Can We Create Wealth

Good evening, sir. I deem it a privilege to come across your ministry on YouTube. Listening to 25 minutes of your interview with a lady from Australia has opened my eyes to some things I have been ignorant about.

I love Bible as the word of God, and I also believe that God can make His people living a wealthy life, but somehow, I find it difficult to walk in the reality of it. But having listened to your 25 minutes talk, I know and felt that I have been going about it in a wrong way. And there is much more I should learn, know, and apply.

My question now is, does the environment of a person influence his productivity? And how can I use my environment to a better productivity as far as getting wealth is concerned?

Thank you, sir, you are a blessing to our generation.

Fatawu Fuseini Mordecai.
From Ghana.

Dear Fatawu,

I (RDL) had a wonderful visit a little while back speaking for churches and businesses in Ghana. I felt that the country was in a growth phase and that there was much opportunity. I look forward to returning to Ghana.

We are all the products of the culture in which we grow up and which surrounds us. This is true for our family culture as well as that of our community and country. One of the ideas I emphasize in my books and speeches is that God wants us to be obsessively preoccupied with serving our fellow man. He has built a world where wealth is the consequence of successfully doing so.

I cannot adequately emphasize, as I try to do in my important book Thou Shall Prosper: The Ten Commandments for Making Money that the goal is not ‘getting wealth’ as you put it. The goal is to find a way to serve God’s other children. The wealth will follow of its own accord.

Naturally, you do need to learn how to read the seven basic financial reports. You do need to improve your communication skills. You do need to learn how to genuinely love others – your future customers, suppliers, and partners. I cover all this in detail in my book which, as a serious entrepreneur, you have probably already read.

Wherever you live is your starting point. Later, as you build and grow a business, you might want to relocate to a place of dense population. But for now, discover what people around you need. It would be working against the flow to sell fishing gear in a land-locked area or to produce many styles of shoes in a society that prefers going barefoot. You need to look around you and explore what people in your area really need. Then figure out how to supply it at a price that customers will pay.

At the same time, there are spiritually based cultural norms such as industriousness, honesty, and risk-taking. While respecting the lifestyle where we live is important, in our global world we can learn about other paths and choose to follow a different way. Sometimes, trying to better ourselves can lead to negative feedback from those we love. They might see the desire to improve as a condemnation of their own behavior or worry that if we do something differently it will hurt our relationship. This is sad, but it must not be allowed to deter your progress.

Build your determination to change. After all our ability to change is one of the main distinctions between us and animals. The important thing is not what is outside of you (your environment) but what is inside of you. Your willpower, your vision, your faith, and your integrity.

Onwards and upwards Fatawu.

As our friend Zig Ziglar used to say, “See you at the top,”

Rabbi Daniel & Susan Lapin

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