I always love the articles of Bo Sanchez. Again, I am posting here one of my favorite collection of his article so for me to read them over and over again.
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Source: http://bosanchez.ph/do-you-want-to-prosper/
Do you want to be free from financial worry?
Do you want to pay your debts?
Do you want to send your kids to good schools?
Do you want to buy a car that doesn’t break down every two months?
Do you want to buy your own house?
Do you want to, one day, walk up to me and give me a one million donation? (Yes!)
Friend, all this is possible.
For the next six weeks, my goal is make you prosper.
How? You’ve got to learn a new system.
The legendary business guru, W. Edwards Deming, said, Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you’re getting.
What did he mean by that?
That if all the cars coming out of a car factory have inverted bumpers, then that factory’s system is perfectly designed to produce cars with inverted bumpers.
It’s the same with your finances. If you have a mountain of debt, if you can’t make ends meet, if you’ve got more “month than money”, it’s because your financial system is perfectly designed to give you your financial struggles.
In this next six weeks, I’ll teach you a new financial system.
This system is composed of six actions:
o Believe
o Serve
o Grow
o Duplicate
o Invest
o Tithe
By making changes in your financial system, you’ll be able to change the results you’re getting in your financial life.
Today, I’d like to share about the power of belief.
Prosper Your Mind, Prosper Your Money
My friend told me a funny story.
He said he was in the States, talking to a Fil-Am guy. The man was boasting about the technology in his country.
He said, “Here in the US, I have this gizmo in my car that tells me very accurate directions of where to go. When I hop in, all I have to do is type in where I want to go, and presto, that gadget will guide me. It’ll tell me whether I should turn right or to turn left, until I arrive at my destination. It’s really fantastic.”
My friend smiled and said, “I guess we’re not as lucky. In the Philippines, when I hop in the car, I say to my driver, ‘Jun, go home.’ I close my eyes and sleep. When I wake up, I’m already home…”
Oh, I know the feeling.
We just don’t know how blessed we are to have house helpers and drivers and gardeners.
But with that blessing comes a responsibility: I believe our duty is to help them prosper.
My Passion Is To Teach
The Poor To Prosper
Each week, I preach to thousands. I preach on TV too.
I also lead a small group of very big businessmen—all multi-millionaires. We pray and study the Bible together.
But each week, I lead another small group in our home, composed of my driver and three helpers. In our small group, we do the same thing. We pray together, study the Bible, and share our lives. Last year, I taught them how to save, invest, and tithe.
In last week’s meeting, they thanked me for teaching them how to prosper. They were crying tears of joy! I was so touched by their gratitude.
My driver said, “Sir, for the first time in my life, I now have savings. I’ve never saved before. Now, I have P20,000!” He said he has P5,000 in the bank, and another P15,000 invested in a business. My driver lives in the slum area. To him, P20,000 was like a million pesos.
My helpers? Last week, the three of them opened an account in citiseconline, an online trading platform. Yes, my helpers will be investing in the stock market under my guidance. (A year ago, one of them already invested in a Euro Mutual Fund—and earned very well.)
I shocked them. I told them, “If you’ll continue the investment program I taught you, you’ll retire as millionaires!”
You should have seen their faces. I wish I took their picture!
Awe. Joy. Disbelief. Most of all, it was hope shining through their eyes.
In other words, I was changing their beliefs.
Once they prosper their minds, I knew their money will prosper too.
I Want To Give You Hope
Six years ago, I started preaching on how to be truly rich.
I knew it was controversial. A few people were turned off. They asked me why I kept talking about money. It’s so unbecoming of a preacher, they said.
One person even emailed me and said, “Bo, you’ve become worldly. I wish you go back to your old self and talk only about prayer, faith, and love. Stop talking about money!”
I’m sorry. I can’t do that.
Let me give you two reasons why.
First, the Bible talks about money more than any other topic. Goodness, it talks about money more than prayer and faith combined. Jesus spoke about money more than Heaven and Hell.
Second reason? I love you. (Sorry for being mushy.) I really do. I want you to prosper. I want you to have financial freedom.
My heart breaks when I see God’s children suffer in want. And I know this pain I feel in my heart isn’t just mine. And I know that God’s heart breaks as well. I believe God wants you to prosper in all areas of your life—including your finances.
It’s possible! There’s hope. You can prosper.
And the first step of becoming financially free is by changing what you believe. Prosper in your mind, and you prosper in your money.
Is Money Evil?
Yesterday, I showed my audience a crisp P1000 bill in my hand. I asked them, “Is this evil?”
There was a split-second pause. And then some people answered, “No!” But it wasn’t convincing.
I knew it was their subconscious at work.
Consciously, they knew money wasn’t evil. But deep within, their old programming was pulling them.
That’s our problem.
I said, “If this is evil, why does Anawim, our ministry for the abandoned elderly, need P700,000 every single month to feed and care for the poorest of the poor?”
“And if this piece of paper is evil, why do our two orphanages (Tahanan and Grace), our scholarship fund (Pagasa), and our streetkids ministry (He Cares), need another P700,000 to do God’s heavenly work on earth every month?”
I gave them my punchline: “And please tell me, how can this P1000 bill be evil if the person holding it is very good? And handsome?”
And everyone laughed. (They thought it was a joke!)
I Want Good People To Prosper!
Friend, money is evil only if the person holding it is evil.
But money becomes very good if the person holding it is good.
That’s why I want you to prosper!
I know you’re a good person.
Read carefully: If good people won’t be wise investors and entrepreneurs, then all the money of the world will go to hands of selfish men. Then God can’t use that money.
Banish the idea in your mind that money is evil. Drive it away from your subconscious. This warped idea had already robbed you of so much wealth!
Remember, every object in this world triggers an emotion in you. Everything has what I call an “emotional association”.
For many people, money’s emotional association is this…
“Money = Evil”
If this emotional association is branded in your subconscious, you’ll never get rich.
Because we don’t like to be evil.
So we’ll reject money like it was the devil itself.
Unless you change your emotional beliefs about money, you’ll never become rich. It’s impossible.
Here’s the truth: You’ll gravitate towards what you subconsciously want, and avoid what you subconsciously do not want. If you believe that money is evil, you will subconsciously avoid money.
Remember the people who criticized me for teaching about money? They’re very few. So I made an informal survey. I discovered that 80% of them were financially struggling.
Why? Because in their minds, they believe a spiritual person shouldn’t be talking about money or focusing on money. So subconsciously, they avoid it. And inwardly, they actually feel more holy because of their financial struggles. I pitied them so much.
But the idea that “money is evil” isn’t in the Bible.
Instead, let me quote three passages for you to change your emotional association of money.
Create A New Meaning For Money
I’m a father of two fantastic boys.
That’s why I understand this next passage.
Jesus says, So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:11)
This is so true! I’m not perfect, but I love to give good gifts to my kids. Instead of “Money = Evil”, burn this new emotional association in your brain…
“Money = God’s Provision”
Next. The Bible says, It is God who gives you the power to create wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18) Question: If God thinks that wealth is evil, why would He give us the power to create wealth in the first place? Pretty illogical, right?
Create this new emotional association in your brain…
“Money = God’s Power”
When you earn money, you’re using God’s power. When you work, God’s power is working within you.
Confess this, “I have the power to create wealth.”
Say this Faith Declaration everyday!
One final passage. The Bible says, The Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. (Psalms 35:27) Wow. God is happy when He sees you successful. He claps. He sings. He hops. He does the boogie when He sees you blessed.
I think I know the feeling.
Last year, through her savings program, one of my house helpers built a small house for her family. My other helper bought a piece of property in her hometown. Despite those expenses, the two of them still had P15,000 in each of their bank accounts—now ready to be invested in the stock market.
Gosh, I was so proud for them. Yes, I felt pleasure in their prosperity!
And I believe God takes pleasure when we prosper too.
So burn this emotional association in your brain…
“Money = God’s Pleasure”
Some people think God wants us to be poor because Jesus was poor. Yes, Jesus was poor. But I believe poverty is a special call He gives to very special people, like celibates in religious orders.
But the Bible also says that you need to provide for the needs of your relatives and immediate family, or you’re worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8)
If you’re like me, you’ll understand what I’ll say next: My heart is big and I have a very big family!
Oh, this topic is very close to my heart.
Let me tell why…
How I Changed My Belief About Money
Once upon a time, I was a poor missionary.
I had very little money.
Once, my hair was growing long. People were telling me, “Bo, you need a haircut.” I said, “I want to look groovy.” Actually, I didn’t have money for the barber.
One of my joys was eating in a restaurant and reading a book. But many times, before I entered a Jollibee (Yes, there was already a Jollibee then. I’m not that old!), I had to first count the coins in my pocket. Many times, I had to turn around—because I couldn’t afford even one burger.
I couldn’t even buy the things I needed for my preaching.
For example, I couldn’t afford books. I would go to a Bookstore, read a book, return it, go home, and go back the next day to continue reading it. If the sales lady or the security guard looks at me in a funny way, I’d just go to another branch.
But all that was nothing. What was most painful to me was my inability to help the people I wanted to help…
“Why Don’t I Become Rich?”
I remember a friend who called me in the middle of the night. He said, “Please pray for my baby, Bo. She can’t breathe. We’re in the emergency room of a hospital now. They’re asking for a deposit, but we don’t have money.”
I realized they weren’t just asking for prayers. They were asking for money. But I didn’t have any! So I called up a friend who I knew was rich. But no one was answering the phone. (It was 2am.) I tried another friend. As I dialed, I remembered he was abroad. I called up a third person. And a fourth person. And a fifth person. All night, I was trying to call up my rich friends.
And then it hit me, “Why don’t I become rich myself?”
And little by little, the wrong emotional link of money was replaced by new emotional links. I began to see money as God’s provision, God’s power, and God’s pleasure.
Soon, I was praying a new prayer: “Lord, prosper me so that I can prosper others.”
God Planted A Seed Of Prosperity In You
I don’t know what you’re financial condition is now.
You may be in debt.
You may be in a financial famine.
You may be without a job or stuck in a low paying job.
You may be where I was 12 years ago—wanting to help people but not having enough to help.
Friend, here’s my message to you: There’s hope. Prosper your mind and you prosper your money.
When you were born, God planted a seed of prosperity into your life.
Yesterday, I gave our Feast attendees (that’s what we call our gathering) a small potted basil plant as a symbol for the six weeks we’ll be talking about “Prosper!” I also showed them what the plant will look like six weeks later—it was a large plant in a large pot.
I told them that if they want their plant to grow, they needed to do one thing: Transfer the plant to a bigger pot.
If they don’t, their plant won’t grow. It’ll become a bonsai.
Friend, the container of the plant is a symbol of your belief.
And the seed of prosperity will grow to the size of your belief.
The reason why many people don’t prosper is because their wrong beliefs prevent them from prospering.
They don’t believe that they will prosper.
They don’t believe that they deserve to prosper.
They don’t believe that God wants them to prosper.
Their container is too small!
Inside You Is A Giant
Yesterday, I also placed the tiny seed of the basil plant on my hand. I showed it to my audience. It was smaller than a mongo seed. I told them, “But inside this seed is the tree.”
I then looked at them and said, “You are a seed. And inside you is a multi-millionaire.”
I may have been imagining it, but I really felt that right at that moment, people were changing their beliefs.
I then shared a powerful story of someone who created a new wealth by creating a new belief about herself…
The Story Of A Champion
When Marion Luna Brem was thirty years old, she was diagnosed to have cervical and breast cancer. She had her cervix removed. And then her breasts.
And then the very painful chemotherapy.
Even with the chemo, doctors gave her only two to five years to live.
That wasn’t all. She had other problems.
First, while taking her chemo, her marriage ended. Cancer had taken its toll not only on her body but on her marriage. Her husband divorced her.
Second, she was in a financial hole. She owed $500,000 in medical bills.
Third, she had no job. She was a housewife most of her life. How could she now feed her two boys?
One day, she was having a really bad day with the chemo. She was mostly on her knees, kneeling on her bathroom tiles, hugging the toilet bowl. She was vomiting the entire day. She felt absolutely awful.
Meanwhile, she could hear her two kids making a lot of noise in the kitchen. And then she smelled something burning.
Her two kids entered the bathroom, holding a pan of macaroni and cheese. “Don’t worry Mom,” the oldest said, “only the bottom is burned. We can still eat the top part.”
Right at that moment, something clicked in Marion’s heart. She knew that dying wasn’t an option. She grabbed a powerful belief in her heart. She believed she must not die. She cannot! And she pulled herself from the floor.
That was a defining moment for her.
Though still weak, she put a cheap wig (because she was bald) and a prosthesis on her bra, and went out to apply for a job.
She knocked on a car dealership and applied to sell cars. She literally begged for a job, explaining her situation to the man.
She couldn’t even enter the dealership. She was told to go away.
After two weeks, and after 16 rejections, she was inside her car, crying. She was losing hope.
But she held on to her belief.
This wasn’t the end of her story. She wasn’t going to end it this way!
And she got out and tried one more time.
And that was when she changed her strategy. “I won’t tell them that I need a job,” she said, “I’ll tell them that they need me!”
She knocked on the door of one more car dealership and said, “I can do something for your company. I can sell your cars!”—and she was accepted on the spot.
Once upon a time, a doctor gave her only 2 to 5 years to live.
Today, she’s is strong and healthy—twenty-five years later!
Once upon a time, she was not only penniless, she was buried in a mountain of debt.
Today, Marion has built a business empire with revenues of $45 Million a year. And a part of this empire is her very own car dealership!
Nothing Is Impossible!
Marion was a 30-year old jobless housewife, stricken with cancer, divorced by her husband, and in debt. Yet today, she’s a multi-millionaire running many companies.
Friend, there is hope for you.
You don’t have to be poor.
You don’t have to be buried in debt.
You don’t have to suffer financial struggles.
You can be financially free.
How?
Change your beliefs.
Prosper your mind so you can prosper your money.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
