Having Faith To Be Wealthy

I will never forget the mezzanine floor of the former Mandarin Orchard Hotel for the rest of my life. It will always bring back bitter sweet memories.

That was the location of the lounge where Jimmy Chan, Singapore’s equivalent of Richard Clayderman, would hold fort. It was also the place where I would, in time past, retreat from my work stress to listen to this talented self-taught pianist.

“Play it again, Jimmy,” I would say to him in jest, echoing the words of Humphrey Bogart in the unforgettable movie, As Time Goes By.

He would play the haunting tune with the dexterity that only he could. I would hum along – out of tune – in my mind.

‘It’s still the same old story

A fight for love and glory

A case of do or die

The world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by.’

The beautiful memories of the lounge was almost completely erased one warm humid afternoon. Under the dim lights I sat facing my banker – one who had been very helpful with my investments and with whom I used to have many happy moments.

“Mr Liew,” he started.

One of the reasons why I disliked people calling me, ”Mr. Liew” was that somehow when my banker or wife addressed me formally in this way, it meant I was in trouble.

This day, it was the same. I was in trouble.

Deep trouble.

“Your properties have been devalued with the downturn. We have no choice.

“We need you to top up your account.”

I felt those words stabbing my heart like a thousand ‘parang’s. I thought those were some of the most painful words I have heard – but it was nothing compared to the final blow.

I mastered the courage to ask him, “How much do you need?”

“$650,000. We need to receive it before the week is up.

“If not, our Credit Department will take over your file”.

When I heard that, my heart sank into the deepest abyss of agony.

This was the culmination of a series of problems. By that time, my problems had added up to millions of dollars of potential debt.

I knew what ‘Our Credit Department will take over’ meant. I could see it in my mind.

They sealed off my properties.

Put a padlock on them.

‘Lelong’ it cheap.

Leave me in debt.

Meanwhile, my business and everything around me would fall like dominoes.

My life might come to an end.

Finito!

That afternoon, I made the strongest pitch of my entire life as a salesperson. I could not remember what I said to him but I gave him every argument you could imagine.

Finally, in sheer desperation, I told him, “Which businessperson in the right frame of mind would hold $650,000 in his bank account and earn such a meagerly low interest? Especially when there are so many opportunities during these difficult times?”

I could recall those words because I confirmed later they fell into deaf ears. A few weeks later, he asked for more money again.

The weather was definitely not fair on that day when we met again. It was then that I understood what a ‘fair weather friend’ was all about.

Within the next four months, my business partner and I had to generate a seven-figure profit. If we don’t, everything we had would be gone.

We might never be able to recover from the failure for the rest of our lives.

How did we do it?

In the next few Love Notes, I like to share with you the lessons I learned along my wealth-creation journey.

To begin with, let me share with you a principle for creating wealth. You have probably not read or heard about it being used in this context.

It’s an old new idea. To be wealthy – Put Faith To Work.

What Is Faith?

To rephrase the words from the Good Book, faith is about being confident that if I aim to be wealthy, I will be wealthy. There is complete assurance it will happen even if I don’t see it now.

Faith is stronger than just belief. It is about acting on my belief and believing in my action that it will help me to be wealthy.

Why Faith?

Whether I know it or not, I already have faith. And I exercise my faith at every moment of my life.

For example, I am sitting on my favourite chair at home writing this Love Note to you. If I do not have faith it will hold my weight, I won’t sit on it. I will not enjoy its comfort to write to you.

In the same way, if I do not have the faith that I can be wealthy, I will probably not be wealthy. If I don’t act with complete confidence and assurance, I will not achieve the best results to be wealthy.

I discovered having a strong or weak faith requires the same amount of energy. That’s why, I put all my faith into my action so as to be wealthy.

There is a much stronger reason to put faith to work.

I believe our Creator doesn’t make failures. He doesn’t want me to fail.

He wants me to succeed and to be wealthy.

Obviously, He is a Gentleman and will not force it upon me. He wants me to work with and through Him to make the most of my life.

Our Creator formed everything out of nothing through His command. What I see around me were not made out of what was visible.

Therefore, if our Creator can make something out of nothing, He can make me wealthy even if I have nothing.

Levels Of Faith

I developed a table to show different levels of faith. This is to help me know where I stand and help me chart my progress.

To strengthen my faith, I need to be honest with myself. Honesty is the beginning of knowledge.

Knowledge can lead to wisdom. Wisdom is working on my faith to achieve well-being so as to serve the highest purpose.

Levels of Faith (#, Level, What It Means, How Should I Respond)

1. Ignorance/ I don’t know anything about wealth/ How can I learn about wealth?

2. Doubt/ I don’t think I can be wealthy/ How can I remove my doubts to be wealthy?

3. Sceptism/ If it is so easy, how come most people are not wealthy/ How can I differentiate myself from others to be wealthy?

4. Fear/ I’m scared of being wealthy/ How can I overcome my fear of being wealthy?

5. Passiveness/ I can’t or won’t take action to be wealthy/ How can I start taking action to be wealthy?

6. Awareness/ I know I can be wealthy/ How can I build on my knowledge to be wealthy?

7. Belief/ I believe I can be wealthy/ How can I act on my belief to be wealthy?

8. Confidence/ I’m confident I will be wealthy/ How can I take massive action to be wealthy?

9. Faith/ I will be wealthy/ How can I attract an abundance of wealth?

10. Faith At Work/ Our Creator will help me to be wealthy/ How can I use His infinite power to help me to be wealthy so as to serve the highest purpose?

As I worked on my faith, I came to a point where my faith was not on myself. Who was I kidding I could do all things?

I put my faith on our Creator and His mission for me. He could work with and through me to fulfill my calling and provide me with the appropriate level of well-being.

That’s what I call ‘Faith At Work.’ Maybe, a better term to use is conviction.

One of my mentors, Edmund Chan taught me, “Belief is what we hold on to. Conviction is what hold on to us”.

Do you have the conviction to work on your faith and put your faith to work so as to create a wealthier life?

How Does Faith Works?

Every wealthy person begins with faith – not facts, realities and certainties.

They may not be wealthy at the beginning or in the process of creating wealth. There may not even be absolute certainty it will happen.

However, in their mind, they have faith it will come true.

Faith does not mean there are no fears, uncertainties and doubts. It means they will still take action despite all the obstacles along the way.

I believe faith is like walking through a dark tunnel. I may only see a dim light.

However, in my mind, I can visualise, appreciate and enjoy the beauty of wealth on the other side of the tunnel.

Faith is like oxygen. I cannot see it but it gives me life.

Faith will lead me to form the right beliefs. The right beliefs will lead me to acquire the right attitude, knowledge and capabilities.

It will help me find the right path and follow it to be wealthy.

If I have faith and take no action, I am just a day dreamer. On the other hand, if I take action and have no faith, I’m just a drifter in the dark.

Faith and work are two sides of the same platform for growing my wealth.

I need to work on my faith in order to make it work for me. The more I put faith in achieving wealth for a good cause, the stronger my faith will become.

My future will be a reflection of my faith in it. The size of my wealth will be determined by the size of my faith.

Therefore, I must keep telling myself:

‘With the help of our Creator, 

I can be wealthy.

I have complete faith that

I will be wealthy. I will

take massive action to make it

happen.’

Please join me to put faith to work so as to be wealthy.

Go4It!

I hope this message will find a place in your heart.

By the way, I have also recorded other reflections.

Please go to ‘Notes’ found below my profile picture.

Visit my Transformation blog at http://hsrpatrickliew.wordpress.com

Visit my Inspiration blog at http://liewinspiration.wordpress.com

Please read them and continue to teach me.

Life is FUNtastic!

 

Definition

Wealth – Wealth refers to the condition of well-being. It includes my physical, emotional, social and environmental well-being

Wealthy – Having the resources to help others and myself live a meaningful, exciting and fulfilling life in a healthy environment

Asset – Anything that grows wealth

Liability – Anything that decreases wealth

Rich – Having the money and material possessions to achieve the same aspiration for being wealthy

Money – Money is the instrument to facilitate transaction of products and services. It is a measurement of the results of a Wealth Plan

Wealth Plan – An effective and an ever-improving blueprint to create wealth