Diary on Wealth creation in a Depression

An illuminating Business Breakfast

The following is a summary of the post with the same title found in my site johnreason.com. It is based on notes that I took at a Business breakfast hosted by Arise Church in Christchurch, New Zealand this year (2009). The speaker was pastor Neil Smith from Planetshakers Church in Melbourne, Australia. His teaching was very illuminating and I thought could bear a wider audience so am sharing the high points here with this blog’s readers.

The message was directed to Christians, but I believe that you will find something useful here even if you are a person of another faith or no faith. Whether you work for somebody or work from home, ideas are important in advancing your business, whether your business is to sell you skills to a boss (i.e you are an employee (see how Robert Kiyosaki differentiates employees from three other main work quadrants), or you have an online home business or internet marketing affiliate program such as I follow, or a Christian home based business or have bought some sort of franchise in your quest to break out of the rat race.

Here follows a summary of the first part of the message:

Why are you in Business?

• When you go to work you don’t just “go to work” (as though it was something separate from your Calling).

• You go to do what God has called you to do. Christian business people are not just here to “resource the Kingdom”{i.e pay tithes and offerings to their churches}.
• Ask the question: WHY are you in business? A good book to read on this is “The E-Myth Revisited: why most Small Businesses don’t work and What to do about it” by Michael Gerber . It is a technical business book which asks the question just posed.

Business is about creating

Creativity in business

Business is in essence about creating. A by-product is that you prosper.

• Seriously wealthy people look for creative ideas, and don’t {in their private social time}talk about money.

• One creative idea can make all the difference to your business.

Pastor Smith gave the example of a businessman he knows in a certain Asian city who had one creative idea about the marshy real estate in a certain Asian city’s harbour entrance. He noticed none of the big ships entered a particular harbor entrance and on enquiring into it a bit  further was told that the waterway was too shallow and needed to be dredged.  The businessman also noticed the many acres of swampy land sitting idle in the area contiguous to the waterway.  He offered to dredge the waterway for nothing if he could have the swamp land, which the city authorities gladly agreed to.  Later on this “useless” land acquired for the price of dredging the canal became very valuable and he made many millions from it.

Creativity comes from God

What was this man’s “wealth creation strategy”?

• Every Monday he fasts and prays-he does not “go to work”

• on Tuesday he and his team of business associates pray through what he felt God says to him on the previous day.
• Then they have a meeting.
• They have recognized that creativity comes from God.  And they have recognized that creativity comes from WHO you are (your “Being”) rather than how BUSY you are (your “doing”).
• In the business community today many people suffer from some kind of mental problem because of stress.
  
• Stopping doing what you are doing and taking time out to re-evaluate (in this case pray through) your goals is healthy
  

We need to recognize as business people that we are conduits delivering a concept to someone else. The truth of “Calling” is knowing what is in you -and letting it flow out of you.

These notes will be continued in a future post. You are always welcome to leave comments or suggestions, and consider bookmarking it.

Have a great day!

John Reason,
Salesman, teacher, Article Writer, Internet Marketer.
© 2009-2010

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