Money is in the little things.

If you know how to gather it little by little via multiple streams, you will grow very rich. This principle is the essence of the proverb below.

Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.
~ King Solomon, Proverbs 13:11

The ability to gather money little by little is essential to making it grow. Many can spend and squander money; but it’s only the few that really know how to make it grow.

Only those who can grow money become rich; and the secret to growing money is to pay attention to the little – those little profits you might be inclined to neglect, or fritter away frivolously. Money making is in gathering the little profits, the little cash trickles from multiple channels.

You must establish the ‘little-by-little’ dimension of your wealth. This refers to your steady cash flow. Fortify it, and daily reinforce it.

Learn the art of gathering money little by little. Wealth is reserved for those who have multiple streams of income, even if each stream is a mere trickle; because in the school of wealth creation, every profit matters. Profit is profit.

Don’t be distracted or fooled by the big breaks.

Your cash flow generally comes in 2 dimensions: The regular steady trickle, and the irregular downpour – aka, big breaks. The later can be so big as to distract you; but you must mind the former as it is the true foundation of enduring wealth.

The big seasonal breaks will definitely come, but if you ignore the little steady flows, you are in for some big trouble. If you pursue the big breaks at the expense of the steady little flows, you’ll constantly be in financial crisis.

Don’t get distracted by your irregular downpours. Instead, reinforce, fortify, and nurture your steady trickle. Then multiply and expand it.

Big financial breaks are desirable; but they are irregular. And what is not regular is essentially a fantasy. Big seasonal breaks will always come; however, if you ignore your steady trickles, you are headed into stormy waters.

At this point, I’m thinking of Esau and Jacob who model two different paradigms of money management. Esau was a hunter who had to depend on ‘big breaks’ in his hunting trips to survive. Jacob, on the other hand, was a shepherd who went for domestic animals. He had male and female animals that he caused to mate; so he always had meat available in his house. Jacob did not need the big breaks to survive. Later, Esau lost his birthright to Jacob as a result of the latter’s clearly superior paradigm.

Your regular steady cash flow is your foundation for money multiplication. Unfortunately, many forget this little foundation when they hit a big break.

Here’s some piece of wise counsel from the wisest man that ever lived; it’s set within an agrarian context:

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; 
for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.  
When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in, the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. 
You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you and your family 
   and to nourish your servant girls.
~ King Solomon, Proverbs 27:23-27

The picture here is that of a farmer who suddenly hits some money – maybe a contract, or a big gift from a wealthy friend. The temptation is to neglect the foundation – the flocks and the herds – because of this sudden wealth.

First, he counsels you to ‘give careful attention to your herds.’ This is a reference to what I’ve termed ‘steady regular trickle’ in this post. This could be your day job – particularly one that is solidly founded on your natural gifts and talents. It could also be the little profit you make out of products and services that have a regular and steady market. In any case, don’t neglect the flocks.

Secondly, he points out that ‘riches do not endure forever.’ Here he is talking about the ‘big breaks’; those sudden financial breakthrough’s that come once in a while. He means that you should not abandon the herds for the big breaks. The point has already been made, but it bears repeating: Don’t be distracted or fooled by the big breaks.

At the end of the day, he reveals that your carefully nurtured herds will provide you with clothing, the price of a field, as well as plenty of milk – or, wealth.

Life is filled with a lot of people who ignored this principle to their ruin: Dupes, professional athletes, celebrities, politicians, and so on.

In a 2009 article, Sports Illustrated reported that financial crises are rampant among retired athletes. Seventy-eight percent of professional football players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress within two years after retiring, according to the article, and 60% of basketball players go broke within five years of retiring.

The reason, in the light of this post, is quite obvious: They got carried away by the ‘riches that do not endure’ and neglected the ‘herds’.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Stop chasing after fantasies. Pay careful attention to your little steady trickles. Don’t neglect whatever gives you a net monetary gain – profit is profit, no matter how little.

N1000 profit a day may look little; but what if you have 10 ways to earn that little each day? That gives you a cash stream of N300,000 a month. That’s N3,600,000 a year! How many people earn that much.

Oh, there’s so much power in the little things.

Create multiple streams of income. Gather money little by little. Pay attention to your streams. Strengthen the steady trickles. Add more streams.

Think about the aspects of your products and services that have a regular and steady market. Regardless of how little the profit may be, pay attention to them, nurture them, strengthen them, get them solid.

Then mind them. Fortify them, and reinforce them daily.

Itemize your little steady trickles and trap them. Check others that have the potential to give you net monetary gains, and nurture them.

Employ your multiple talents – if you are so endowed; because, God in His wisdom has made all your talents to be related in such a manner that success in one enhances the other. So do not be shy to develop each of your talents into a cash stream, even if the profit from each is a mere trickle.

If you are willing to go out and work, there’s no way you can lack.

Remember,

…he who gathers money little by little makes it grow