Ditch the Darn Wheel of Fortune

Hello Friends, I trust that your week has been fruitful and that today you will have a wonderful day. I have a busy day ahead. Late yesterday I received an invitation to tender for a project in the Middle East. Today I will be working diligently on the project proposal because I have an extremely short deadline for its submission. Today I am also meeting with a team of youth leaders in Brampton, Ontario to discuss my Leader Leave Legacy Workshop for High School and College Students.

I am thrilled by your continued support for reading my blog and your encouragement. On Tuesday one of my friends sent me this wonderful email message “My brother I am in a cab in Montreal and I just got the chance to read your blog. Thanks for everything you are and have been to me over the years. But most of all thanks for being the presence of God among your friends. One love!”

I am deeply honoured to be viewed as being the presence of God among my friends but the truth my primary goal is to use my experiences and stories to inspire others.

Today I want you to ditch the darn Wheel of Fortune. The Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin in which contestants solve word puzzles to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. Please ditch the wheel of fortune because you are not going to win a darn thing! And while you are ditching the wheel of fortune please work damn hard and be prepared to work damn hard for a very awful long time.

To be blunt there is no wheel of fortune! I discovered that a very long time ago. Along my journey I have read a number of books on wealthy and fortune. I read “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason which dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. I also read “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert T. Kiyosaki which advocates financial independence and building wealth through investing, real estate investing, starting and owning businesses, as well as increasing one's financial intelligence. I have read “The Wealthy Barber” by David Chilton which looks at personal finance.
Reading those books help to give me perspective. From my own experience I know that the wheel of fortune for success is an embodiment of determination, hard work, focus, diligence and consistency. Last night Michelle and I had an interesting conversation as we drove home from the Brampton GO Station. We concluded that while wealth and success has a number prerequisites and decisive steps which are well established they are marred with difficulties and challenges. Consequently, only those who persist and endure ultimately reap the fruits of their efforts and success.

Michelle and I are working class family backgrounds in Jamaica. My mother worked her entire life as a civil servant until she became terminally ill and retired with a meagre pension. Her illness took me to precipice of bankruptcy with a bill from Credit Valley Hospital. She died in 2009. My father worked as a motor vehicle mechanic hammering old iron and rusty screws. At 76 years old, he has absolutely no pension and relies on his children for financial support. Michelle’s mom, as single mother worked her entire life in a factory until she retired. Today she spends the harsh winter in Jamaica and the rest of the time with Canada taking caring of Marisa. And like royal icing as the price we pay (or is reward?) for our ambition and determination Michelle and I are supporting adult children in their post-secondary training.

From our experience we know there is no wheel of fortune. The wheel of fortune for success is an embodiment of determination, hard work, focus, diligence and consistency. Michelle and I are champions of our own path. We understand what is important and how to prioritize in order to achieve our goals. We know what it is to face uncertainty and refuses to believe in the existence of a wheel of fortune.

As an entrepreneur I know I am my best advocate. I rely on my internal GPS and embrace uncertainty as part of my journey. I am thrilled by my efforts to create a successful small business that will one day be a part of my legacy. It is challenging but it energizes me. The disappointments are sobering in a positive way and offer excellent learning opportunities and lessons. I take pride in being responsible for my own endeavor, my successes and failures. All of this keeps me sharply focus on reality and my wheel of fortune for success. Michelle, who is the epitome of the strength of a woman, and I are not constricted by the structure of what constituted success and failure. We continue to churn and grind our wheel of fortune for success.

Ditch the darn wheel of fortune and create a wheel of fortune for success!

Do you have a wheel of fortune? Are you creating your own wheel of fortune for success?
Have a great day!

Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor.  He can be contacted by email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog  http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter @mackynacky. Connect with me on www.youtube.com, Google+, Facebook and Linkedin.