CHAPTER 1

Finding your purpose in life

There is a reason you were created the first place. There is areason you find yourself where you are at the moment. Thereis also a reason you are a medical doctor or a teacher. Thatreason is your purpose in life. If you have never asked yourselfa question as in what your purpose in life is, the time to do sohas come. Locate a conducive place where there is absolutetranquility, sit comfortably there, and meditate over yourpurpose in life.

Successful people are usually individuals with sense ofpurpose. They are strong willed human beings with visionand ambition. They will rather try and fail than not to tryat all. According to Ella Wheeler Wilcox, there is no fate,destiny, or power, which can hinder, control, or circumventthe firm resolve of a determined soul. Do you have thedetermination to succeed? Do you have a sense of purpose?What have you sacrificed for success? Finding your purposein life is essential, and when you do so, other things will fallinto place. Life will start making sense.

A person with a sense of purpose is never idle. He orshe is always looking for ways to invent new products. He isalways looking into any opportunity to become an employerof labor. He dreams big and takes risks. A person with senseof purpose does not relax and become comfortable with justpaychecks. Whoever that relies on paychecks alone goes frompaycheck to paycheck. Just paychecks will not make you amillionaire. If you have the determination to succeed, youshould make friends who reason alike. Stay away from friendswho will be pulling you down whenever you are climbing theladder of success. Avoid the company of the pessimists if youdesire success.

Most times people find it very difficult to change environment,change business or career. It is quite understandable,but you can never go wrong stepping forward. Your purposefor example might be to move to Iraq so you can bring peaceto the land. The point is that things might be rough, but assoon as you obediently make that move of faith and relocateto Iraq, things will change for good. Take a look at whathappened to Jonah when he was told to go to Nineveh andpreach the gospel of God. He did not want to do it. In anattempt to run away from God's sight, he got caught up withnemesis. Eventually, he did it but after going through muchadversaries just for disobedience.

The boldest step I have taken in my life is not coming toAmerica, but leaving my comfort zone in Newark, New Jersey,to come to Arizona of all places. On that faithful morning,I put my eight month pregnant wife, Linda in the car as wellas my 18 month baby girl, Uche headed to Arizona. I drove2512.58 miles from New Jersey to Arizona to complete ajourney of four days. This draws us back to my definition ofsuccess---the positive end product of an adventure or a plan.The journey was a great adventure. The trip was a successbecause my wife did not give birth to my second child inthe car and in the middle of nowhere, but a month later.Circumstances could have triggered labor while on the road,but the grace of God that surpasses the determination of faithsaw me through.

If you want to find your purpose in life, write down on apiece of paper what you have done in the past, what you aredoing now, and what you want to do in the future. The mostimportant of all is what you really want to do in the future.Even though your past experiences can help you developyour future and bring your purpose to a fulfillment, it is alsorecommended to make a wish list. Write down everythingyou wish to accomplish for the year. Paste them on yourmirrors, on your office desk, and in your bathroom. Each timeyou look at them, tell yourself that you must not give up untilyou have them accomplished. Do not let any year pass you bywithout at least one major accomplishment.

If you want to build a house, for example, do not wait untilyou become a millionaire. Of course, you will be a millionaire,but you have to keep striving until then. When you are talkingabout building projects, it is always a big expenditure, but donot let that scare you away from your purpose. Some peoplehave the money in bulk but some do not. Therefore, if youdo not, putting money bit by bit will gradually but definitelyget you going and will eventually finish it. It also depends onhow determined you are. Your determination in completinga house might require cutting down on clothes and otherunnecessary expenses. It is then the time to apply the basiceconomic concepts of scale of preference and opportunitycost. You just do the very necessary things for the mean-time.The rest can wait; after all, they are not imminent.

When you are working and have never thought of puttingsome portion of your income away for the rainy days, you needto think twice. There is going to be a time when you cannotwork anymore. There is nothing wrong in investing moneyin stock, real estate, mutual funds, 401K, life insurance, andso on. Even putting away $200 every month will give you$48,000 after 20 years of your hard labor. If you take $48,000and retire in a country with low cost of living, you will be okay.This amount of money will not make you to be consideredrich, but will help you get started with another phase of life.Success is all about planning.

What about those citizens on the...