investment opportunities. Knowledge helps take
off the blinders; for you have to see the opportunity before you can seize it. You also need to read books on the kind of trade you want to invest in. Luck favours only the mind that is inspired. 

Mentors;  practical,  kind  and  trustworthy  men  and women may tell you in few minutes, and in few words what will save you years of wasted and frustrating efforts at growing a dwarf of a money tree. Seek a good mentor. Like they say;

“He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a teacher.”

A wise man learns by the mistake of others, a fool by his own.

18.The Working Capital.

Regular savings become start-up capital, and working capital.

What is savings? This is what we call start-up capital; it is that  part  of  money,  as  seeds,  which  is  devoted  to obtaining further money. Regular savings still remains the safest method of generating the so called “start-up capital”. Napoleon Hill said;

“back of practically every great fortune one may find,as its beginning, a well-developed habit of saving money. The real start of nearly all fortunes, whether great or small, is the formation of the habit of saving money.”

As you save, you simultaneously acquire the needed skill to  excel  in  your  chosen  trade.  It  takes  time  to  gain
mastery  at  any  specialised  skill.  Your  savings  will, therefore,  gradually  swell  and  mature  to  match  the
needed capital. People always say; “I don't know what to do with my savings?” The best business to invest your
money in is the same business that generates it; the business where you have the requisite knowledge and
experience.

              19. Knowledge attracts applications.

Any  knowledge  you  get  always  invites  the  needed opportunity for its application. This is a general law. Your savings  seem  to  arrive  just  in  time  to  meet  the appropriate opportunity.

20.   Action is needed.

A window of opportunity won't open itself. The acquired knowledge shall spell the needed action. Success does not come to those who wait, and it does not wait for anyone to come to it. You really have to be on your toes. Eternal drive is the key.

In Sweden, it is said that;  “God gives every bird a worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.”

The sign on the door of opportunity always reads PUSH.

21. Taking Risks.

Entrepreneurs must take risks; calculated risks. The fear of   risks   diminishes   with   improved   knowledge. Knowledge  dispels  fear.  In  talking  about  risks,  Earl Nightingale said; 

“Wherever there is danger, there lurks opportunity;wherever there is opportunity, there lurks danger. The two  are inseparable. They go together.”

22. Being- in- charge.

You have two choices once you get the plant growing. Either to tend it yourself or hand it over to professional
farmers. The farmers here will help you grow your plant and give you a portion of the fruits. Examples of these
include stocks, fixed deposit accounts etc. Entrepreneurs are always advised to soil their fingers, to get their hands
dirty, to learn the trade of farming, tend their plants themselves, make it bear fruits. It is theirs.

As entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and  creative, independent thinkers, we prefer to cultivate our own money tree, to mine our business. The tree will live or die as a result of our own effort and skill, and not at the mercy of other capricious individuals.

23.   Being-on-top.

The trees that grow tall, and produce tons of fruits will simultaneously yield tons of seeds. These seeds can then
be used to sow and grow more money trees. Once you have enough hectares of such growing trees, you can then hire professional farmers to tend. Rather than being given a portion of the fruit, the professional farmers in this case will contend with a portion allotted by you, the Entrepreneur. The Entrepreneur stays in control. Here is what Felix Dennis, that billionaire best selling author of How To Get Rich had to say:

“No founder of a business who surrenders control in exchange for capital is ever likely to retrieve control        of that business. Their financial destiny is in the hands of others and the entrepreneur has lost their way on     the narrow road.”

24.  Sustain winning strategies.

What gets you started will keep you moving faster. Many readers  of  motivational,  inspirational  and  business
books derive useful ideas as they apply themselves and as a result, they get their business started and running.
They often get so carried away by the busyness of the business that they are literally  swept away from further
reading until they hit a stumbling block or a  solid   wall. The  admonition  is  to  read  an  hour  a  day.  Such  an
exercise serves   to make you think and reflect. This way, you tend to foresee and therefore escape mistakes and
crisis ahead of their arrival. You also get fresh insight on how to conduct your business professionally. Sometimes,
it is a great book you read that sparked the idea. You must read over such a book again and again. You never
graduate from a good book. Remember, what gets you started will keep you moving faster.

25. Action.

Let me conclude this chapter by calling you to action. As the proverb goes;

“the best time to plant the big oak tree is probably 100 years ago, the second best time is now.”

The  road  to  riches  begins  with  commitment  and proceeds   upon   the   basis   of   decisions   and actions taken. “You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind.”

                                              Action Exercises

                                                    “Who ignores the action escapes the gain.”

Take some quiet time, right away, to fill in the following blank spaces as diligently and truthfully as possible.    Keep your jottings secret.

1. Determine  how  much  you  own  as  savings  today

2. Determine  how  much  you  owe  as  debt  today.

3. How much do you earn, monthly?

4. How much will you put away as savings today? (not at the end of this month)

 5. Which bank will have the privilege of your savings  account?__________________________

What is the name and number of your accounting officer?  

Your accounting officer must not be someone who can turn back later to demand that you loan him or her a bit of your savings.

6. Write post dated cheques (or see the manager for direct debit orders into your savings)

7. See your accounting officer or manager about your saving plan and hand her your post dated cheques
    (written   against the same date every month for one year). How much will be on each cheque?

Remember to always negotiate favourable interest rates in respect of your savings.

8. What will you have accomplished that will make the coming year represent a financially successful year for you. This may be a project completed or a business started, or some big  savings put away. This is your bigger picture.