The Eagle in a storm (Part 2a). __Changing our “wealth creation model.”

Ever since I started school, my teachers taught me that our country was “rich” because we had many minerals, and we’d recite the list of minerals. By the time I finished secondary school, I not only knew my country was “rich,” but that Africa itself was “rich” because we had so many natural resources.
Even though I didn’t study geology, I could almost tell you where all these precious minerals and other resources were found: oil, diamonds, platinum, gold, copper… in places like Congo, there were names of some things I couldn’t even pronounce.
__Yes, Africa is so rich!!!
As a young student, if I thought about what the global buyers of Africa’s natural resources then did with them, it was only ever a superficial thought. But I soon realized something didn’t add up…
__Sometimes it almost seemed that the “richer” a country, the poorer the people! But how could this be?
“1+1=2″! My primary school teacher drummed it into my head, right?
Then I got to secondary school and one day the teacher came in and said, “You know, there are situations when 1+1 does not always add up to 2.”  ?!
“I’m here to talk about mathematics,” the teacher said. “It’s time to put away the arithmetic; this is senior school!”
“Senior school!”
I didn’t end my study of mathematics in secondary school. I also studied it at university where I majored in engineering.
What was it the Apostle Paul said about putting away childish things?!
Let me return to the wealth of our nations:  I left university in the early 1980’s. In those days, it was not China that was rising into an economic giant, it was Japan! It was rising and overtaking every European country, until Japan was second only to America… It was so spectacular!
I first met a Japanese person when I was in my twenties and already working, yet I read every single book I could find about their prowess.
“Tell me about the minerals of your country?” I asked my Japanese friend.
“We have no minerals to talk of,” he said emphatically and proudly.
“What do you mean you have no minerals?”
As we talked about the Japanese rise, I was reminded of my lessons in mathematics!
And so I had discovered it was possible for a nation to be “rich” without minerals!
“We buy your minerals as cheaply as we can, and then we turn them into high-value products.”
“You mean you exploit us?”
“That’s not the way we see it. After all, what would you do with them if we didn’t buy them? Do you know what we do with your platinum or your oil?”
Then he added:
# “Our wealth creation model as a nation is not based on raw materials and minerals.”
“WEALTH CREATION MODEL?”  What do you mean “WEALTH CREATION MODEL???”
Deeply troubled (even insulted) initially, I knew there was something more to learn if I avoided becoming emotional.  The conclusions I reached changed the way I look at wealth, and totally empowered me. It changed my mindset.
The Tentmaker once said that our greatest battle is always in our minds… changing the way see things, particularly if we have held on to a certain perspective for a long time.
I hope it will do the same for you.

 

Pause:  When you have never done something before.

Joshua was an amazing general and leader of his people.  One of my favorite quotes from him is something I say whenever I have to do something new: “Now pay attention, because we have never been this way before.”

Simple words, but full of wisdom. There are many situations in life in which we find ourselves doing something new.  This is when we must pay real attention.

Maybe you’ve just been promoted to supervisor, manager, or even CEO. You might even have just become a member of Parliament or a Minister of Government for the first time:  #Pay attention, because you have not been this way before.

Perhaps you have been asked to serve on the board of an organisation or a company: #Pay attention, because you have not been this way before.

Then again you might be about to leave your job to start a business as an entrepreneur: #Pay attention, because you have not been this way before!

People who go into something for the first time without the humility to admit that it’s new, and that it requires learning the ropes, often pay a terrible price. In the process, they sometimes inflict suffering on themselves, the business (or government or NGO), and even those who follow them.

The Tentmaker said:  “Don’t be like them.”

A friend of mine was a senior executive in a global company for many years. When he decided it was time to start his own business, he passed by my office to announce his plans.

“I think those are great ideas, but why don’t you do a short course at a local college or online on entrepreneurship first,” I suggested.

“My friend, I have been running large international businesses. Entrepreneurship courses are for kids!” He replied with obvious indignation. I shut my mouth.

 Not long after, I sadly learnt that he had started something that failed dismally.

The other day, I learnt that one of the greatest football players had enrolled in a course to get a coaching certificate. When asked why he felt he needed such a course, he replied: “I was a player not a coach. As a player, I saw things as a player, not as the coach. Now I want to see as a coach.”

__This is the attitude you must always have.

Finally, don’t measure yourself against others by saying things like, “If so and so can do it, I can do it, too. After all, he was not so smart at school.”

That is the talk of someone who is not wise.

You can become a great entrepreneur.  But first go invest in learning everything you can about it. Take some courses. Join associations and clubs of entrepreneurs. Read their magazines and newspapers. Immerse yourself in understanding how an entrepreneur thinks, and reacts. Read books about or written by entrepreneurs. Attend conferences. Learn their language. Spend more time with them, every day. That is how you pay attention.

When you’re about to go somewhere you’ve never been before, study the terrain carefully. Even if you plan to chart a whole new course, learn all you can from the maps and the mapmakers that have gone before you.

 by Strive Masiyiwa

I once coined an expression to describe people or activities that waste my time:
“Time thief”!
There are a lot of “Time Thieves” out there.
The Tentmaker said:
“Ephesians 5:15-17 (AMP)
Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),
Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.”

by  Strive Masiyiwa

You must always be reviewing the way you spend your time. There are habits that easily creep into your lifestyle that limit your capacity to do things that make you efficient. Be honest in evaluating those habits.

The more you learn to manage time, the more you can do and the more effective you will be. It really is that simple.

The men and women who are going to take Africa to the next level are those really prepared to become serious, very serious.

Don’t expect others to take you seriously when you are not prepared to take yourself seriously. When you walk through that door, I want you always to know that I’m a serious person.”

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:30-41).

Even in these storms, those with the correct mindset will prepare themselves. They will train themselves to understand the times, and learn to prosper in its headwinds… they will mount on wings as eagles!

The eagle does not fear the storm, neither does it pretend it’s not there. It seeks to thrive despite the storm. Faith does not deny the facts on the ground, it overcomes the facts on the ground.