The Greatest Gift One Can Give Is Knowledge

The month of December, is always a special month for everyone around the world. With holidays such as Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa to celebrate, there is reason for much joy. This Christmas was once again a joyous event and I am truly blessed for what I received for Christmas. One of the gifts that stood out to me was from my parents, who gave my siblings and I the gift of knowledge.

A Book!? You've Got To Be Kidding Me

Five years ago being gave a book for Christmas I would have politely said thank you, but in the back of my mind I would be highly upset. A book!? I would have said, where's my new video game or something cool that I will play over and over again until I get bored of it.





As I have gotten older and have continued to expanded my mind, I sat in my spot on the couch and listened to my parents explain why they had given us the book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. Among the many reasons they mentioned the one that stood out the most was that my parents did not want my brother, sister and I to have to go through the same struggles and pitfalls as they had. This book was to be a stepping stone on teaching us how to reshape our minds, learn how to make our money work for us as well as learn life principles to live by. I could not help but begin to smile deep down inside.

Growing Up

As I sat there and reflected on the past five to ten years, I begin to realize what they had been looking to accomplish. By restricting our video game and TV time to only Friday and Saturday, they were teaching us to find other means to entertain ourselves and stimulate our minds. Through this, I slowly took to reading books. I remember in 10th grade at the age of 14 my dad was making me read, How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I did not realize at the time but my parents were slowly beginning to help shape my mindset. I would have summer readings assigned to me by my parents and my grandparents and I hated it! The books would range from African American history to religious readings to life principle books. The more I read the more I begin to learn and actually like what I was reading.

My vocabulary begin to grow and I would find myself using words in conversations that I don't recall ever actually learning but remembering I had read it somewhere. I was able to maintain intellectual conversations with people who had more experience then myself. I found myself interested in reading what was happening in and around the world and rapidly fell in love with technology. The best part is older people began to take me more seriously because of the manner in which I carried yourself. I can recall just a month or two ago I was visiting my lawyer and he asked me to come bowling with he and his colleagues. He said they would be some young professionals such as myself there around 25-27 years old. I looked at him and said, I'd love to come and by the way I'm only 21. Not to mention, this was our third time meeting face to face, needless to say he was shocked.

By reading these books will I automatically become wealthy or successful? No, not by any means, however, do I believe that I have the ability and tools necessary to become wealthy and successful, by all means.

Looking At How The Rich Teach Their Kids

Take a second to think how generational wealth has continued to flow in many wealthy families. The same principles that John Rockefeller, Malcolm Forbes, Samuel Moore Walton and Conrad Hilton used to make their mark in the world are the same principles they've passed on to their children.

We can look at Conrad Hilton. His granddaughter, the infamous Paris Hilton may not have the best reputation, however, if you plot her journey to becoming an international household name you will see exactly how she used wealth principles. She used her public image as well as her "Hilton" name to build her own empire which encompasses reality tv shows, clothing lines, dog lines and perfume lines to name a few. It is not a coincident that she capitalized off of how the public perceived her as well as utilizing her existing fame. One may argue that she already had money so this example is null and void; but if you can tell me that you knew who Paris Hilton was before 2000 and that she was recognizable to the general public around the world, you would be lying to yourself.

My point is, that it is our responsibility as parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, whomever, to begin to lay the foundation for our children to be better off then the previous generation. Future generations will not have the luxury of working for the same company for 30 years and retiring. There will be no Social Security, there will be no retiring at 65. A job is not guaranteed for us and the income gap is only getting wider. We must begin to show these children, teens and young adults that the money, time and energy they put into doing something once today can multiple 10x over the next five, ten, twenty years.

Starting Off 2013 Right

I challenge us all to put down the new Shades of Grey book or to not spend $11 dollars to watch a two hour movie or forego partying at the club for a weekend and instead spend a weekend taking a look at yourself. Ask yourself what it is you want to accomplish in the next five years, what dreams do you have stored in your head, written down in a book or posted on your fridge. What is it that you've always wanted to do but have been too scared to do it. If you have a family, what legacy do you want to leave for your children. And tell yourself you will do it! This is not a new years resolution but simply a new year to resolute yourself. The moment we stop going after our dreams is the moment we stop living. 

So go ahead and pick up a book that will stimulate your mind, whether it's about wealth principles or how to maximize your time and energy. I may be young but I am a firm believer that it's never too late to make your dream become a reality, it's all a matter of taking the first step. Let's start 2013 off with a bang and learn to dream again by sharing the gift of knowledge! 

Let's connect and challenge ourselves to read one book a month that you believe can greatly impact your life and can be passed on to make a difference in the lives of another. 

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