This morning I was sitting in a Matatu (local commuter bus) seething, raging, crying. I’m frustrated and weary. See, everyone who reads this blog knows I have very lofty dreams, ridiculous dreams some of them.

But, Life!

It’s just kicking me in the nuts all the time! No breaks, no helping hands, no retreat, no surrender! I like to say I’m a billionaire in training but right now, I can’t even muster a dollar. Yes, I mean 1$. Talk about hopeless disparity between my reality and my dreams.

So anyways, I’m sitting in this matatu raging at God, the Universe, myself, the high school crush who never gave me time of day, President Obama, the birds, the bees and everything in between, when the oddest thought popped into my head.

A single thought so ridiculous in the context, I almost laughed out loud. Fortunately, my public sensibilities kicked in and I restrained myself from asking the lady seated next to me if she’d heard what I did.

It went something like this.

Me: “I’m so tired. Why can’t you give me a break, what more do you want from me? haven’t I given my best? When will my dreams come true, huh? Why are others less…(insert whatever you want here)…than me succeeding and I’m just so bloody stuck?“
Me: “I’M SO F*&#-ING PISSED“
The Voice: “Don’t get Mad, Get even!“
Me: “Ha ha ha ha ha heee he he heh uh huh.…“
Me: “Wait a minute…Huh? That doesn’t even make sense. Get even with what? With Life?“
The Voice: “YES!”

Got me thinking. Get even with Life. Hit back. Prove Life wrong. Show it that I’m worthy, I’m capable, I’m tough as nails. I’m Jack Bauer, Chuck Norris and Golola Moses put together with a topping of Bruce Lee!

Yes. Overcome my fears and limiting beliefs.
Yes. Become an innovative, dynamic and highly respected billionaire entrepreneur before I’m 40.
Yes. Cultivate and enjoy an outrageous loving, romantic and nurturing relationship with my awesome wife and be worlds best dad to my kids.
Yes. Contribute and positively influence thousands of men to achieve greatness.
Yes, pay off all my debt and be absolutely financially free all the days of my life.
Yes. Drive that ridiculously expensive yet capable Range Rover Sport.
Yes. Get even and then some!

Getting even sounds like much more fun than being pissed off and miserable. Yeah, I’m definitely doing that. I’m going to work harder, better, longer until my goals and dreams are achieved and life begs for mercy. Then the next time I find myself pissed, seething and raging, it will be because all this time, life was a much weaker foe than I thought!

So tell me, are you going to get mad with your life or will you just get even?

Shalom

So I hate to admit it but i’m not rich. Phew, there, I’m out of the closet. Apparently tho, If you took the time to really sIt down and study rich people closely, you would come to the other shocking revelation of the day.

Rich people aren’t really any better than you! Yes, they aren’t smarter, more beautiful or even as fun as you. So why are they rich and your not? Well according to T. Harv Eker, bestselling author of “The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”, there are 17 distinct differences between you and the rich, which are:

1. Rich people believe: “I create my life.” Poor people believe: “Life happens to me.”
2. Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose.
3. Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people want to be rich.
4. Rich people think big. Poor people think small.
5. Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles.
6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people. Poor people resent rich and successful people.
7. Rich people associate with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.
8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value. Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.
9. Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor people are smaller than their problems.
10. Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are poor receivers.
11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
12. Rich people think “both.” Poor people think “either/or.”
13. Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people focus on their working income.
14. Rich people manage their money well. Poor people mismanage their money well.
15. Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor people work hard for their money.
16. Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear stop them.
17. Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people think they already know.

So, I’m taking a bit of time, well plenty of time to dwell on these and compare with the rest of my life to identify why i’m not rich yet. I hope this helps you because I want everyone of you to succeed.

Shalom

It seems like in this world we live in today, it’s impossible to actually live without borrowing money. Everywhere you turn either yourself or someone you know is indebted.

Well over the last several weeks, a series of events all related to loan sharks and borrowed money have opened my eyes to certain truths that I’d like to share with you today. It’s my hope that you and I will see the fallacy of this dangerous lifestyle of borrowing that we are unconsciously comfortable with.

Lesson 1: Luzira express. Failure to pay debts is a criminal offence punishable with jail time.

Ok, this one I honestly didn’t know but it’s a scary fact. Even if you owe someone 10,000UGX and they take you to court over failure to pay, well you can be sentenced to jail time. I came to learn this lesson by the unwarranted instruction of a two loan sharks to whom my brothers were indebted. Suffice to say, they both have been arrested and only released upon lots of lobbying. I never used to get it but the basic principle is that getting you arrested is a strong arm technique by the sharks to force your friends and family to cough up the money in order to save you a one way trip to luzira. Now that used to piss me off but later I learnt that it’s actually a criminal offence to fail to pay your debts. A lot of us take it for granted that if we don’t pay our debts, what’s the worst that can happen? Well a couple of months in Luzira could happen. Take an example of those oh so popular salary loans we yuppies like to take out. A guy I know who works at a certain standard bank actually encouraged me to defraud my bank by taking a huge loan and not paying by simply saying I don’t have a job anymore so I can’t pay. Sounds really sweet eh? All that cash with no downside. Well a week ago I discovered that banks can actually take you to court and prosecute you all the way to cell block D if you fail to pay. So lesson, failure to pay your debts is tantamount to theft and you are a criminal if you don’t.

Lesson 2: The Borrower is the slave to the Lender

This one I first saw in the bible. Proverbs 22:7 says the Rich rules over the poor and the Borrower is a servant to the lender. This is a simple lesson I’ve seen in my own life and the life of many of my loved ones. When you borrow money, you are indebted to the person or system that lent you the money. Which means, in order to get your freedom back, you need to do everything in your power to pay them back. It is in the process of paying back that you become a slave. You go to work to day in day out to earn money to pay off your creditors. Trust me I’ve been there. Giving away half my salary every month to pay off some debts. Missing out on all the wonderful things I could have been doing with that money and at the same time shrinking my life to fit in the paltry salary that remained. Not even being able to buy a pair of shoes or a shirt. I began to loathe my job and my very existence because it seemed like I was working for my creditors. Others become insomniacs, get high blood pressure etc. Point is, you lose your freedom and become a slave till you clear that debt.

Lesson 3: Never stand surety for anyone. Period!

I don’t need to say too much about this one. It’s also biblical. Proverbs 6:1 says “My child, suppose you agree to pay the debt of someone, who cannot repay a loan. Then you are trapped by your own words,” and Proverbs 17:18 “It’s stupid to guarantee someone else’s loan.” Subtle!

I needn’t say any more about the folly of standing surety. What is surety you ask? Surety is simply guaranteeing a loan on someone else’s behalf. Failure of that person to pay means that you pay the outstanding amount. Now the problem with this is, a lot of people have no problem defaulting on their loans leaving you to face the music. Besides, by the time someone asks you to stand surety for them, they believe you are a Mugaga. Worse still though, if the person fails to pay, and you can’t pay either, well, it’s off to luzira for both of you! Back to the example of my brothers. One of them stood surety for a cousin who failed to pay. Guess who was picked up at his office by the police? Yep, my brother. Only some frantic running around spared him a one way trip to Luza’s. The prisons bus spent the whole afternoon eagerly waiting just for my bro. So key lesson, any failure to pay by the person is your failure as the one who stood surety. You are just as liable. So, as for standing surety, as the old adage goes, JUST SAY NO!

Lesson 4: Borrowing can ruin your reputation, your relationships and your life

Ok now this one I have seen way up close. A very close cousin of mine is like 5000 feet deep in debts to banks, loan sharks, friends and family. He hasn’t had a job for the last 6months. Several people in my family have had brushes with harassment and arrest because of standing surety for his loans. To put it mildly, they don’t ever want to see him ever again. His name isn’t even supposed to be mentioned. It’s like in Harry Potter, the reference to the villain is generally ““He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”. There, relationships destroyed. Nobody in their even wildly, intoxicated frame of mind would touch him with a ten foot pole. He has been marked by the new Credit Reference Bureau as a “Delinquent borrower” so he can never borrow from any bank in Uganda for a minimum period of 7years or is it 10? Whatever, the point is reputation destroyed. If he gets arrested by any one of multiple creditors, he’ll have a criminal record to deal with all the rest of his days. Plus there are ripple effects. When I looked at my other brother facing arrest for some loans, I couldn’t help think, so what happens to his wife and kids if he’s incarcerated? Who looks after them when the creditors take all their property to clear their dues? Their lives would also be destroyed. So no reputation, relationships or life.

Lesson 5: Borrowing is a sign of selfishness, impatience and indiscipline

Now don’t get me wrong. Not all borrowing is bad. But habitual borrowing underlines a much bigger problem. Why do you borrow? Simply because you want something but you don’t have the patience to wait to get it. It’s about instant gratification. I must have it now. We live in a generation where we expect everything to be instant and to get it with the least possible work. Borrowing is the path of least resistance. You want a car? Get a bank loan to buy it now even though in reality, you can’t afford it. You want to impress that girl? Borrow from your work buddies to take her to rock night and buy her black label. Spent all your salary paying for that really expensive apartment? Just borrow some money to see you through the remaining 3weeks of the month. Get the picture? Borrowing arises from selfish, impatient desire to have things that we can’t afford in the moment (and probably shouldn’t anyway) and we don’t have the discipline to live within our means and save towards getting that thing debt free. I’m definitely not perfect. I wanted a car so badly and I couldn’t wait so I borrowed money at an exorbitant interest rate and spent 2years paying for a car that in the end, I don’t even like that much! What’s more, the car isn’t even worth half what I borrowed now. Sigh. Even worse, we borrow to pay debts! Don’t even get me started about that crazy cycle. So lesson, if you are habitually in debt, it’s time to have a long, hard and brutally honest examination of yourself and your lifestyle. You might be shocked at what you discover about yourself.

So these are a few critical lessons I’ve learnt about borrowing. I’m sure i’ going to learn more as these situations in the family are being cleared up. My wife and I generally live by a strict agreement to never borrow unless it’s a matter of life and death or if it’s for investment. Otherwise, we’d rather starve than borrow and believe me, there have been times when we did. I must say though, after all the drama I’ve seen courtesy of loan sharks these past 6weeks, I’m so thankful we took this stand. I’d rather starve in my own house than have to worry about being made someone’s b@*$h! Now this advice is difficult for most but if you want peace in your life, and you want to avoid Luza’s, just stay away from borrowing. I’d love to hear some of your own loan shark stories and lessons so hit me.

Shalom

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:19

Who goeth a borrowing, Goeth a sorrowing.
~Thomas Tusser

Debt, n.  An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.
~Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911

Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them.
Ogden Nash

Be assured that it gives much more pain to the mind to be in debt, than to do without any article whatever which we may seem to want.
Thomas Jefferson

Live within your means, never be in debt, and by husbanding your money you can always lay it out well. But when you get in debt you become a slave. Therefore I say to you never involve yourself in debt, and become no man’s surety. If your friend is in distress, aid him if you have the means to spare. If he fails to be able to return it, it is only so much lost.
Andrew Jackson