...Folks Just felt I must share this...

Excerpts from a lecture given by Mr Godwin C. Nwaogwugwu in Nigeria (Founder of US Embassy-Sponsored ImoOnline Youth Entrepreneurship Development Program, Located at Owerri, Nigeria)

Simple Analogy of Wealth Accumulation
"....Assuming there are 30 people locked up in a room with only 30 One hundred Naira notes, and each is told to grab as much as he/she can. Now the amount is constant (30 X N100.00 = N3000.00). At the end of the struggle One person came out with 5 notes (N500.00), Five people came out with 3 notes (N300.00) each, Ten people came out with one note (N100.00) each, and Fourteen people came out with nothing. This is how wealth is distributed. The One person who grabbed 5 notes is called ‘Upper Class’, the Five people who grabbed 3 notes each are called the ‘Middle Class’, the Ten people who grabbed one each are called the ‘Lower Class’ . In Nigeria we have a fourth class, the Fourteen people who got nothing, let’s call them ‘Destitute’.

Every society is usually like a ‘Pyramid’, with few people on top, and majority at the base. Therefore, the daily struggle is for people on top to fight and remain where they are (at all cost), while people below must fight to move up (at all cost). In most cases the resource (in this analogy the naira notes) either remains constant or dwindles rapidly (Scarcity), making the struggle even tougher if not violent resulting in social problems such as agitations, protests, wars, crimes, etc. Therefore, people must devise ways to grab the money others have and add to theirs. If you take away another person’s money in a legitimate manner, it’s called ‘Business’ and you may be hailed. However, if you do that in an illegitimate way it’s called ‘Fraud or stealing’ and you may be punished if you are caught. The struggle is dogged to finality, absolutely no sympathy for the weak and poor (Capitalism).

How People End Up Either Rich or Poor

1. The Mindset of The Rich and Powerful: People who get wealthy learn at an early stage in life that others will never let go their share willingly. Therefore, they must find legitimate ways to take some (if not all) away from them through crafty inventions, offering solutions to their problems (fake or real), forming alliances, dubious means, or taking over political power, etc.

2. The Mindset of the Comfortable: Those who barely survive learn at an early stage in life through parents that they can only survive by impressing people at the top (Employers) by being loyal and working hard for them for many years, so they can give them a little share of what they make (Salary), and retire some day at an old age to depend on whatever they managed to save (Pension). We call them ‘Workers’ or ‘Employees’.

3. The Mindset of the Poor: Those who remain destitute learn from an early stage in life that they should either look up to other people’s benevolence/ charity, hope on a divine intervention, or live on fate, perhaps one day they might get lucky.

Where Some of Us, Africans Get It All Wrong:
Having the right mindset is what leads one to where one wants to be in life, and that must be coded into the brain at an early stage in life otherwise it becomes a hard-start; a row against the storm. This is where most African parents and teachers get education wrong. Education doesn't give people wealth, rather knowledge. How you use the knowledge is left for you. You can use it to build either wealth or poverty. Being wealthy (if that is your life's goal) doesn't necessarily mean you will be happy. Therefore, don't assume everyone wants to be wealthy.

Next time don't show me a lengthy degree, demonstrate to me what you can do with your education, and you will have a meaningful career.. .."



- Excerpts from a lecture given by Mr Godwin C. Nwaogwugwu in Nigeria (Founder of US Embassy-Sponsored ImoOnline Youth Entrepreneurship Development Program, Located at Owerri, Nigeria)

...Good to hear other perspectives sometimes. Can't believe that some people still believe in 2013 that a fresh human head can make their business successful . How many ritualists are on Forbes first 100 Billionaires in the world?

Sorry guys, couldn't post full speech...no copyright..LoL!