I have been a huge fan of Bo Sanchez ever since I chose to learn more about Financial Wisdom. I read almost every book that he published and articles that he shared in his website. I even become a regular attendee of The Feast in Pasig along with my siblings and friends. That's how much I admire and believe him.
With the articles that he wrote related on how money works, "How to be a Billionaire" is one of my favorites. I read it many times over and over again.
And I'd like to share it with you. Here's the exact words of his article:
One day, a man got lost walking in the desert.
The next day, he was still lost.
After two days under the scorching sun, he was very thirsty.
All of a sudden, he saw a little wooden shed.
He ran to it, thinking of only one thing—Water!
When he arrived there, he saw an old, rusty water pump sticking from the ground. He gripped the handle and began pumping like a mad man. But nothing came out.
Disappointed, he stepped back how to make it work.
Looking around, he saw a jug covered with dust.
When he grabbed it, he saw a piece of paper stuck on it. The message read, “Open this jug and you’ll find water. Don’t drink it. Pour it instead on the pump. And you’ll have all the water you want.”
He popped the cork.
True enough, the jug was filled with water. Lovely, thirst-quenching, water.
Now imagine you’re that thirsty man.
For two whole days, you haven’t drunk water. Your mouth is so dry, your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth. You’re literally dying of thirst. And you’re now holding a jug full of water. But the message says that you should throw it away!
For a moment, your heart is torn.
What if the message was a joke? A cruel prank? What if you poured the water on that rusty pump and nothing happened?
But the man in our story chose to take the risk.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and poured the water.
He held the handle and pumped like crazy.
A few seconds later, torrents of water gushed out. Indeed, he had more water than he could ever need!
He drank to his heart content. He also found water containers to bring with him in his journey and filled them up to the brim.
But before leaving the place, he filled the jug with water.
And underneath the sign attached to it, he scribbled, “I tried it. Believe me, it works.”
You Have A Choice:
Drink Now Or Drink Forever
This is a great picture of why people are poor.
The money that you hold now, no matter how small, is like that jug of water. And you always have a choice: You can drink now or you can drink forever. You can have money now or have money forever.
How? By investing.
A lot of people don’t invest.
They spend whatever they have.
I’ve met people who earn P10T a month or 50T a month or P500T a month—and they spend everything. (Yes, I’ve met a lot of high-income poor people!) That’s why their money pump remains dry. And they’ll remain poor forever. It really doesn’t matter how much people earn. What matters is how much they invest.
Investment is a crazy decision.
It’s as crazy as pouring that last jug of water into the pump.
Friend, you have money now.
It may be small but you have it.
And you’re standing in front of a money pump.
Actually, three money pumps:
· Business: Traditional, Franchise, Networking, etc.
· Property: Rental Property, Buy and Sell, etc.
· Paper: Bonds, Mutual Funds, Stock Market, etc.
But today, I’d like to focus on the “Paper” money pump.
Not everyone can start a business right away.
Not everyone can buy a property right away.
But almost everyone can invest in Paper Assets.
Friend, you have a choice.
Will you simply consume your little money?
Or will you pour it into the money pump—so that it produces more money for you?
I call this sowing in time of famine.
Don’t Wait For Better Times
Before You Invest
In the Bible, Isaac sowed in time of famine.
Crazy, right?
Shouldn’t you keep whatever seeds you have to eat?
But because he did that, the Bible says, that year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had sown, because the Lord blessed him. He continued to prosper and became a very rich man.
Wow.
If you want to be rich, you need to sow in time of famine too.
When you have very little money, that’s the time to invest.
Here’s a promise: The seeds that you sow in time of famine will give you your greatest harvest too.
Do you want to prosper?
Here’s a Bible passage that will tell you how.
Invest When Your Money Is Small
Proverbs 21:20 says, The wise man saves for the future but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.
Are you wise?
Let me tell you the story of Jack and Jill.
Jack and Jill went up the hill to get a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. And the people who saw the horrific accident, they sang and clapped their hands, “Lalalalalala…” (Our nursery rhymes are very strange.)
If all this time, you’ve always been wondering what happened to Jack and Jill after their fall, now you’ll now.
Jack had brain surgery and he recovered.
But he had no health insurance—and his high medical expenses made Jack’s family very poor. This experience changed his life. The emotional pain created an inner resolve in him.
Jack told himself, “When I grow up, I’ll never be poor!”
At age 15, he started a small business.
Everyday, he sold peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to his classmates. Every month, he earned P2500, which he invested in the Stock Market. His uncle advised him to buy the stocks of strong, solid, great companies. For the next 5 years, he was faithful with his investments.
When he reached 20 years old, he volunteered in Anawim, a ministry for the poorest of the poor. He received only a small allowance and didn’t have any savings. From then on, he couldn’t add to his investments anymore.
Jill Saved At Age 27
Jill had a different life story.
The fall from the hill didn’t affect her too much.
No traumas. Except for a few scratches, she was okay.
She lived a happy-go-lucky life and didn’t save at all.
She worked as a mountain climbing instructor. So her fall from the hill affected her after all, at least subconsciously. She made it her lifelong goal to prevent people from falling.
But she lived like everyone else—spending her salary on “stuff”. Nothing was left at the end of the month.
But when she was 27 years old, Jack called up Jill and invited her again to “Go to a prayer gathering called the Feast.” There, she heard a handsome preacher say that it’s okay to be rich if your heart is in the right place.
That experience changed her life.
At 27 years old, she began to save P2500 a month. And like Jack, she also invested it in the Stock Market—the same strong, solid, great companies that Jack invested in.
She was so faithful to her investments, she didn’t stop until she reached 65 years old.
Happy Retirement
One day, when they were both 65 years old, Jack and Jill had lunch together after the Feast.
While waiting for their dessert, Jack said, “My service in Anawim is so happy and fulfilling. But I guess at my age, I think I’m ready to retire.”
Jill said, “Me too. At 65, it’s getting a bit difficult to climb mountains.”
That was when Jack touched her hand said, “Jill, remember that day we went up the hill to fetch a pail of water?”
“Yes,” Jill said. “You fell down and broke your crown and I came tumbling after. How can I forget?”
“Do you know why I fell?”
“Why?”
“Instead of looking at where I was going, I kept looking at you. I had a big crush on you.”
Jill blushed. “You did? Jack, I had a big crush on you too!”
For a few minutes, both of them couldn’t stop laughing.
Jack Pops The Question
That was when Jack looked at Jill and said, “I’m 65 years old. I don’t have much time left.” He knelt on the floor, held her hand, and asked, “Jill, will you marry me?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she said, “Yes!”
After a few hours of celebrating their old new love, they sat down to discuss their finances.
“How much money did you invest?” Jill asked.
Jack said, “That was a long time ago. For 5 years, from age 15 to 20, I invested a total of P150,000.”
“That small?” Jill looked at him with pity. She said, “For 38 years, from age 27 to 65, I invested a total of P1.17M.”
“Wow,” gushed Jack. “I’m marrying a rich woman.”
“I’ll take care of you,” she squeezed his hand. “But I wonder how much money we have?”
“Let’s take a look.”
Both of them called up their Stock Broker.
Both were totally shocked…
For Those Who Like To Look At Tables
Here’s what happened…
Jack Jill
15 30,000 0
16 30,000 0
17 30,000 0
18 30,000 0
19 30,000 0
20 30,000 0
21 0 0
22 0 0
23 0 0
24 0 0
25 0 0
26 0 0
27 0 30,000
28 0 30,000
29 0 30,000
30 0 30,000
31 0 30,000
32 0 30,000
33 0 30,000
34 0 30,000
35 0 30,000
36 0 30,000
38 0 30,000
39 0 30,000
40 0 30,000
41 0 30,000
42 0 30,000
43 0 30,000
44 0 30,000
45 0 30,000
46 0 30,000
47 0 30,000
48 0 30,000
49 0 30,000
50 0 30,000
51 0 30,000
52 0 30,000
53 0 30,000
54 0 30,000
56 0 30,000
57 0 30,000
58 0 30,000
59 0 30,000
60 0 30,000
61 0 30,000
62 0 30,000
63 0 30,000
64 0 30,000
65 0 30,000
Total Amount Investment:
Jill: P1.17Million
Jack: P150T
Total Retirement Money if it Grew at 20% A Year
Jill: P220M
Jack: P1 Billion
Jill Is A Multi-Millionaire;
Jack Is A Billionaire
If Jack grew his money at 20% a year by investing in great, solid companies through the Stock Market, he’s now a billionaire.
He did that by investing P150T some 45+ years ago.
Jill, because she invested late by 12 years, even if she invested a much bigger amount, P1.17M, has P220M “only”.
Are you 50 or below? You can retire with a few millions.
Are you 40 or below? You can retire with tens of millions.
Are you 30 or below? You can retire with hundreds of millions.
Are you 15 or below? You can retire with a billion.
How?
Sow in time of famine.
Don’t wait for better times before you invest.
Don’t wait when you have excess money.
Invest now while your money is small.
Because your greatest ally is time.
