Most people have been burnt doing business the wrong way.

Whenever I've lost more money than I should, it's simply because I wasn't thinking about planning objectively or making decisions from an informed position based on an available set of facts.

Sometimes we make decisions based on emotions and not informed decisions based on business reality.

Well! I can relate to this because sometimes we are so passionate about our dreams that we often fail to see the reason to monetize our gifts or talent.

Recently, I found myself reading Sam Adeyemi's "Parable of the Dollar" and Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich and Happy Don't Go to School".

I could not help but wonder why smart people die broke and average persons die wealthy.

Let's take a look at some steps we can take in monetizing our intellectual properties and ensuring we do not die broke.

Love this but wish U can go into detail

Hey, check my online store for juicy stuff. Link is on my signature

1. Become a person of value.

One lesson I learnt during my sojourn as a scripture union student from the biblical parable of talent in Matthew 25:14–30 was the fact that I came to the understanding of the exact or possible meaning of talent.

This position was further corroborated by renowned authors like Jim Rohn, John Allen and Robert Kiyosaki in their books. Even our Lord Jesus Christ alluded to this universal principle by his lifestyle and actions.

Whether or not you agree with this position of mine is a story for another day. But the parable also left me wondering why the master punished the servant who simply buried his one talent.

What offence did he commit?

While I was happy that I know that talent is nothing but a seed that can be equated to a grain of wheat, a yam seedling, maize seed, etc. I did not understand why the master punished the servant who simply buried his seed.

Was it not his seed?

I finally got my answers from two books. The parable of the dollar by Mr Sam Adeyemi and John R. Anderson’s Cognitive Psychology and its implications.

I bet HRHQueenPhil sha wants to know what I found, don't you?

As a student of History and Behavioural studies, I have always wondered why people make the decisions they make per time.

I was surprised to learn that this servant was simply punished for not adding value to the seed his master gave him. After he buried the seed, he did not tend to it.

His colleagues who also buried their seeds took further steps by caring and nurturing these seeds into fruition. And their reward was the great harvest they enjoyed.

Whilst wondering whether the servant who got 5 talents had an advantage over others who got less, I arrived at a startling question.

Na wifi English them take ask me that question.

“Person wen e plant corn for him backyard and the one was plant 1 acre of corn for bush, na the same work them go do? “

My answer obviously was a resounding “No.”

But before I could recover, another question was asked.

“Why you answer no?”

After I don think am, small, I come tell am say my answer na no, becos person wen plant for bush go certainly do more work than the person when plant for him backyard.

This was not only elating; it was also educative and informative.

So what lessons did I learn from this?

I learnt that your idea is nothing but a seed. I also learnt that the seed is what you make of it. If you will get an acre or a 5Kg harvest in 5 years, depends on how you care and nocturne your seed.
If you simply bury it without adding value to it, nobody will pay for it. Hence that seed, talent or idea won’t fetch you a dime if you do not add value to it.

Can you add value without becoming a person of value?
Ponder on that.

Shalom