The Keys to True Prosperity

What is Prosperity?

If you follow my work, you’ll know I’m committed to the philosophy of prospering. What does prosperity mean? According to The Oxford Dictionary, prosperity is the “state of being successful, especially in making money”. The Merriam Dictionary says prosperity is “the condition of being successful or thriving; especially economic well-being”. My definition of prosperity is having a full head, a full heart and a full pocket, but let me expand on that. To prosper you need to be expanding intellectually, emotionally and financially.

To me prosperity is not just about money, but it does not exclude money. It encompasses all of our life – intellect, emotions, health and finances. To prosper you need to grow your intellect or knowledge base. You need to be hungry to learn more about the glorious world we live in. I recently wrote about the important of educating yourself by reading, studying, visiting galleries and fully participating in the community.

Prosperity and Meaningful Relationships

To prosper in life you also need to have meaningful relationships. I know from first-hand experience how difficult it is to maintain healthy relationships whether they are romantic, with family members or even long-term friendships. People can be difficult and so can I! But we must never give up on having meaningful connections with other people. And it is impossible to prosper unless we take care of our health – you can’t be simultaneously sick and prospering. Finally, prosperity is about being financially successful. A lot of people don’t think you need money to be happy, but in reality being poor is a struggle, and it’s no fun to be under financial pressure either.

Prosperity and God

A lot of people, who’ve had a religious upbringing, think that God wants us to be poor and struggling. I do not believe that our God’s name is Ebenezer Scrooge. We have a God of plenty – he’s hardly cash-strapped. The Bible tells us that a love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. I have counted 1700 Bible references that encourage us to prosper, including "The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to,” (Deuteronomy 28:8) and “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (John 1:2). Even when Mother Theresa died she had $4 million in the bank. How else are you going to help the poor if you don’t have money? And take a look at how many key figures in the Old Testament who had money – both King Solomon and Abraham were loaded. When King David made an offering he gave gold and silver that, according to its weight, would now be worth some $87 million in gold and $13 million in silver, a grand total of $100 million. His coffers were hardly bare if he was in a position to give that much!

Prosperity and Self-growth

I believe that every individual has a right to prosper in life – emotionally, intellectually and financially. It’s not good limiting yourself, putting a ‘lid’ on your marriage, your business and yourself. I also believe that our emotional, intellectual, physical and financial lives are connected. If your business has ceased to grow, have you explored the possibility that you also have stopped growing? Perhaps it’s been a while since you learnt anything new, introduced a new innovative produce, or got creative in your advertising. If your marriage is floundering, perhaps you have ceased to be inspiring. Are you stuck in a rut? How much time are you spending in your tracksuit pants in front of the TV? Now do you understand why your relationship is not prospering? If you are not disciplined, your lack of discipline will impact on other areas of your life.

Prosperity and the Mind, Body and Soul

Mind, soul, body and finances are interconnected. Remember that prosperity is either an option or a commitment. If your prosperity is an option, not something you are passionate about, you will never ever achieve it. To succeed you need to have a single focus on success. Whenever you make a commitment, the commitment defines you. You cannot fail without your consent and you cannot succeed without your commitment. Some people, with almost nothing, become prosperous, but other people never give themselves permission to prosper. Are you someone who has so much and does so little or are you someone who has done much with very little. Make that commitment to prosper! But if you want to prosper you must participate. Your mind, heart and body must work in synchronicity.

Prosperity and Mentors

If you are fair dinkum about striving for prosperity, start by finding a mentor – someone who has succeeded in business and in their personal life. You should aim to learn from every individual you admire, that could be your boss, people in your social networks, perhaps even a parent. Also read biographies on well-known individuals you admire. Pay particular attention to how they overcame adversity and built wealth. Too often in business, leadership is the answer and the problem. If a company is going backwards there is a good chance it has an inept Chief Executive Officer. A senior manager once told me that when deciding a career move he focused chiefly on the CEO of a company. If he was impressed with the individual he took the job, if he found the big chief uninspiring, he passed, regardless of how much money the new job was worth.

Success is not difficult. It is what some people choose to do and others don’t. And I have discovered that the harder I work the luckier I become. No man has ever drowned in his own sweat. Never be afraid to work hard in a job.

If you are committed to prosperity continue on your path of self-education. Read books, listen to motivational CDs and get involved in a community project. Ultimately no one decides his or her future, but we do decide our habits and it is habits that decide our ultimate destiny. Stephen Covey said, “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny”. That is how life works.