Early abundance

Time passes so fast. And I am still in the same speaking and training business and this has been going on for so long. I am not slowing down.

People are fascinated to know that as of last count, I have done over 300 this year. I guess if you love what you do, then it’s no longer work. When asked how I am doing? My response has always been the same. “Doing more of the same thing but the only difference is that the scope is deeper, the reach wider and the work as fulfilling as ever.”

Now I see a lot of second or third generation people taking over the business or occupying the corporate positions. Many of my older friends in the different industries have retired and now I am dealing with clients who used to be their junior officers many years ago.

There are also many young super rich entrepreneurs entering the workplace. Many of them have net worth in Billions. Some of these young tycoons have been trained well by their parents. Their feet are on the ground. They are low-key. Once in a while you find them “guesting” in business talk shows but they are on the mission of promoting their business and companies. It’s not all about them but about the businesses they represent. I admire them.

But… there is also a breed of young entrepreneurs who are the anti-thesis of the grounded and humble. They flaunt their riches, they showcase their wealth and they make sure they are the center of attention wherever they go. And this is not a good thing.

Early abundance is now possible with the digital age. Some young entrepreneurs can invent apps and earn billions. Others stumble upon a business, make it public and then earn a fortune. But there is something everyone should know about Early Abundance.

Early Abundance is good when the recipient of the blessing is mature and responsible to handle it with care and discretion. Early abundance is a blessing yet it is a heavy responsibility to face. Many have been destroyed by this because early abundance can also lead to having an unrealistic set of ego, greed and pride. This is called Hubris. Here’s the reason why.

Suppose you do a business and hit the jackpot? Suppose you inherit a fortune? Suddenly you’ve developed the reputation as the golden boy, the new kid on the block, the person with the Midas touch. Everything you touch turns to gold. You get interviewed all over the place. You grace the business magazine covers. Your corporate communications department spins stories of your life and how you get to your level of success. Every head turns towards you when you walk into a room. The pretty girls give you that look. The men look with envy.

You’re the man! You’re the star of the show! You’re the talk of the town!

Your last song syndrome resonates with Sinatra’s unfading classic: “King of the hill, top of the heap!” And guess what? YOU’RE DONE!

When you succumb to the trappings of success, you’ll be on your way down.

Why? Because it is easy to enjoy success, what is harder is to keep yourself grounded and humble in the midst of all the attention and noise.

It does not take much effort to allow ego and pride to get out of hand. It is extremely hard to remind yourself that you are mortal, finite, from dust you came and to dust you shall return.

With this newfound wealth you do not know who your friends are anymore. Everybody has a personal agenda.

As I say in my seminars, the higher you go in your financial or Fame Empire, the more filtered are the Information reaching you. The people surrounding you will tell you what you want to hear. No one will dare tell you what you need to hear and take the risk of being removed from the king or the queen’s inner circle. Each “knight of the round table” has his or her own agenda and every moment of the day they will remind you of how wonderful you are, how beholden people are to you and how destiny and God has raised you up to be who you are in such a time like these.

Many rude and arrogant people have gone down this path and I mean down. Hubris is a result of ego and pride and suddenly the decisions to do things would no longer be objective and practical. Many businesses have gone down this path and many a career has fallen because of pride.

The same principle happens to every field of endeavor. Whether it is business, profession, ministry et cetera. And when you study those whose success has been sustained over the years, you will discover one common denominator in all of them, they maintain humility and continue to silently, quietly grow their business.

Scriptures is right all along. “Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Don’t lose everything because of pride and ego. Fight it.

Humility is the key to sustainable success. So if you happen to be a person who has been blessed with tremendous wealth and blessings early in life, do not believe your own press releases; keep yourself grounded. Go the way of humility. You can’t go wrong with it.

(Start the next year strong and start the next year right. Rizza Mantaring, Hidilyn Diaz, Jodi Sta. Maria, Carlo Ople, Randell Tiongson and Francis Kong will share lessons on how to achieve peak performance. Attend this one-day seminar entitled Power Up for Peak Performance! on Jan. 20, 2017 at Samsung Hall, SM Aura Premier. For tickets reservation contact April at +63928-559-1798 or Michael +63916-187-1506).