THE POOR AND THE RICH: WHY THE LATTER PROSPERS AND THE FORMER SETTLES

"The poor you will always have with you" ~ Jesus Christ

From what Jesus Christ said, the poverty or prosperity of anybody is not His responsibility, much as it might be His wish that all should prosper. Those two are a function mainly of decisions and habits. I tweeted this some time back quoting @DrMikeMurdock, "If God decided who gets wealthy, how come missionaries are broke and the mafia wealthy?". That tweet was retweeted uncountable times (including once by Dr. Mike Murdock himself) and gained me some followers on twitter.

No matter where you go, there is always a group of people that will stand out. There is always those that seem focussed...those that seem to have all going for them. Then there are those that seem so settled although not all is going well for them.

An Example of A Vision Board

To be honest, we all can easily be affected by either group's environment, depending on where we live. I get so amazed at the habits of the successful people. At the same time, the habits of the settlers are so predictable...pure old survival.

The reason I write today is to rally everyone to be so radically cautious about the environment in which they live daily. It is critical to where they are going. I have stayed in two extreme environments. I have stayed in an area that will be easily considered an upper middle class, and I have also stayed in an environment that will be considered of the poor.

In both environments, I never neglected my weekly habit of jogging. I love jogging. More than fifteen articles have been written on this blog (including this one) that have been inspired by my jogging escapades. 

Here is one thing that I found out: Whenever I went out in the upper middle class jogging...I always met with scores of many other people who were out jogging either in my direction or in the opposite one. It always seemed that I was in good company there.

We all joggers always seemed to understand the importance of what we were doing. Are you an employer that is looking for a high performer? Here is what you can do. Go out there in any environment and find out the joggers. Stop each and everyone of them (if you can), give them your card and tell them to call you. Then interview them. I guarantee you that you will be spoilt for choice. I am a firm believer that those who work diligently on their bodies can be great performers at work. If they are serious about their health...they are also serious about wealth hence their productivity at work.

On the other hand, I have also been out there jogging in an environment of the so called poor. I can tell you that I never saw for weeks, day by day in my route or any other any fellow jogger!! That intrigued me so much, I told my wife about it. Isn't it any wonder that the considered poor will either stay (settle) in poverty and the so considered rich or middle class will continue increasing in leaps and bounds? I might be wrong...but then again I might just be right.

Herein is the crux of this article though: We have got to be thoroughly passionate about what environment we live in. Our environment affects our disposition, attitude, drive and to a good extend, our productivity and happiness.

The other day I downloaded some photos of nice home interiors. I showed my wife some of them and asked her this question (she is a gospel artist): "Honey, tell me why you will not feel thoroughly annointed if you woke up from this kind of a bedroom, took a shower in this kind of a bathroom, made breakfast in this kind of a kitchen and went to minister in this kind of a car...tell me if you will not feel anointed" She agreed with me 100%

Let me put it this way. Get some ten thousand dollars on you and walk around town. Your swagger changes, your contenance is glorified, your smile broadens, your steps have an easy spring/bounce in them, your confidence is sky high! You get my point.

Ladies and gentlemen, our external environments have a great impact in our lives...that goes without saying!

You can live in what is considered a poor neighborhood, but that does not give you a ticket to settle. Here are three things you must do if you find yourself living where you do not like or want at the moment:

1. Apply the habits of the rich: It is not written anywhere that only the rich should work on their physical health. Yet this habit alone has a way of affecting other areas of your life including your mental health, and self esteem as well as a sense of purpose which will in turn affect positively your productivity and creativity in any area of life.
2. Deliberately Create Pictures of where you are going: Your house might be located in a poor location...but that does not mean that you expose your mind to it daily. You can download images of nice neighborhoods where you want to live. Have this pictures exposed to you prominently every day. Something happens to you. It helps you not settle and give up. It gives you hope.
3. Visit the environment of the rich: Stop behaving like wealth and abundance are not supposed to be your inheritance. Take some time and visit the areas where the rich live. Be in that environment as occassionaly as possible. Start seeing yourself there. I believe I heard one visionary called Erick Kimani, a philanthropist, Rotarian, Entreprenuer and former C.E.O of Yana tyres in Kenya saying on a Radio interview that he applied this nugget. Is it any wonder? He has travelled many nations...and sometimes had to spend nothing on accomodation because of the many friend she has world-wide. This thing works.

For good measure, very many rich have come out of poverty. I guarantee you that it was not by luck or fluke. It was by desire, refusing to settle and applying the habits of success.