2023: ROAD TO A MILLION: 5 Simple Steps to Becoming Rich This Year 9798986242682

Citation preview

Copyright © 2023 Ola Abina All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review. ISBN 979-8-9862426-8-2 (paperback) Cover design Pro_ebookcovers Printed in the United States of America Published by Jesus Is Too Real. Baltimore, Maryland. Visit www.jesusistooreal.com "Unless otherwise noted, all referenced biblical passages are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide, The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved, Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. This book is for general informational purposes only, and is not meant to be credit, tax, or financial advice, or imply any guarantee of a particular outcome. Relying on the information is at your own risk. NOTE: A note of caution on external links. Throughout the book, provided external links, including video links are to provide for a richer and fuller understanding of the concepts. Using the links and the information provided is at your discretion. Do your due diligence accordingly.

Dedicated to my Brother Emmanuel Abina. The most talented and skillful person I’ve ever known, whose life story inspired this book.  

CONTENTS

PREFACE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE RICH? CHAPTER 2: FAITH CHAPTER 3: KNOWLEDGE CHAPTER 4: ASSOCIATION CHAPTER 5: IMPLEMENTATION CHAPTER 6: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER ACKNOWLEDGMENTS BOOKS BY OLA ABINA ABOUT THE AUTHOR

P R E FA C E

As the year ends and the new one begins, you turn your attention towards becoming more successful in the coming months. You strive for financial freedom: no worries about bills or debt; financial security for yourself and your family, and, above all, a life of abundance and fulfillment. But how do you get there? How can you become rich in this new year? This book provides an answer. It offers practical advice on creating wealth, from developing financial habits to taking advantage of available resources and opportunities. It covers every foundational skill needed to become rich. The book reveals the secrets behind becoming rich: not only understanding money but knowing how to use it as well. Starting with basic concepts, you'll learn how to assess your current situation, identify areas of improvement, and start putting plans into action right away. You'll also gain insight into the different ways to invest your hard-earned capital—from stocks to real estate. Becoming rich is not an overnight process, but this guide will provide you with useful information so that you don’t waste time or effort along the way. With thoughtful guidance learned from financially successful people, and inspiring stories from the author, this book gives a comprehensive picture of what it takes—and what's possible—in 2023 when it comes to becoming truly rich. Remember that your new year begins when you begin to do things anew. You are not dependent on a calendar year. If you also just want to say hello or talk about your dreams, feel free to drop a line: [email protected] Thank you so very much, Ola Abina

INTRODUCTION “Money Answers All Things” E C C L E S IA S T E S 10:19. J U B I L E E B I B L E 2000.

ROAD TO A MILLION $1,000,000.00 PER YEAR $83.333.33 PER MONTH $19,230.77 PER WEEK $2,739.73 PER DAY $114.15 PER HOUR $1.90 PER MINUTE $0.03 PER SECOND I am writing this on Monday night. Last Monday I had no idea that I would be here. I am here now because last Friday, after much thought, I came home and told my wife that I want to travel on Sunday. I needed some time alone to recharge. I remembered one of the books that I read during the year that recommended celebrating your victories and not postponing your happiness. Ever since I got married, I have never gone on vacation alone. It was always with my wife and children. I enjoyed those vacations. So, it was a struggle to even entertain traveling alone because my life has been so intertwined with my wife's and the children's. It's never fun without them. It's still not as much fun without my wife. The children, so-so. Nonetheless, my wife, who is my manager, accepted the challenge. I told her to find a location for me to go. No cold destination. My reason? I wanted to go and celebrate my wins for the year and strategize about our business plans for the next year. I also wanted to recharge spiritually with some prayer time. Then I wanted to write some books. Like this one. I thought about what had

transformed my financial life immensely. I wanted to reduce it to only five things that could be shared with others. Five steps that anyone, from anywhere, regardless of their background could do and become rich. She started with offering several locations that she thought I would like. There were so many locations to choose from. The strong favorites were Singapore, Dubai, St. Barts, Maldives, Johannesburg, Sydney, and Wellington. But the travel alone would take two days. Even San Juan was considered. However, on Saturday night, we settled on Boulder, Arizona. I paid for everything. A few hours later, Sunday night, I was in my cabin. Unbelievable! I love to travel. One of my goals for a while was that I wanted to be able to travel to anywhere in the world at a moment's notice without stress or minding the cost. It should be a private jet or first class. Or business class if everything is fully booked. I don't want to ask for any boss's approval. Because I also own several businesses, on many occasions, I structure my travel with business components, such as business meetings, working away from home for tax write offs, etc. Sadly, non-business owners may be paying through their noses for the same travel. They pay with after tax funds that deplete their resources with no financial advantage whatsoever. Meanwhile, my last-minute trip brought me to this beautiful resort in the mountains/desert in Arizona. The scenery is just unbelievably out of this world. This is where I am writing this book. I think Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, also wrote that book in a secluded place in Arizona. There’s something about this area that is very inspiring. Just so you know, things weren't always this way, as little as a year ago. More on that later. But for now, let’s just say it is your duty to strive for financial freedom. You owe it to yourself, and you won’t be disappointed. By following the steps I’m providing for you here, you stand a greater than normal chance of stepping into greater financial security, maybe greater than you’ve ever imagined!

C H A PT E R 1

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE RICH? “When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.” MYLES MUNROE

For almost twenty years, I worked for the U.S. Government. I had never actually made it my goal to work that long. In fact, at the age of 25, I had planned to retire in my 40s. But life had other plans. My yearly compensation package was almost $170,000. I was responsible for overseeing a continent and did some traveling for my agency. But as the years went by, I wanted more from life. I wanted to be financially independent. I wanted to have time to spend with my children and take care of my father who is in 80s. I also wanted to give to the less privileged, to give back. One thing still stands in the way. Money. All I have mentioned sounds good but requires money. I need to be rich to do them. No one is going to pay me any money, I think, to just chill out while I work on my dreams. No matter my fancy ideas, the bills still needed to be paid. And I needed this good job for stability. I needed it to take care of my family even though the job wasn’t going to make me rich. Thus, despite all these noble and lofty ideas, I didn't step out of my work. Though I wasn't fulfilled, I needed to continue working. However, I labored and began to search for the secret sauce of riches. I read several books, attended seminars, paid for mentorship, and invested thousands of hours on audios and videos. I studied the life of many great and successful men and women, young and old, who made it in different walks of life. It seemed there was something that they knew that I didn’t because it hadn't worked for me… yet.

Then a tragic event happened that would alter my path in life forever. My older brother, the first surviving child of my parents, suddenly died. We were close and we had plans. He was the smartest person I've ever known. He could speak with expertise on almost any subject. Compounding the already sad event was that tragically his wife had died nine months earlier. His death meant the responsibility of caring for his young four orphan children now fell on my other siblings and myself. What broke me about his sudden demise was that he had so many dreams in the pipeline that he hadn’t achieved. My older brother wrote books that weren't published because he wanted them to be perfect. He had written scripts for movies that he never got off the ground. He was working on a blockchain solution. He had ingenious designs for art, real estate. He had some software solutions in development. He also wanted to do more traveling and spend more time with his young children since he’d married quite late. He had so many plans that he had postponed waiting for the right time. Sadly, he couldn't achieve any of these. I was crushed. Again, we had a very close relationship. We even got married the same day though he was much older than I am. We had plans to do some big things together. The news of his passing devastated me. I stood, staring at his lifeless body in that casket with all the genius of his unrealized dreams. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this had a profound effect on me. It entered the core of my being. It wasn’t just a chapter of his life that was closed. It was the entire book. There was no more do over. No extensions. My big brother was gone! Just like that. At the time, I began to look inwards. I took a good look at my life and had some serious thoughts. What if I was in that casket with all my God-given talents, ideas and dreams, skills and abilities? What becomes of them if I die now? I had hoped to take care of my father because of the great investment he had made into my life. My mom had passed a few years earlier and I wasn't pleased that I couldn't do much for her. It was all very disturbing.

I also thought about my promise to my wife to take care of her. She had been through thick and thin with me. What is her reward? Then I also remembered that I intensely desired to spend quality time with my children. They are now growing so fast. The door to connect with them is slowly closing. What then would be my sufficient excuse? This time was going to be forever lost. By the time I compressed all these reasons together, they became my WHY. My strong why. Now, I had not just a desire but a burning reason to become rich. It was bigger than me. A race against time. It was no longer just about living the life of my dreams or having enough money to travel around the world. Tomorrow is not promised. I suddenly got it. I understood. I have witnessed it. My whys connected with me emotionally, as they should. And you know with human beings and emotions, we sometimes make decisions based on them, and then justify those decisions with logic. You need a WHY too! You need a compelling reason to become rich so you don't end up in that casket with all your potentials, gifts and talents lying there with you. You have a life you've been called to live and it's bigger than you. That is your WHY! My mind was made up. Come hell or high water, there was no going back. I began to list all avenues to make money. If you seem to have little to none, I will discuss how you can in Chapter Five. Meanwhile, I also listed the dreams that I have, the ones I know I want to fulfill, the dreams I’ve been carrying with me for years. I discovered that if I was serious, focused, and determined, and I put in the work, I could at least start to bring in one month what I was being paid in a year. Of course, I informed my wife. There were several questions of financial security. I was paying the bills. How did I plan for us to survive? I presented her with my list of what I was planning to do. Now leaving my paid employment was no longer a matter "to be determined" for me. It was a matter of urgency. The best way to get out of the rat race is to become financially independent and secure your future today, so you are free to invest in yourself, control your own time, and be able to take care of the

people that matter in your life. Take the right steps today and start your journey to financial freedom. It all starts with a WHY, something bigger than you! That's my Why, what is yours? About a month prior to my departure, I informed my boss. Because of the valuable contributions that I had made to my agency, I was persuaded to stay. I was even offered several options for work life balance, but the burning desire in me that I could do much more in life just tugged at me. Don't get me wrong, I like my work. I love my boss. He was a great boss to work for. In fact, he related with me as a friend. He took genuine interest in the welfare of his staff. I'm always grateful for the opportunity he gave me. I also love my colleagues. Yet, I believe that there is still more for me in life. I am worth more. I could do more things that are satisfying, things that take huge advantage of what I am great in. I don't want to continue writing papers and doing analysis of governmental functions in countries. I want to build lasting and profitable multimillion dollar businesses, have multiple streams of income, and enjoy life. So, with just a few days to my 20 years with the federal government, I left. I didn't retire. I left. No pension or retirement check safety net. I went through this spiel because I believe it might resonate with something within you. Maybe it will illuminate dark areas that have been causing restlessness in you. Maybe it will reassure you that you are not alone. I know you are wired to want more in life. It can be done. Until you find your purpose, nothing else can satisfy. Your why may not be what others in your circle consider noble. For example, a noble why, which seems generally acceptable, could be to give to the poor. But, if that doesn't connect to you emotionally, it's of no use to you. Usually, whys that are bigger than you tend to have the strongest hold on you. It will be something you’ve always had in the back of your mind, something that causes an emotional gut-wrench every time you think about it or see something that reminds you that this is what you have always wanted. But, as

I’ve said, life can get in the way for most of us and we can stray farther and farther from our truth. Some people get so far off track that they don’t remember their dreams. Don’t let this happen to you. Don't skip this and go to the next chapter until you have a compelling reason that would get you out of bed every day to move towards becoming rich. Get this. If you have a strong why, you don't need motivation to become rich. Make a list of your talents. What are you really good at? Don’t censor yourself as you write. Remember your childhood. What gave you the most joy? What people or professions do you admire or envy? Look at your list and find a common denominator. Distill it down to a few things. There is where you’ll find your why. I wish I could tell you that things fell into place once I listed them and stepped out. I wish I could tell you that three months later the millions started rolling in. No, they didn't. Things were tough and rough. My plans didn't work out the way I had planned them. But each time I remembered my why, I was reenergized. There was no going back. Life would not just give way because you have a noble desire to be rich. You will be resisted. Everyone who became rich was. But your strong why will be your compass. Return to it every time you feel weakened or overwhelmed. Do it every time someone tells you you’re being foolish or that you’re a dreamer. It's not easy to become rich, but it is possible. All you need to do is find your why and let it drive you on a journey of financial freedom. It might take time, but I know that if you stay focused and let your WHY be the fuel behind all your hard work, you will achieve success in any area of life - including becoming rich. You need a strong why because on some days you may feel like quitting. When you hit a roadblock, when folks say no to you, when the business doesn't pan out the way you wanted it to be initially. The "why", your strong reason will be there to keep you going. When you begin to doubt yourself and second guess whether you made the right choice in stepping out, your why will shore you up. Once you have that why, the how will follow. It doesn't need to be as tragic as

mine. It could be how you or your loved one were treated unjustly. Instead of bottling up in anger and using that emotion to cause harm, you can channel that same emotion to helping you become rich. Sure you can. Become rich and pay it forward. That is one of the greatest keys to success. “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” JOSEPH CAMPBELL

As they say, “where there’s a will, there’s a way”! So, make sure you know your why. It should be so ingrained in you that if someone wakes you up at night you can tell them exactly what it is. Being rich would open many doors of opportunity that you never thought possible for you. One of the things you'd discover is that it seems the rich are insulated from all the noise of the poor and middle class. They are in prestigious country clubs discussing deals over a game of squash. The conversations are different. The poor, middle class, and the rich may live in the same city, but their experiences are quite different. By the way, you already know your why. It’s somewhere deep within you. You just need to articulate it. This is an important step. Speaking it out loud and declaring it to the world lets you and the world know you are serious. It puts intention to your dreams. Your why is now no longer just a thought in your head. It’s a declaration of who you were meant to be and how you want to live! You can do it! Your why to become rich may not necessarily compel you to leave your paid employment like I did. But it must drive you to use your all, your gifts and talents, to becoming rich. Find your why and become rich! Don't end up in that casket with all your potentials, gifts and talents unexercised. Live the life you were called to live today. Take the right steps now to start your journey towards financial freedom and security. It all starts with a WHY. The death of my brother was a wake-up call for me. It made me realize that life is short and uncertain. I had to take action now. The WHY hit me so hard that it changed my outlook on life forever - I saw the power of having a

compelling reason to become rich. And I knew that if I could use this why, I could make my dreams a reality. Since then, I have focused on creating multiple sources of income and living a life that is free from financial worries. It has been an incredible journey for me - one where I've learned invaluable lessons about the power of money and the importance of being financially independent. If you were sitting across from me and you asked me how to become rich, I would ask, “Why?” So, I ask you again. Why do you want to be rich?

C H A PT E R 2

FAITH “It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” H E B R E WS 11:1. T H E L I V I N G B I B L E

I find it liberating whenever I decide out of the blue to take a leisurely drive on a Monday morning while others are duking it out in traffic with road rage. I remembered a business mentor, who owned a billboard company. He told us that sometimes around 11 am when folks are at work, he would take his young daughter out where they would have a picnic. They'd then start counting cows. You see, becoming rich is not just about money. It’s about having the freedom to do what you want when you want and following your purpose in life. Having money means doing whatever I want, with whomever I want, whenever I want, and however I want. I hope you take your financial life seriously enough to start working towards it. You only have one life to live with no opportunity for a do over. Perhaps what is holding you back is lack of faith? Many years ago, while still working with the federal government, I had a conversation with one of my supervisors at the time. He was younger than me but was also smart. He was what I would describe as one of the fast-rising stars at work. He knew his stuff. I told him my goal was to become an entrepreneur, own and build businesses. What came out of his mouth made me understand why some folks never become rich. He said his fear of

becoming an entrepreneur was not knowing where the check would come from. That was what held him back. He could not fathom "lack of job security" as he described it to me. You may not need to leave your work to become rich, but you need to have faith. It is the ability to see your future, the possibilities of your dreams and ideas with your mind's eye. With faith you already see the finished product before you ever begin the work. The best definition I have seen of faith is found in the bible. “It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” H E B R E WS 11:1.

Why do you need to have faith? It is a key ingredient for becoming rich. The truth is that you are a spiritual being. You are not just a body walking around. You are a spirit, with a soul that lives in a body. Just as your body responds to physical food and your soul to emotion, your spirit also responds to spiritual attributes like faith. If you lack faith or if your faith is weak, you are not going to become rich. One of the steps for becoming rich requires you to tap into the spiritual side of you. There is no one who ever became rich without having faith in their own vision for themselves. I watched one of the early interviews of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, about his company. He laid out some of what the company would venture into. At the time it seemed laughable but today they are a reality. Since founding Amazon, Bezos started Blue Origin, a space company, bought The Washington Post, a flagship newspaper, bought Whole Foods, a nationally known grocery store, and many more businesses and companies. Without faith, you won’t have the inner strength to start or stay on course in your journey towards building wealth. Becoming rich often requires you to go against what society tells you and believe in yourself even when no one else will. It is having courage to press forward despite any opposition that may

come your way. One of the major hindrances to many becoming rich is that they have believed a lie that seeing is believing. That is why many are still poor or stuck in the struggling middle class. They are still waiting to see with their physical eyes before believing. If you are in that category, you may never become rich. You must grasp the concept of seeing with the mind’s eye. Of visualizing. In this way, you will be able to “see” what you want. Seeing in this way and believing must go hand in hand. The rich don't become rich by first seeing riches with their physical eyes. They start with their spiritual self. You also must do like the rich and start by first seeing with your spiritual eyes. Your mind's eye. I want to challenge you to believe in order to see. Because when you do, it will jump start your journey of becoming rich. Are you still confused? Don't be. You probably already have faith. You have exercised this type of faith. You've just not exercised it well enough to become rich. Let me show you how. You see, because we are spiritual beings, we create things twice. First in our mind's eye, which is by faith and then physically. All thought begins in the mind, from the imagination. What do I mean? If you know how to cook like me, before you cook the food, you already have the idea of the finished product. You know what it would look like. You know some of the ingredients you are going to use. You may even be able to smell it and see it finished - mouth-watering and fingerlicking already in your mind's eye. You've tasted it in that frame before it ever hit your tastebuds. You've done all this before you ever pick up an ingredient. It was a done deal. It is after this that you then go to work in making it happen. Got it? It doesn't have to be cooking alone. It could be going to college and getting a degree. It could be becoming a doctor, lawyer, pastor, athlete, homemaker, mother, etc. You created and completed these ideas by faith, in your spirit, before starting.

Let me give you my practical example. After leaving my government job, almost a year later, I bought several vehicles in one month. Those around me who saw it were surprised. They were surprised because for years I had only used one sedan, with almost 200,000 miles, where six of us would squeeze in. But I wasn't surprised that I bought several cars back-to-back. I already bought the vehicles by faith in my mind's eye. I was only executing a finished work. By the way, I still have my old faithful sedan. A reminder of where I came from. But you may say, "I already tried having faith for becoming rich but I failed." Who said you weren't going to fail? Having faith doesn't mean everything will work out perfectly the way you had them planned. When you encountered difficulties while trying to cook did you give up? You probably substituted some ingredients. Why do you then expect your wealth journey to be hitchfree? Staying flexible in your plan and in your journey is important. If you’re not flexible, you’ll be forced to give up before you get off the ground. Give yourself a fighting chance. Don’t give up. It may require you to study more for your classes or rearrange your schedules. You might need to stay up late to figure out an adjustment to your plan. You may have to get up early to fit more hours into your day. In other words, you may need to make some sacrifices. No one said it was going to be easy. But you can get it done. Let me expand this concept of faith a little more. Aside from believing in what you have not seen with your physical eyes, you must also believe in yourself to become rich. Having faith in yourself will motivate you to take the action required to become rich. You must believe in yourself and the talents and abilities that you possess to get closer and closer towards building generational wealth. What is generational wealth? It’s wealth that is carried over to the next generation. If you win the lottery, your money is not going to make you money, except for the interest. However, if you invest that money and it makes you money, that fortune will be carried to the next generation. Whenever I experience a financial setback, I remind myself of how far I have come. How my God-given abilities, skills, ideas, and talents have worked for me throughout my journey.

However, I know it's much easier sometimes to believe in others who have succeeded. You believe in their abilities and skills, but easily dismiss yourself. If you have experienced several failures, you may probably think that others are just better at doing this than you are. But the rich are no different than you except for the fact that they believed in themselves and didn’t give up. They believed in their ideas and abilities to make things happen. They speak of their ideas with bold convictions and persuade others to come along. You don’t know how many times they may have failed and then picked themselves up and kept going. How did they do it? They had faith and vision and determination. You already have faith. With some of the examples I've given you, you should be able to see that you already have faith. You also know how to exercise it. What you need now is to have faith in your ability to become rich and go to work on it. In the next chapter, I will teach you how to build that faith with the next steps. So, choose faith today. Decide to have a confident assurance and certainty that what you hope for is waiting for you. That’s how you can become rich. Start believing and watch your dreams turn into reality! You will be glad you did. In conclusion, one of the most powerful tools to become rich is through faith. It all starts in your mind’s eye, where you imagine what could be and then take action upon it. As you continue to remain confident in yourself and your abilities, amazing things can happen, regardless of any setbacks or failures. So, choose to have faith today! Believe in yourself and your ideas and watch how far you can go. It all starts with faith! Find your why. Envision your dream as though it is already happening. Focus on your outcome with intention. Stay flexible and make adjustments along the way. Don’t give up!

C H A PT E R 3

KNOWLEDGE “By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” P R O V E R B S 24:4

“Congratulations Mr. Abina, you have been approved for a Platinum American Express Credit Card with no preset credit limit." The first one. The second says something along the lines of "you've been approved for the flagship black credit card." Then more approvals and more approvals started rolling in. Previous years were not like that. It was the opposite. Denials. What changed? That's what I'm going to talk about. Before I could get those results mentioned above, I had to invest in knowledge about money. I invested some thousands of dollars into a program that updated my knowledge about using credit. I learned, for example, that credit is not just about credit score but your profile. I will give you some of that information here for free. The best procedure is to only use 9% and below of your total credit limit. If you use more than that make sure you pay it down to below 10%. In addition, I also learned about having a strong credit profile by having a mix of auto loan, credit card, and mortgage. Several factors affect your credit profile and they are weighted differently. The following have HIGH IMPACT: Payment history – Are you making your payments on time? Credit Card Usage – How much credit are you using compared to your total limits? Derogatory Remarks – Collections, liens, bankruptcies or civil

judgments on your report. MEDIUM IMPACT Average age of your open accounts. LOW IMPACT Total accounts and hard inquiries. These are just a few. Visit CreditKarma.com for more. I have no affiliation with them at all. I also learned that credit company financial institutions pull credit reports based on the product being applied for. For example, Navy Federal Credit pulls credit reports from Transunion for personal credit cards and from Experian for business credit cards. American Express and Citibank request the Experian credit report for credit cards requests. These are some examples out of several useful information. To become rich, knowledge about how money and credit work and how they’re used is indispensable. You need to learn, meaning update your money knowledge. You also need to relearn what you’ve forgotten about money. Then you need to unlearn what you thought money was about. Whatever knowledge you have about money ten years ago, even five years ago is probably obsolete or at a minimum, needs to be updated. For example, today, there are people making millions of dollars monthly online now as influencers. This wasn’t a thing 10 years ago. Also, digital currencies are now popular. The price of bitcoin was $13.45 ten years ago. Today it’s over $16,000. At some point it was over $62,000. Also, you can be recording videos from your own home, and uploading them to YouTube and get paid for doing this if you get enough followers. The list goes on and on. I also had to find information and acquire knowledge about how to put my money to work to change my financial life. One critical thing you must know about money to become rich is that you must learn to put your money to work. Money doesn’t like to be idle for long. It will leave you via inflation,

fees, depleted savings, etc. Give your money a job if you want to buy your time back. Just like people go to work every day, I also give jobs to my money. For example, I set aside some funds and said go and work for me in an oil field. To other funds I said, go to Apple stocks and I want you to multiply in at least two ways: appreciate in value and bring me cash quarterly into my account. Still other funds went to artwork, real estate, cryptocurrencies, just to name a few. They must work for me 24/7. While I’m sleeping or playing, they had better be working. Pay for knowledge. Knowledge from experts in the field you want to get into is very important. It will determine whether or not you face premature exit with debts. Let me give you an example. In the latter part 2022, I acquired an online store. It is an ecommerce brand that came along with their customers. As part of my efforts in repositioning the brand, I scheduled a call with one of my ecommerce mentors. The call was to gain some knowledge on how to make the brand more profitable. He is much younger than I am, in his late 20s. For that call, I paid $1,000 for a little less than thirty minutes. I had to stay up till 12:00am because he was in a different time zone. Within those minutes he was able to pinpoint exactly what was wrong with the brand. Of course, he did. He was on track to make $1 million per day on one of his stores. He was already at $1 million weekly. And he was able to do this without stepping out of the house and without any inventory whatsoever. I know it’s possible not to step out of your house and replace your income. Before I left my job, I played around with two online stores that I built from the ground up within seven days. With one I was selling a hair twisting device for women, and the other, leggings, also for women. Each of the stores made well over $15,000 in less than 60 days. But before I could do this, I had to invest well over $2,500 and I needed to learn about drop-shipping. Drop-shipping is where a seller sets up a website and sells products that the seller does not keep in stock. When an order is placed, the seller sends it to a

third party — the manufacturer, another retailer, or a wholesaler — who ships the goods directly to the buyer. By the way, if you are interested in learning more about drop-shipping, I have provided some information here for you on how to do that. I spent thousands of dollars to acquire this knowledge, but you can get it for free with this link. The ECOM KING https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn8V4itSjrJBax-xLNJxeOQ I am not affiliated with this link. Using the link and the information provided is at your discretion. Do your due diligence accordingly. What transportation method are you using in your wealth race? The knowledge you have about money determines whether you become rich, and how fast you become rich. Imagine your wealth race to be traveling from Washington DC to Los Angeles. All these times are nonstop. Walking – 862 hours (35 days nonstop). Cycling – 236 hours (9 days 8 hours). Catching the train – 2 days and 18 hours. Driving – 39 hours (1 day and 15 hours nonstop). Flight – 5 hours 40 minutes. It is obvious which of these is the fastest and– the slowest. In the above illustration, let me bring it to life a little more. Apart from the fact that the knowledge many poor folks and middle class have of becoming rich can be compared to walking to LA, they also forgot that there is a finite time to accomplish it. In real life, some folks walking towards the goal of becoming rich would run out of time and die before reaching their goal. Another reason why you need to obtain the right knowledge about money is that the poor and middle class would rather waste time saving money rather than investing in themselves. Take a look at many of your friends who are not rich and see if that’s not the case. They can spend a lot on travel, cruise, bags, shoes, and even cars. But they cannot seem to spend a fraction of that amount to invest in a money mentor.

The rich on the other hand would spend whatever it takes to save time. They understand that time is more valuable than money. They buy back their time by making their money work instead of having to put in many physical hours. For example, the time they would have spent in taking a used cheap car to the mechanic, they would rather buy a new car instead to save that time. Instead of driving 16 hours to save money, they would rather fly instead to gain additional time. Instead of personally mowing the lawn or break out the tools to fix that broken shower, they would rather pay a professional. The list goes on and on. They pay someone else to buy back their time. Having the right knowledge about money can fast track your journey to wealth. In my book, 42 Financial Independence Laws, I mentioned how the time to become a billionaire had shrunk due to knowledge. Bill Gates became a billionaire at the age of 31, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook became a billionaire at the age of 23. Going by the travel analogy, they obviously used airplanes to travel towards their goal of becoming rich. That means, along the way, they paid for or invested in knowledge about money, outside the mandatory school system, to arrive at their goal faster. They didn’t just stick with the free available knowledge. By the way, if you’ve decided to walk towards your money goal, you are most likely looking only for free knowledge. Let me give you one more example. Do you know you can own your own rental car company? I do. You read right. Folks would rent cars from me like they do Hertz, Avis, Enterprise and the like. That’s another place that I have my money working for me. (Remember all those cars I purchased?) In the next chapter, I will discuss how I discovered this knowledge, and how you can also regularly update your money knowledge. The next chapter is what impacted my financial life the most and rapidly changed it. It could change your financial situation faster than anything that I have previously mentioned. The truth is, to become rich faster you need to invest in yourself. Buy courses, books and even hire a mentor who has already been there. The knowledge you have about money will determine your speed towards becoming rich.

Knowledge is power! That’s why the wealthy buy back their time by investing in knowledge. A mentor of mine once said, “If you are not leveraging someone, you are the leverage.”

C H A PT E R 4

ASSOCIATION “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” P R O V E R B S 13:20, N E W L I V I N G T R A N S L AT I O N

In 2016, I traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a conference. It was a last-minute thing. After the hotel and flights were taken care of, I needed to find an affordable rental car to move around. Then in my search online, I discovered a website called Turo. I downloaded the app and booked a well maintained, glistening red Ford Mustang from a private individual. The host even dropped it off at my hotel. I used the car throughout my stay. The price was much cheaper than regular rental companies. The convenience was second to none. There was zero wait time trying to process my credit card or waiting in line for a car agent. Few years later, after leaving my government work, I started my own rental company with Turo. I discovered I could do this because I joined a group of over 400 entrepreneurs that met every morning from Monday to Friday. Then my younger brother, an entrepreneur par excellence virtually all his life taught me how to set up mine. He had started his own rental car company and was very successful with it. One of my mentors said,” If you are the smartest person in your group, you are with the wrong group. There are many harmful behaviors that make many people remain poor or in the middle class. The first is the "know it all” attitude. The next is association with, and taking financial advice from, those who are not rich. To become rich and even sustain your wealth once you have it, you need the right association. I call it 'The Wealth Pyramid'. The top part is myself and the

mentors I have around me. Then come my investors, then come my close friends, who are usually entrepreneurs as well. At the bottom are the rest of my acquaintances and people that don't understand why I am doing what I'm doing. It's extremely important to know who to pay attention to and who to ignore. Having the right associations got me into almost all the ventures that made money work for me. For example, I got into cryptocurrency because of my late older brother. He had invested in it at a very low entry point before it became a popular frenzy. Look at these examples. You thought of an idea that could make you rich. Or maybe you saw an investment property that you are pumped about. Then you discussed it with someone who didn't see the profit in the investment. They just kept dumping on you every reason why what you are trying to do was just a bad idea. They started sending you links on the internet of how the economy has been predicted to tank. They said you will lose your entire life savings. Maybe you attended a course, seminar, or workshop that you believed could make you rich and you couldn't wait to get started. You tried to persuade your friend who didn't intend to attend the course to come along. Your friend then told you the event planners were scammers. Because faith comes by hearing, the negative things you heard in these scenarios paralyzed you and extinguished the wealth flame. The voices drowned out your enthusiasm. You feared and didn't take the steps. Now, you are no better off than before. The associations you have can work as a very powerful tool that can catapult you to the level of wealth you dream about, or they can work against you. If you are a doctor, would you take advice from someone who is not a doctor on how to diagnose a patient? Why would you then, a rich person, take financial advice from a poor person no matter how well intended? Be intentional about the kind of people you have in your life and make sure their goals are aligned with yours. Have you ever noticed when taking a walk with any of your close friends that your pace naturally adjusts to each other,

even unintentionally? This is the power of influence. The power of association —the influence you allow around you—is an undeniable factor in becoming successful, so choose wisely! Someone said your income is the average of the five closest people to you. If you are in the middle class, do you hang out with the homeless? Have you ever seen a millionaire whose closest pals are the poor? Most probably not. If he hangs with them to while away time, he'd certainly excuse them when million-dollar deals are being discussed. Therefore, associate and learn from those who are ahead of you in your pursuit for financial freedom. The kind of people that will challenge and inspire you to keep going. What I'm saying is if your goal is to become rich, don't associate with people who don't understand what it takes to get rich, who don’t understand how money works, and who have no vision for moving ahead. It is important to surround yourself with like-minded individuals that will support you in achieving your goals and motivate you even when the going gets tough. May I add another real scenario of the power of association? I am currently writing this piece in a Delta Sky Club lounge at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Several flights including mine have been canceled, rebooked, delayed, canceled and rebooked again due to the wintery weather advisory from the northeast. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been rebooked and cancelled. Outside the lounge, faces are filled with frustration, tiredness, and all the rest as folks try to find a space to rest by the gate, yet it’s a totally different experience in the lounge where I am in. Inside the lounge there is very soft Christmas music playing in the background. Nice, comfortable well-cushioned seats of various designs to sit, relax with no worries in the world. Buffets are stocked to the brim and elaborate. Different and very flavorful coffee, tea, sodas and whatever you want to drink is abundantly available. There are several workstations to do work with power outlets and hi speed internet. You can watch TV while you eat or read newspapers and magazines. You can also go to a private area if need be. Or if you prefer you can gaze on the beautiful mountainous scenery

that surrounds the airport. Picture cozy, polished vibe. As I had stated in the first chapter, my goal is not to brag or put anyone down. In fact, there is more than enough money for everyone to be rich, and then there'd be some more left over. My goal is to whet your appetite to desire it and go for it. The number of millionaires and billionaires increase every year in the U.S. and around the world. But are you willing to take the steps to move up and level up? If you are, it's time to be intentional about the people you associate with. If they don't have the same vision, it is better off that you stay away from them. Focus on relationships with people who can contribute positively towards your journey of becoming rich and sustaining wealth. The right association will be the catalyst for your wealth! Sometimes you may have to pay to get into the room. I mean that you may need to pay to get into the group where the rich meet. Do it. That's where you belong. I pay regularly to get in the room. It could be a country club, a business association, a mentorship program, a wealth seminar, etc. A few months ago, some of my business partners and myself attended a meeting of over 400 business owners in my state. It was organized by a state agency. Over $4 billion in contracts were presented and made available to us. Along with these resources, the state provided companies that would assist business owners in funding the contracts. We paid to get into that room. Rich people pay for association and knowledge. Do you want to walk (free resources only) to LA or fly (pay)? What are your action steps going to be? As soon as you finish this chapter, go online and look for groups of rich folks to join. Find mentors, join masterminds, reach out to people in your field who are already wealthy. Ask about the Small Business agency in your state and join business associations like I mentioned earlier. You might ask, “Why would a wealthy business owner, entrepreneur, or experienced money-maker want to give me advice or mentor me? Because rich people want to associate with rich people. You’ll find they’re often happy to help.

If you want to get into real estate investing, you may try National Real Estate Investors Association (NREIA) https://nationalreia.org/ to find your local REIA. You can also try https://www.biggerpockets.com/ It's a community of real estate investors as well. If you want to join the over 400 entrepreneurs that meet every morning like I do for the latest knowledge in money. This is the link https://www.themorningmeetup.com/. Now it’s your turn to take action. You are more primed to act immediately after you finish consuming any information. The longer you take, the harder it becomes to act. What associations will you make today? What one move will you take to improve your current situation? Go out there and start making those connections. The decision is yours. Why are you still reading? Are you still waiting or contemplating that you are an introvert and always keep to yourself? I am an introvert as well. But my desire to be rich and not make excuses for my wife and children made me break out of my shell. Would you tell your children or spouse that you could not make life better for them because you are an introvert? Adopt the same habits and power of association that rich people do, so you can become rich too. Go and get with like-minded individuals that will support you in achieving your goals and motivate you even when the going gets tough. If you do this, it is possible to become rich just like I did! That's it!

C H A PT E R 5

IMPLEMENTATION "But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." J A M E S 1:22

It is very important that you take action towards becoming rich. This is something I strongly believe in and have seen manifested in my life. Action creates results. If you want to become rich, you must take consistent actions. “Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to find that it was vanity; But the dreamers of day are dangerous men. That they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible.” T.E. L AW R E N C E

People who are successful in becoming rich understand the power of taking action. They don't just dream about it, read about it or talk about it. They actually do something about it. Taking action can make all the difference. You can think about flying to L.A., you can check into the price of fares and hotels, but if you don’t actually book your flight and get on that plane, you’re not going to go anywhere. Taking action is the only way to get from where you are to where you want to be. Your future is in your hands. You are responsible for your success. It's all up to you whether six months from now you have a bigger bank account, the same you have now—or less. There is no such thing as luck without taking action in becoming rich. Ignore luck for the moment. The Roman philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Work hard to prepare yourself and take smart actions to create opportunities that will make you successful. When you identify opportunities and take advantage of them, it

will help accelerate your wealth building journey. Taking action on a consistent basis will improve your odds of success dramatically. One of the reasons why I made this book very short is so that you can spend more time taking actions. If you want a lengthier book on personal finance, you can read my 42 Financial Independence Laws book. It is available on Amazon via this link https://www.amazon.com/42-FINANCIALINDEPENDENCE-LAWS-CHRISTIANS/dp/B08LNLCGY1 Maybe you might say you already knew all I wrote in this book. You concluded that you shouldn't have bought the book at all. My question then would be, why are you not rich? We need to fix that. My purpose for writing this book is not for you to read or accumulate more knowledge. It's for you to be rich. Are you afraid that you'd make mistakes? That is perfectly fine. Mistakes show that you are learning something. It means you are trying something new. Every rich person has made mistakes. They have lost money but never gave up. Are you waiting for the perfect opportunity? Waiting till you have everything in place? There is no such thing. Just begin. The best day for you to start was yesterday. The next best day is today not tomorrow. There’s always a tomorrow, but you are never going to be there. The only place you are is here, now, today. I mentioned earlier that it is so simple to be rich, and that is why most smart people are broke. In putting myself around some wealthy mentors, I discovered that in some cases I already knew what they told me. In fact, I have practiced them before. However, there is something motivating about associating with someone who has already become massively wealthy practicing what you knew before. It gives you the confidence that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. It reassures you that if you are consistent long enough you will become rich on this path. The five secrets I mentioned in this book are the foundation for achieving all riches. This is what changed my financial life radically. Economies change. The hot lucrative sector will always cool off eventually. But the rich will still continue to become richer because they are following this five steps blueprint.

Let me predict how this year could end for you. If you don't take these actions, you will end up the same or worse than you started financially. You know what also? Some folks who took action after reading the book will have success. Let me also make another prediction. The amount of financial success you will have will be proportional to the consistency of your actions. All you need is to take little actions consistently every day. Don't focus on doing big stuff. Start small and do it consistently. When you fail, as we all do, adjust and get back on it again. Take practical steps. Meanwhile, let's help you take your first action together. Your first action is to take practical steps to put on your wealth identity, and forever drop the poor identity. You will identify as a rich person. Yes, you. We all live up to our identity. Not only does presenting yourself as being wealthy make you feel that way, but it informs others to treat you that way. From this point on you'll live out your life as a rich person. Stop reading and do this exercise. You only need your best clothes, a mirror, your preferred beverage, and your phone. Put on your best clothes. The clothes that make you appear rich. Next, stand in front a mirror. Then grab your phone. Press the audio to record and set it aside. Or set your phone or a tripod to record your video. Relax. Close your eyes and think of what symbolizes wealth to you. Insert yourself in that picture. It could be on your own Gulfstream G650 private jet or on your own private island. How about in the company of Hollywood Alisters? Or maybe writing a check of $1 million that blew folks away when no one thought you could? Hmm...Being catered to hand and foot at the most expensive hotel, then chauffer driven in a Bentley to a gala event doesn't sound like a bad idea. Do whatever makes you feel rich. Then record in your own voice these words with as much ease as possible with your choice beverage in one hand. "Wow. I am rich. I am very, very rich. It worked. The secrets actually worked!" Open your eyes, look in the mirror

and continue. "I will always identify as rich. Because I am rich, I will not make poor financial decisions. I will never be broke again." You may end the exercise here. It works even better if you can find a spouse or a friend or partner who is onboard with you and do it together. Once you are done, play it at least three times a day. Morning, afternoon, and evening. The goal is to infuse your mind to naturally over time, and always think and act like a rich person first in every situation. To make it even more effective as you listen say it along with the recording. So, you don't forget the new habit, you need to link it to your other morning, afternoon and evening habits. Connecting a new habit to your old is very effective as demonstrated by James Clear in Atomic Habits. What you need to do is to say out loud what you want to do. Say the time and place. For example, "After having my morning coffee in the kitchen, I will play my wealth identity recording." Next, "Right after lunch at 12:30pm, before checking my social media updates, I will play my wealth identity recording." For the evening, "After brushing my teeth, and right before lying in bed, I will close my eyes and listen to my wealth recording." To help you even further, set three daily reminders on your phone for morning, afternoon, and evening. Label each "Listen to Recording." We are going to take another rich person action. Since you are rich, I want you to take it further by having a rich person's experience. Take some money and do either of these. Dress really nice and take your phone with you. Go to one of the luxurious restaurants in your city and dine. Soak in the experience and relax like you belong and deserve it. Memorialize it by taking lots of pictures. You could do the same by spending the night at one of the most luxurious hotels in your city. Or if you prefer, I really recommend flying first class internationally. If first class is not available, do business class. Again, making sure you memorialize the events with pictures. If you have done first class before, you can do a private jet. There are some here: https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/luxury-travel/best-private-

jet-companies You can also do a semi-private jet here: https://www.travelandleisure.com/semi-private-jet-to-cabo-launch-6891488? utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab I have no affiliation with them. I can’t overemphasize that what will determine whether you become rich or not is taking consistent actions no matter how small. That is what changed my financial life. I continue to take actions regardless of the obstacles in front of me. I totally refuse to go with the crowd. The crowd, the majority, is poor. I don't want that for me.

C H A PT E R 6

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

If you want to become rich, start by finding your WHY. Find something that inspires and compels you to take action and make it happen. It must be something that forces you whether you are motivated or not. That's the way to true financial freedom. Then, list all avenues you can think of to make money. If you are drawing blank with your natural, professional and academic abilities, try this link. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/150-apps-power-gig-economy/ It has at least 150 ways to make money. Then out of your list, choose one. Do one thing that you are good at and that could potentially make you money the fastest and go all in on it. Become great in what you are good at. If your promising project is not making you money, I mean if you are not making profit fast enough, pivot into something else that would make you money faster now. Get your quick wins to give you momentum. It will reassure you that you can do it. It will give you confidence that you can bring in money aside from your paid employment. When you are sufficiently profitable, you may come back to the promising project that takes time to turn profit if you so wish. Then you need to believe in what you have not yet seen that it would become possible. Don't forget the cooking analogy. We create things twice. See it in your mind’s eye, where you imagine what could be and then take action upon it. As you continue to remain confident in yourself and your abilities, amazing things can happen regardless of any setbacks or failures. Next, the knowledge you have about money will determine how fast or slow you become rich. That's why the rich buy back their time by investing in

knowledge. Investing in yourself is the surest way to becoming rich faster and getting ahead of those who are still walking towards their goal of wealth. Applied knowledge is power, use it wisely. Then, the power of association is undeniable. It provides the opportunity for you to network and access resources that could catapult your wealth journey. You will need to associate with groups of like-minded individuals to help you attain wealth faster. Pay for knowledge, go out there and join associations where the rich meet. You can do it! Lastly, take consistent actions no matter how small. In conclusion, becoming wealthy is possible if you take the right actions. Find your WHY, choose something that makes money fast, believe in yourself and the process, invest in knowledge and associate with like-minded people. Taking these steps will help you on your wealth journey and make it easier for you to become rich. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start taking action today! Cheers to your wealth!

A C K N OW L E D G M E N T S

I want to thank my wife who is crazy enough to believe in my dreams as we go from one adventure to another. Special thanks to my children for understanding the demands on daddy. To the Creator, as always, I write to You, for You and with You. You gave the idea for this. Thank You for the gift of faith.

B O O K S BY O L A A B I N A

“I have a plan to overthrow the Creator.” Gasps spread throughout the audience of angels. Many whispered, he would never win, and the Creator would not allow it.” Rogue the archangel is determined to take back the Creator’s seat and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal of controlling the world. With his persuasive words, Rogue managed to rally a third of the angels and they made a move…. But he is unaware of another mortal man, the Landman caught in the crossfire. The Landman is about to discover that he has a role to play in this war - whether he likes it or not. This action-packed novel tells the story of the Landman, a powerful new superhero who must save the world from destruction.

You can accelerate your journey to financial freedom during the PANDEMIC with proven Biblical tools and specific Modern Day strategies! Learn how to position yourself to: * Create wealth during the pandemic & beyond * Use financial principles to become rich * Live a debt-free life * Know the next trendy products before they happen

This book ministers hope to anyone who has been hurt through what they brought on themselves by their own hands, through the actions of others or just because life happens. It is an excellent resource for anyone who has gone through adversities, is going through adversities and will go through adversities. It provides a dynamic blueprint on how to face even the most painful and difficult of life’s experiences and come out better and stronger.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Kiyosaki doesn't need to be introduced when it comes to his expertise on business and financial advice, but we'd like you to meet Ola Abina. This renowned global speaker, consultant and best-selling author has conquered a plethora of industries: from IT, engineering, oil & gas, and billboard advertising all the way through his investment knowledge in real estate investments, fine art collection, building as well in IPO in equities plus cryptocurrency and even government consulting, has made him an invaluable asset to thousands worldwide. Recognized for best-selling works such as “42 Financial Independence Laws,” "Save Me From This Hour" and “Landman Earth's Warrior,” Ola is on a mission to help everyone breakaway from their mundane lives with powerful memories that last forever! A military veteran of 8 years having served in the U.S Navy followed by two decades working at federal government level - there’s no limit what he can achieve next!! He is obsessive in wowing readers with amazing reading experiences. You can connect with Ola here: Facebook.com/olaabina Instagram.com/@olaabina