WHAT IS MONEY?
The road to wealth begins the moment you understand, appreciate, and can properly define what money means to you personally. One of the world's great thinkers, RALPH WALDO EMERSON, a moralist and realist, once said; "Money, which represents the prose of life, and which is hardly spoken of in parlors without an apology, is in its effects and laws, as beautiful as roses."
It is the definition you give to money that makes it to either be as beautiful as roses or a curse. To some group of people money is first a means of payment. Another group of people believe that money is a medium of exchange. Money is also defined by yet another group of people as a store of value and a unit of account. Whichever definition you choose determines how you handle money.
The definition I like most, that is practical, personal, universal and gives you the true value of money is this one: "Money is something you choose to trade your life energy for." From Tokyo to Timbuktu or Lagos to London, this definition is the same. If you realize that your life is precious and you are trading it for something, you will learn to respect and appreciate money.
It is quite unfortunate that we were never taught anything about money in school or at home. Except, of course, the few privileged ones from good IJEBU and IGBO homes. And you know the kind of jokes people crack about these groups of people concerning their behaviors toward money. Knowing about money - how to appreciate and respect money - is very critical to achieving financial success. Being money-wise ultimately leads to financial intelligence.
Money is one subject that a lot of people don't want to discuss. Some even find it intimidating to talk about it. Like the political situation in Nigeria, almost everyone has an opinion about money, but how many actually know with a reasonable degree of certainty what to do about it.
There's this age old saying that money is the root of all evil. This is absolutely bunkum. It is actually the lack of money that is at the root of all evil. The prisons all over the world are filled with people who committed crimes directly or indirectly related to money. Money is neutral.
There's nothing good or bad about money. It is your definition of it that gives it the form (good or bad). Even the good Book recognizes that money is a defense, and it answers all things. This only happens when you respect and appreciate money and understand what it is.
AUSTIN NWEZE
INSTITUTE OF FINANCIAL PLANNING
LAGOS. |
