SECURING YOURSELF IN AN INSECURE WORLD.

I thought about putting pen to paper on this sensitive subject for quite a while, the urge to do so has been tainted with sentiments and facts bound together in a Yin and Yan. There is this saying that "Everybody plays the fool, and there is no exception to the rule". Whether consciously or unconsciously, we play the fool to some things we do not fully understand, not because we do not want to understand them, but because we have chosen to psychologically detach ourselves from such thinking or we are just being unrealistically sentimental about it. Either way to our own peril.

A bulk of this writing is directed at Africans, Carribeans, Asians, South Americans and African-Americans. I am more particular about black Africans on this subject, we are at the bottom of the economic ladder when it comes to standard of living, per capita income, life expectancy, food security, primary health care etc. Our position is not accidental, things do not just happen, they happen for a reason. 

Inter-generational wealth can be transferred in three ways: (1) Saving Money (2) Insurance Policies (3) Dependable Investments. How many black Africans have one of these three functionally in place, not to talk of having all? What most Africans have succeeded in having as their inheritance is poverty! And what most Africans alive today will leave for their children as inheritance is poverty! Same applies to some people of other races mentioned above.

It begins with expensive burial rites and ceremonies in the name of culture and tradition. A situation where the living is compelled to bury the dead with monies they don't have to please people they don't like!

Saving money, having insurance policies in place and venturing into dependable but low risk investments as means of wealth transfer from one generation to another is something that has been mastered by Europeans and whites all over the world well over 200 years ago. A major reason why they are on top of the economic ladder. An average white kid or teenager at the untimely death of one or both parents starts out with an average of $100,000 while an average black kid with same circumstances as the white kid starts out with $0 because his parents are either ignorant, selfish, insensitive or do not simply believe wealth transfer is a priority. 

You hear my people say: "It is not in our culture to do insurance", but our culture supports going to borrow money to bury the dead when you don't have it. You hear some say: "My religion forbids having insurance policies". But your religion does not forbid begging and asking people for financial support for your young family when you untimely pass on, your religion does not forbid living on benefits and social welfare accrued from the sweat of other people to support your family. Indeed, your religion forbids you protect yourself and your family against uncertainties for the price of a visit to KFC or Burger King? Think about this....

And others say: "My wife may kill me if she gets to know I have a life insurance". What did you do to her that will make her consider killing you? "My husband will strangle me if he knows I have a life policy". These are things I have heard from friends, families and clients over the years. If there is one thing such people should know, in countries like UK, USA and other developed nations, your partner will be the first suspect should you die mysteriously with a life policy in place. Murder and feigned suicide is quite difficult to get away with in climes with advanced electronic, digital, biometric and forensic investigative systems. 

The most common response is: "God is my insurance". Of course, He is the Alpha and Omega, the arbiter of all things. But we have seen men and women of God die untimely in accidents, sickness, fatal injuries, depression, murder etc. Are you saying they died because they sinned or because you are better than they were? Why don't you let earthly things remain earthly and heavenly things remain heavenly. 

Several people of faith have died because of ignorance and negligence, uncountable have died in developing and under-developee countries due to inhalation of generator fumes because they refused to buy smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors on the premise that Jesus is their saviour and Mohammed (SAW) their protector. Imagine the height of ignorance! Believing to know when you do not know is folly...

Numerous number of people have lost their mortgages and have their homes repossessed due to serious injuries or life threatening illnesses, they could not work and they have no life policies (mortgage or non-mortgage in place). These are mortgages of over a £1,000/month but not having a £20/month policy as cover in the face of uncertainties, they lost their homes and lost the equities. Those without mortgages in same situation  could no longer function as a family due to lack of funds. They became a burden to friends and families. Now, who is wiser, the lender or the borrower? 

Having insurance policies is important the moment you have dependants to cater for. God forbid untimely death, accident or critical illness on any of us. Whether dead or alive, none of us would want to see our loved ones going abegging, aborrowing and asorrowing. Let us contribute to inter-generational wealth transfer and by so doing, elevate the black race from the scourge of poverty at the bottom of the ladder to a more appropriate economic position on the ladder.

THE MASTER KEY

In my sojourn so far in this world, I have observed and experienced certain things that either progressed or regressed me. I made mistakes, learnt my lessons and came out a better person. I took chances, lost some, won some. I am glad I got a lot of things wrong, I had to get them wrong so I could eventually get them right. By so doing, I found something invaluable. I discovered a phenomenon that often elude my perception. I came to understand a paticular aspect of life out of so many aspects. I was shocked at the treasure revealed to me. It is The Master Key!

Going back to the basics,  we were made to understand that the world was made visible from the invincible. Whether you look at it from the spiritual or scientific perpective, what we see and know as the world today was either formed by oral commands of God or by the coming together of atoms and molecules that caused a loud bang. This proved that the tangible has got something to do with the intangible, as a matter of fact, the intangible gives birth to the tangible.

When a man sees a woman he fancies, he begins to scheme how to get her to like him. He will do everything possible to catch her attention. He may eventually marry and live with her for the rest of his life if what he feels for her is strong enough. His intangible thought about the woman in the form of words and affection will eventually become tangible when the physical woman becomes his own. It is called DESIRE!

When a student decides to study medicine and become a medical doctor, he/she will begin by putting his/her head to books, score excellent grades, write exams, study at night, pass medical school and eventually become a qualified doctor. A thought finally became a reality. It is called DESIRE!

Is there anything you want to become, you want to have, you want to do in life that you think you cannot achieve? Impossibility is NOTHING, desire is EVERYTHING! It is written that you should call those things that are not as if they were and they will physically manifest with faith. If the world was created with words, tell me that thing that cannot be made possible. If some people desire wrongly and got answers, tell me why your good desires should fail. 

Jezebel desired Naboth's vineyard, she did everything humanly possible to have it as hers, she eventually got it. Hitler, in his spirit of vengeance against the Jews desired power in Germany, he got it and unleashed the terror he had in mind. Abraham Lincoln desired to become the president of the United States, he was defeated several times, yet he achieved his desire. Even the Tower of Babel was built by desire. What do you want to achieve in life? When opportunity comes your way and there is no desire, nothing will happen!

The master key to unlocking any door to your dreams is DESIRE. When you desire something and you do not get it, it means your desire is not strong enough or God simply does not want you to have that thing for reasons beyond your understanding. It is important to desire to be a success in life, resist poverty and failure by all means necessary. Poverty breeds hatred and jealousy, those two are the bedrock upon which evil thrive. A poverty stricken mind believes every rich man owe him something, he has the entitlement mentality and his mind is full of anger, envy and frustration. This is worse than cancer! No wonder developed countries adopted social welfarism so people can stay safe in their homes!

The worst thing that can happen to any man or woman is to die without achieving the purpose for which he or she was created. It is often said that the greatest talents the world is yet to see are buried in the graveyard. The problem is, we think we have time when we actually have no time. Life is very short, like a flower, we are gone with the wind. Procrastination is the thief of time. Whatever you have in mind to do, NOW is the time to do it....