WHY MOST PEOPLE ARE BROKE
Most people are broke because they don’t really understand what money is. Money is nothing more than a piece of paper or a numerical number on a computer. Essentially, money has zero intrinsic value. The value of money is what we attach to it. If you are thirsty and stuck in the Sahara desert with a bag of money, your money will be useless. Suddenly, a bottle of water becomes more valuable than a bag of money.
In reality, a tissue paper is more valuable than money… Let me explain. In 1946, after Hungary experienced hyperinflation due to poor economic decisions by the government, Hungarian money—Pengo—became a kindle for fire. You couldn’t even use it to buy a piece of tissue paper.
Closer home, in 2008, president Mungabe took a very bad economic move. He printed money to pay off salaries, farmers and other government debts. This led to hyperinflation and within no time Zimbabwe’s economic system crushed. Everybody had money in sacks and no one was willing to work. After all, if you work for money, what will you be working for because money couldn’t help you? Shopkeepers refused to sell their goods. The few who had food in their stores hoarded it. There were no medical supplies and doctors refused to go to work. Everything was in a mess. If you were lucky to get a loaf of bread, you had to exchange it for a wheelbarrow of cash. A 2kg bag of maize was more valuable than a sack full of money. Crime rates increased and some people even killed to get a meal. Having something you can hold proved to be more valuable than the pieces of paper or the numerical numbers on a computer that we call money. You see, in a sinking titanic, you don’t need money. What you need is a life-jacket!
With that said, I have a word for every entrepreneur: Just as a country’s economy can not be built by printing more money but instead by increasing its levels of production and improving people’s living standards, the work of an entrepreneur should be to create value and not to chase after money. By the way, money is very strange. If you chase after it, it runs away. However, when you ignore it and focus on creating value, money comes from all corners looking for you.
Bottom-line: Focus on creating value and giving more than you are paid for.
If your goal is chasing after money, I am sorry, you will die poor because money cannot be chased. It can only be attracted by the value you create.
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[Side note: It’s important to highlight that what we call Money is actually not Money. Money used to be money in earlier centuries when it was backed by gold. Nowadays, money is backed by nothing hence it’s fiat currency. However, for the purpose of simplicity in this article, I’ve used money and fiat currency interchangeably.]
Much love + Respect,
James serengia
