"Is it WRONG to Desire Wealth?" - THANKFUL THURSDAY

Greetings, friends!

What are YOU thankful for today? Well, besides the fact that the sun is out again today I am so thankful for YOU - the many friends that I have made through this process. Several of you I have talked to in one way or another. Most of you I have not - except through the podcast or through this blog - but, nevertheless, I am THANKFUL FOR YOU!

In today's podcast I break away from the actual book ("Think & Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill) in order to discuss a basic topic that needs to be considered as we discuss this classic.

Just the idea of "growing rich" gives some people a strange and uncomfortable feeling. Why? Well, I obviously cannot answer that question for everyone BUT I do know of two "reasons" with which many struggle and it is those two that I discuss in the podcast for today.

"Is it WRONG to Desire Wealth?"

First of all, again, you can use anything you want in this journey. It does not have to be money - whatever your goal is. You can apply it here.
HOWEVER, many - if not all - of our goals DO involve money and, perhaps (likely?) more money than we have at this moment. So, why the struggle?

1. Religious Teaching/Thought - A verse in the Bible that has been misquoted so many times is found in 1 Timothy 6:10. What we often here is, "MONEY is the root of all evil." Please note, that is NOT what this verse says! The actual quote from this verse says the following, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..." There is a big difference there, my friend. The thought behind this is the danger of allowing the LOVE OF MONEY to become so great that money - and the pursuit/love of money - becomes your MASTER! Bob Proctor (http://www.bobproctor.com) puts it this way - "Money makes either a TERRIBLE MASTER or a WONDERFUL SERVANT." This may not be an EXACT quote, but it's pretty close! Bottom line - whatever "good work" that you are able to do now can be multiplied many times over with greater financial resources. What are doing now? Think about how wonderful it will be to be able to multiply those efforts many times over!

2. Societal Teaching/Thought - We also struggle with the idea of feeling GUILTY if we desire wealth. Look around you. So many people are struggling and suffering. There are so many needs in the world. And I desire wealth? Shame on me! And, there are plenty of people readily available to shake their fingers as well! However, just like in point #1 - we can actually DO more good in this area IF we allow money to be our SERVANT and not allow it to become our MASTER! Have you seen the commercial on television where the guy talks about his company GIVES AWAY one pair of shoes for every pair they sell? That blows me away! Think about it though - what allows them to do such a thing? Honestly, they have to be able to "afford" to do such a thing or that company would sink. And, if that company were to sink and fail then many children that are currently benefiting from this "free shoe" outreach would go without.
See what I mean?

Who are you now? Wealth will only AMPLIFY and MAGNIFY who you are at this moment. If you are a greedy person - money will not magically transform you into a generous person. It just won't happen. If you are not already reaching out to those that have need - you will not do so just because you have money. HOWEVER, if you ARE a generous and caring person now - you will have the opportunity to MULTIPLY your efforts beyond your wildest dreams!

So, honestly - as for me - I DESIRE wealth so that I may MAGNIFY my plans and my efforts even now.

May I share one of my "dreams" in this area? One thing I plan to do when I start my seminars is to donate 10% of the money taken in for each seminar admission ticket. No, not AFTER all of the expenses - but right off of the top. So, for example - if the seminar brings in $10,000 in admission, then I want to donate $1,000. My goal? On a regular basis I want to be able to donate $5,000 just from the ticket sales to my seminars and, I'd love to donate this to the "Make a Wish Foundation". That $5,000 is actually what it takes - on average - to fulfill one dream for one of these special young people.

Thank you for allowing me to share that with you!

So...if you struggle with those thoughts and ideas I'd love to hear from you and, perhaps help you move on past that struggle if possible.

As always, I encourage you to send any feedback - good or bad - considering the podcast and/or my blog information.

So....as always...

"Make it an AWESOME Day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike Spillman