In the summer of my freshman year of college, I had a conversation with my father, which was a defining moment in my life. I realized the sacrifices my parents made for me to have a better life. What I hope to accomplish with this letter, memoir, wisdom, or whatever you call it, is to inspire you on your journey to financial freedom. I believe anyone can achieve wealth with the right foundation: mindset, determination, and knowledge.

First, why do you want to be wealthy? Do you want to be wealthy because you want to own beautiful things? Or do you want wealth so you can live life on your terms? Whatever your WHY is, keep it close to your heart and mind as you encounter the face of adversity. Your WHY will be the fuel to keep you going. Let me tell you WHY I want to be wealthy.

Early in 2003, my parents and I immigrated to the United States from Kenya. My parents dreamed of coming to the United States starting at a young age, a better life with more opportunities for their families. Most of their childhood took place in the villages of Kenya, similar to the countryside of the United States. Life was hard for them. They didn’t have cars parked in the driveway or a refrigerator stocked with food, like most American families. They walked miles to school because school buses did not exist in their village. Every evening, they used candles to work on homework because electricity was not as accessible to them. My parents worked extremely hard to leave their village and move to the city of Nairobi, starting their careers in business and healthcare.

First, I want to express how extremely hard it is to immigrate to America. The image below is just a glimpse of the process some families go through.

This process can take 5+ years for some people. Coming to the US from another country, especially a developing one, is like winning the lottery. Their decision to immigrate to the US shaped me into the person I am today.

My reason for wanting wealth is ultimately freedom and opportunity. Freedom from exchanging my time for money. The freedom for my family and I to live life on our terms. I want to make a significant impact, advancing my heavenly father’s kingdom here on earth, by spreading the gospel. I want to build schools in Kenya to teach young girls, sciences, mathematics, and technology. In hopes it will lead to the breakout of their impoverished lifestyle, empowering them to pursue entrepreneurship and change their communities.

That is my WHY and daily goal I continue to strive to achieve. I have mentioned wealth a lot in this article, but what is wealth? Wealth means different things to different people. To some people, wealth means having a ton of money in the bank, paying the bills, and buying nice stuff. When I searched the definition of wealth, I saw this:

an abundance of valuable possessions or money.

I do not believe having an abundance of money equates wealth. I think there are many forms of wealth, including health, opportunity, and love. If you are in good health and have a family who loves you, then I consider you wealthy. The wealth I am covering is financial. My simple definition of financial wealth is as follows:

An abundance of financial assets that earn while you sleep. Assets that produce income passively allowing you to attain freedom without the exchange of time.

To be financially prosperous is simple but takes time and persistence. What most people seem to forget is the time part of accumulating wealth. The key to building wealth is by creating value for others. The more you focus on solving the problems people have, the more likely you are to be financially prosperous. People will pay you if you solve their problems and bring value to them. Why do you think the Bezos, Buffet, Gates, Winfrey, and Zukerbergs have accumulated so much financial wealth for themselves? They have solved problems and created vast amounts of value for society. Money and financial wealth are two different things. Money has three functions in society. Remember this. Money serves as a

Medium of Exchange, Unit of value, and store of value.

A brief history of the origins of money. In the early civilization of hunter-gathers, the economy of exchanging goods was done through a barter economy. If I had a basket of berries and you haunted an animal, and we wanted to trade, bartering would accomplish this. As civilization continued to advance, we needed a new economic system to transact exchanges because bartering had limation. Imagine if two parties are establishing trade where one party had an item the other party wanted, but the party didn’t want what they have. The creation of currency solved this problem, and that is why we have money today. Do not focus on accumulating currency accumulate assets.

As you create value for others and solve their problems, they will give you a form of currency that civilization has decided upon, transacting exchanges and storing value. Money itself has no intrinsic value for you. You can’t eat money or wear money. I mean, you can, but I don’t think it will taste good or look right. Money is just a vector we use to express value. Money is how we move wealth from one another. We use cash to accumulate assets that compound over time to gather more assets, resulting in financial wealth. These assets continue to earn while you sleep, resulting in freedom. Building financial wealth ultimately boils down to building assets by solving problems and creating value for society.

I believe God has instilled a passion in my heart to serve others. I don’t know what it is, but helping and inspiring others to be their best gives me unexplainable joy. As someone who loves to serve, I wanted to share my thoughts on qualities I believe that define a great leader.

I have read many articles on leadership and observed countless individuals who call themselves great leaders. You may be a leader of an organization, church, or family. I see myself as a leader. “But wait,” you may be thinking, “I thought you said you love to serve? How can you lead and serve at the same time?” I was reflecting on these questions and others when I began this journey uncovering “LEADERSHIP” and what separates good leaders from great ones.

Some of the questions that came to mind were, What is leadership? What does it mean to be a great leader? Are great leaders born? Or are leaders made through their actions and experiences? If you have read this far, you must be passionate about leadership, or you have finished binge-watching the latest season of your favorite show, and you don’t know what to do with your time. I’ll assume that you are passionate about leadership 😉.

Wikipedia defines leadership “as a holistic spectrum that can arise from higher levels of physical power to display power and control over others.” Yikes!!! That’s a little extreme right? Geez, who wrote that . . . Thanos??! (That’s an Avengers reference for those who don’t know who Thanos is.) Another definition, this one from Dictionary.com, says leadership is a “position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group.” Okay . . . Not bad, I can resonate with that definition. But after reading both explanations, I can’t help but feel there is more to leadership than merely displaying power or directing people.

When I shifted my focus from “I am guiding that person to success” to “How can I serve that person so he or she can be more successful in reaching their full potential” mentality, I become a better leader.

Let’s assume there are two managers of a TV store, one worker had a boss named Ron, and the other worker had a boss named Sarah. I am using managers as an example because we are fimilar with managers and their roles. Let’s continue the boss man Ron wants to sell two TV’s he has left on stock. So, with his swagger walk, he goes to one of his employees and says, “Hey Justin, I need you to sell those TV’s before the store closes.” While Sarah chooses a different method with her employee and says, “Hey Michael, how can I help you sell those TVs on sales before the end of the day?” Both approaches work, but I believe Sarah’s way was better. Her strategy to help and empower her worker to accomplish the task presented an opportunity to establish trust and a positive influence. I know that was a rudimentary example, but I believe when a leader has a heart for serving others, she can better inspire and influence her followers to take action.

When we as leaders rally a group of people to be followers of a mission and vision we set forth. We must humble ourselves with a servant centered heart for others. When our thoughts become more of “How can I serve them?”, “How can I work with them to accomplish this task?” and most of all, “How can I push them to grow to their full potential?” When we ask these questions, I believe they embody the attributes of a great leader.

Another distinction that separates good leaders from great leaders is the way they think. Our thoughts define the essence of our hearts. Many leaders have a self-centered mindset, that translates into how they lead. They focus more on the “I can” than the “how can I help,” which, in the long run, limits their effectiveness to influence their followers. The ability to lead is essential don’t get me wrong. But, that ability to me does not mean anything if the leader is the central focus. What type of leader are you? Are you a leader with a self-centered mindset or an altruistic mindset for others? How you answer that question is up to you. Great leaders are those who invest their time and effort into others. They are so incredibly passionate about serving others to be successful and reaching their full potential, that their actions can not go unnoticed by their people. Their whole purpose is to inspire and move their followers towards a higher calling in life more significant than themselves.

The call to leadership is an invitation to serve and rally a group of people towards a common mission and vision. Great leaders are not great because they are born with a talent to lead. They are great because everything they do is centered around people. They know to be effective in leading is only developed through persistence, dedication, and passion for others. To be a great leader you must put the interest of others before your own. I hope that you will help you see leadership as a calling to serve, empower, and love others and that you will instill fire in the hearts of your people.