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hey were both huge names in the boxing world. “Iron” Mike Tyson was the youngest ever Heavy Weight Boxing Champion at the age of 19. George Foreman in his heydays was a force to reckon with and the only person who could stop him was Muhammad Ali in the famous rumble in the jungle bout. The recent fight between Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor has nothing on “The Rumble in the Jungle”.

Both “Iron Mike” Tyson and George Foreman were paid millions of dollars for their exploits in the boxing ring. Both faced major bankruptcies just few decades after their illustrious careers. Only George Foreman turned it around. Today, George is a thriving businessman with interests in the health sector, specifically with selling Grills that even nutritionists and doctors recommend.

The Difference is How Money Was Handled

It is easy for George and Tyson to employ people to manage their finances. However, if you personally are not involved in the daily management of your monies, chances are that your purpose will suffer a major hit in life. Very many passionate visionaries get their purpose in life messed up because they do not have a firm grip of the ins and outs of their monies. Personal financial freedom and management is an absolute must and key thing.

I have come to realize that [ictt-tweet-inline]nearly all humans are naturally on the “spend” mode when it comes to finances[/ictt-tweet-inline]. For example, “Iron” Mike Tyson did not have a big problem with income in his heydays. He clobbered one McNeely in 29 seconds and was paid millions for it. I am told that Iron Mike bought a Rolls Royce to match each color of suit he wore! He was responding to a natural instinct to spend.

Is it an Event or a Process?

As a pursuer of purpose, you will need to intentionally adopt another mode with your finances, and that is “invest in the long term” mode. The difference between the two things is that one is an event and the other is a process:

• You will not win the lottery. If that is the mode God ordained for people to become wealthy, He would have automatically qualified us for it at birth.
• You will not inherit money when a distant uncle dies and leaves you with a fortune. Come on, take a look at your family
• You will not cash in on the stock market at just the right time
• God will not send you “miracle money”. He is not an author of confusion who in one place provides the systems that we need to apply to be wealthy and in another place provide the shortcut to it
• Your prayer and fasting will not give you an added advantage in your finances over anyone if you do not get a grip of your monies

Financial Outlook of a Person of Purpose

In other words, as a visionary and a person of purpose, getting sorted with our financial discipline is a master skill of success. What we need to learn is that we have to be so hawkish about our finances to such an extent that we are the most knowledgeable people about our monies. Some people do not know some basic personal financial questions such as:

• How much did you spend last month in total?
• What is your net worth right now?
• What is your burn rate? How much do you need to survive for X number of months should your income stop flowing?
• How much do you have in investments?
• What is the amount of money you want to have set aside for retirement?
• What actions must you take daily to attain your hugest financial goal?

Miracles or Prudence?

For the most part, the average person just “spends” all they have. There is no purpose or goal in their finances. Isn’t it any wonder that those on the “spend” mode are the ones that are banking on a miracle from God for their finances? I want you to do something. Take a trip to a semi-urban area or even an urban area where people of low income live. Something is coming up that is destroying the generations. There are multiple “betting houses” here and there opened in every corner. The business people running them are banking on the “spend” mode mentality.

The same cannot be said with neighborhoods of people who are wealthy. They do not get their money through gambling or sports betting. They have systems and processes that they subscribe to. One thing about the wealthy is that they star at money and bills until they blink. This means that they have a very firm grip of their finances.

The following are the four major things that you need to study and understand about your money daily.

1. How much income can you make?

I have said it over and over that income is all about value. Money and Value have the same number of letters. One stream of income is not enough for a visionary. I heard a visionary say the following:

“When you allow God to dream through you, when you download a great vision and purpose, One million Dollars is loose change”

My translation is that one single source of income cannot be enough for your purpose. We need to always ask, seek and find a way of earning an extra income. Passive income is something that has been touted by many. I have noticed that nearly every country on the face of the earth has mechanisms where everyone can earn passive income.

2. How much Expenses can I Curtail?

Remember we are on spend mode by default. I have learnt that if we delay spending we tend to save quite a bit. First, we realize that we probably do not need to make the purchase. Second, we realize that we could get a better deal elsewhere. For example, you could buy groceries from the store or from the farmer. Time is extremely important when you are making purchases. Do not be in a rush. Bid your time and get a better deal. Lastly, we realize that there is a difference between the needs and wants. The goal of curtailing our expenses is to make sure that our wants come from an increase in income and not from the same income we had before the want come about. In other words, if you wanted to get a better car, create more value as we have seen above to bring in the extra income to purchase that want.

3. How Much Can I Save and Invest

This is where the magic happens. Immediately after High School, I got a jog as a voter registration clerk with the Electoral Commission of Kenya. I earned lots of cash in a short period of time that was tax free. Devoid of the knowledge of personal finances, I gave away chunks of that money to my parents, bought jeans and took them to dry cleaners. 20 years later, if I had invested that cash in stocks or a place where it earned 10% each year, I would be financially free today. Saving and investing is not an event. It is a lifestyle that is boosted by a long time/term view of maturity. This must be a goal for every purpose pursuant.

4. How Much Reserves Do I have to Protect Me?

Things normally happen. The job is lost or the contract is not renewed or the markets tumble. What do you do? A visionary should have a goal of putting aside an equivalent of their expenses each month to cater for a half a year at least. Again, this cannot be done overnight. This is done with a long term view of life. This is what will give you some breathing spaces should something out of the ordinary happens (and it always does).

In addition, it is important to keep track of retirement’s savings and social security fund. Many people have no clue how much they have (if they are contributing) in terms of their social security.

Your purpose will remain on course to the degree that you have sound personal financial prudence. Otherwise, the recipe of meddling in other things that are not related to your purpose is brought about by personal financial imprudence. Let’s take heed.