Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.

I'm gonna show you how great I am.

Hey everyone.

How you guys doing?

Welcome back to the channel.

Welcome back to the podcast.

Remember that the theme of the podcast is that success is the progressive realization of a way, the ideal.

That means you're going after what you've always wanted to go after because it's aligned with your highest values.

And that's the only way for you to truly live a fulfilled, successful and an inspired life.

And just would let you know that I'm the author of the book you are a Business Treat Yourself like one of the five Business essentials for Personal Transformation and building a Better Future.

And I'll be sharing.

I've been sharing a number of insights, principles and tips from the book that can transform and change your life.

Also as a point of personal transformation for myself and in the previous video where I talked about change your I ams.

The premise of this book, you Are a Business Treat yourself like one is that it is good for you to be an employee.

There's nothing wrong with being an employee, but there's something wrong with you having a limited vision and version of yourself.

We change in mindset will lead to a change in behavior.

And if you change your mindset to be not just an employee, don't, don't say to yourself that I'm an accountant or a lawyer or a doctor or a computer, a programmer or an AI engineer.

Those are all good things.

But for you to adopt a higher level of responsibility for yourself, it is much better and more expedient.

Especially expedient in my experience, for you to reframe your thinking and your identity to say I am a business who provides marketing, accounting, AI services to the marketplace.

Because if you do that, you innately adopt a higher responsibility for yourself and for your compensation and for how you interact and also how you show up at work and in the marketplace.

Because the the people with the highest levels, levels of responsibility and account, they treat themselves as entrepreneurs.

A great speaker, Brian Tracy also corroborates this where he says the most performance driven individuals are those people who treat themselves as their own business.

And I want you to get to the point where you say, like Jay Z, I'm not a businessman, I am a businessman.

Let me handle my business gang.

And today we're going to talk about something that's important.

The concept of being in a position to own and control.

Own and control.

And a primary underlying theme is the word words.

Economic significance.

Economic significance.

Now economic significance was I first heard of this term, economic significance.

When I was researching this book and I came across the works of a great Author and speaker, Dr. Claude Anderson, very revered in the United States African American community.

And he said economic significance is not about what opportunity or access you have.

What determines your economic significance is what you own and control.

And we define in this book economic significance as the position of having resources at command that allow you to make and enforce economic decisions such as the allocation of resources, wealth, power and privileges.

Now let's go into what own and control is right now.

Ownership is the act, state, or exclusive right to possess something.

I'll say that again.

Ownership is the act, state, or exclusive right to possess something.

And control is the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events.

Now, if you're not in a position of owning and controlling resources, wealth and power, you are constantly going to be undermined in society.

Now, this is not talking about your worth as a human being.

This is not talking about your worth to your.

Your family.

It's not talking about your worth to the church.

You can be a great person, a loved person.

But we're talking about exclusively the state of economics.

And most people live in a state of not owning or controlling anything.

The most powerful people that I researched and read after and interacted with, they are.

They always have a lot of agency.

They always are in a position where they can own and control resources, wealth, power and privileges.

And let's look at it in the realm of renting and owning.

Now, if you are in a rental, you only have certain amounts of ownership and control.

There's certain things that you can and cannot do.

There are certain curfews that are set.

There are certain parameters that you can operate in.

However, if you own a property, you can paint the walls whatever color you like.

You can set the curfew whatever it is you like.

If you say, this chair is going to be pink, I own it, I control it.

That's it is what it's going to be.

I can put the speakers wherever.

I can have pets and dogs in the house.

It doesn't matter.

Because as long as I own and control the property within the confines of the law, there are certain things that I can do that I wouldn't be able to do if I was just merely renting.

Now, in order for us to have a mindset shift, we need to understand what economic significance actually is.

For you to know what something is, you need to first know what it is not.

That was quite profound.

I think.

That was quite profound.

For you to know what something is, you need to first know what it is not.

So let's go into what economic significance is not.

First and foremost, economic significance has got nothing to do with access.

Economic significance is not access.

Now, access is your ability to approach or to enter into a place.

Just because you have access to a commodity, just because you have access to a place, just because you have access to social circles, it does not solidify your economic significance.

For example, let's go back to the analogy of rentals.

Now, if you have the key to a.

You can have a key to a property that allows you to access it and enter the doors and enter the kitchen.

But that does not dictate, that does not indicate that you own and control the property.

Because what your.

What your powers are, they're limited by what you own and control.

Just because you have access to a certain environment or access to a building doesn't mean you can dictate how that building runs.

So access is not economic significance.

Opportunities are not economic significance.

Now, opportunities are set of circumstances that makes it possible for you to be able to do something.

Now, opportunity is very important, and it is a very good thing.

You should make all the opportunities that you can get and make the most of all the opportunities that have been given to you.

Denzel Washington said it best.

In the realm of acting, a good actor with an opportunity has a shot.

Without the opportunity, it doesn't matter how good you really are.

Now, you can have the opportunity to get a job.

You can have the opportunity to be promoted.

You can have an opportunity to tender for work.

However, your economic significance is limited because you do not own or control a company's direction to dictate resources, wealth, and power.

Opportunity is good, but let's use it to become economically significant.

Another thing that economic significance is not is rights.

This is a massive one.

Just because you have certain rights doesn't mean that you are economically significant.

Just because you've got constitutional rights, human rights, moral rights, it does not equate to economic significance.

And this is the moral or legal entitlement to have or to do something.

Now, these are rights, as I said, human rights, employee rights, constitutional rights.

And these are rights that you possess.

And hear me quite very clearly.

All of these rights should be protected.

All of these rights should be maintained.

However, they do not dictate your economic significance.

Now, for example, just because you have constitutional rights doesn't mean that you're going to be wealthy.

You can walk into a store.

But just because you have the constitutional rights doesn't mean that you can pay using constitutional rights.

There is still going to be some economic currency that is needed.

Now, unless you own the store, you by your own accord can tell people you can pay with constitutional rights.

But if you don't, you walk into a store, you buy whatever it is that you want to buy.

I promise you they're going to ask you will that be cash or will it be card?

Just because you have rights doesn't mean that you're economically significant.

Another thing that economic significance is not, it is not perceived status.

It is not perceived status.

Now this is the relative social or professional position or standing.

Now there are both high levels of perceived social status and low levels of perceived social status.

Now you can have the perceived social status of being a socialite, an influencer, a person of high high standing in society, a leader, a pioneer, being part of the upper echelons of society.

Just because you have the perceived social status does not automatically mean that you are economically significant.

I'm sure you have come across, seen or been around people who have a high perceived social status.

However, they do not possess economically economic significance and they are saddled with debt.

I once heard of a high status financial investment banker who had financed like all these expensive cars and lived in a very affluent neighborhood.

However, they were saddled with well over 1 million rand in just their overdraft.

Now and it wasn't that the overdraft was just there.

The overdraft was closely maxed out.

Now just because you dress well, just because you've got all the vestiges of success and economic significance does not translate to actual economic significance.

The other thing that economic significance is not, it is not education right now.

Education is the passport to the future because the future belongs to those who prepare for it today.

There are three things that can change the world.

As my father always told me, Education, education and education.

Now this is the process that we all go through of systematic study and instruction at a recognized institution like a school or a university.

Now education is very important.

Whether it's formal education like institutions of higher learning or informal education, which is probably more valuable.

The school of hard knocks, the school of experiences, the school of actually doing the theory instead of just theorizing.

The school of where you have to figure things out yourself.

That's your self education, that's your unformant and unstructured education.

Education is very important and it should be fostered and it should be used.

However, it does not automatically translate to you being a person of economic significance.

There are many people who've got 50 million degrees?

Well, not 50 million degrees.

They've got more degrees than a thermometer.

They've got doctorate degrees in this field and master degrees in this field, but some of them cannot master real life skills.

Why?

Because the systematic instructional study that they engaged in did not allow them to be in a position of economic significance.

And there are many people who are business owners who don't have the traditional form of education, but they are highly economic significance because they were able to parlay their education into economic significance.

Education is an opportunity and a gateway to economic significance, but it does not automatically translate to you being economically significant.

They're significant right now.

I ran a personal experiment.

I ran a personal experiment.

I went to the Maslow Hotel in Sandton City.

Not Sandton City, around Sandton.

And I went to the reception.

I was dressed in a beautiful suit and tie and had a lapel pin.

I had the Florshum shoes.

I had a nice fade in.

And then I had the Hugo Boss cologne.

Like, I was dressed to the nines.

Because.

Because I wanted to try out this experiment.

I went to a reception and to the concierge and I said, I would like the presidential suite, the best suite that you have.

And I want.

I want room service every other hour.

I want your best champagnes and I want your best meals.

I want your filet mignons.

I want the absolute best that you can provide for me.

And I said, and I want it for two nights.

And also.

And then she.

She gave me the price.

And the question that I was asked was not what my rights are.

She didn't ask me what my education was again.

She didn't ask me what opportunities I have, what access I have.

She didn't ask me any of those questions.

She simply asked, how will you be paying for that?

Will it be cash or will it be card?

That's it.

What she was actually asking, do you display the economic significance for you to be able to use this presidential suite?

And then I said, well, I think I'm gonna pay for this using my constitutional rights.

I'm highly educated, I look good, and I'm a university graduate and I'm a project management professional.

Oh, and I have a nice smile.

No, I don't know.

Now, because I didn't display economic significance.

I didn't own or control anything of the economics.

It didn't.

That experiment didn't end well.

I didn't get the presidential suite, I'm sad to say.

I just went and I had a coffee and I went home after that.

Now back to what we're talking about.

I had access to the.

To the hotel.

I had the right to access to go to the hotel.

I was given the opportunity to even know about the Maslow hotel and know about what this hotel was, was.

And it was my right to ask for a room at a safe price.

And the fact that I had a perceived social status helped my case.

Now, with all of my education and my certifications, it would have helped my case.

However, I was turned away.

Why?

Because I did not demonstrate the economic significance needed.

Your economic significance, brothers and sisters, on the path of greatness.

Your economic significance is dictated by what you own and control.

Let's go to the second part of our discourse here today.

And that is understanding what economic significance actually is.

Now, what dictates your economic significance?

The first thing I've got here is that you need a strong economic base.

You need a strong economic base.

And this is the foundation of wealth that fortifies and elevates.

And there's a reason why there are certain companies, people, places, things, countries that are subject whether we like it or not.

I personally don't like it, but it is the way it is.

These entities are subject to different rules and different forms of treatment.

There is an idealistic view that everybody is equal.

However, when it comes to the realm of economics and economic significance, significance that is not necessarily true.

Now, there are certain entities that can buy all the resources that they need to have an elevated, actual, elevated status.

Think about it this way and be honest.

Be honest.

Be honest.

When a person who you know is on the Fortune 500 list and is in close proximity to prominent, prominent figures of the day, it will be quite difficult for you to turn them away and quite difficult to.

To treat them unfairly, knowing that they have economic significance because they have a strong economic base.

And the scripture does say that money answers all things.

The other thing that determines economic significance is your positioning.

Your positioning, right, how you position yourself can help you with economic significance.

Now, this is a strategy that aims to.

That.

That aims to make a brand occupy a distinct position in the marketplace in order to capture a certain customer or customer base.

Now, for you to have a successful positioning, and that's what we're trying to get you to do as, as a person, as a business, as your personal brand.

For you to get yourself to a point where you position yourself, where you've got zero competition, right?

You need to be able to create that image.

You need to provide a service.

You need to deliver more than anybody else ever can.

And then you need to be deeply entrenched in a certain position in the market so that it's difficult for you to be displaced in your workplace or in your business or where you find yourself with your business and personal brand.

And if someone else was to compete with you, it's a bit difficult.

One of my favorite companies, apparel brands is Nike.

Now, they're well positioned in the market due to the marketing genius and strategic innovation.

And more importantly, they do have a very strong economic base.

They've got a lot of competition with Adidas and Puma, but when it comes to the sportswear brand, they are still number one in their field.

And it is very difficult for anybody to completely unseat them.

Right here, right now.

Shout out to Phil Knight.

You better read that, that book Shoe Dog.

It's quite an inspiring story.

What is able to do with Nike?

I should actually get him on the podcast.

Actually.

I want to get somebody.

Get me Phil Knight, please.

Can you, can you give me Phil Knight?

Yeah, give me Phil.

I want Phil Knight.

Yeah, give me Phil Knight.

Let's do that.

Now, once you own a control, you can position yourself in such a way that in the market where it will be difficult for you to be unseated.

There's a book that you should read.

I was part of the research for this book and is.

It's called the Blue Ocean Strategy.

Look at it.

It will change your life.

Another thing that allows you to have strong economic significance is your offering.

Now, this is your product or service that you offer to your customers and your and your clients.

And if it is of a superior quantity and of a superior value, it will help you to become economically significant.

The other thing is pricing.

Now this is the process where, where you set the price at which you are going to sell your services and your offering.

Once you get to a point of owning and controlling, you can set the price that you with that you wish within the confines of the law.

Please, comrades, we want to be very, very legal in what it is that we're doing that you can set the price that you wish to charge because you are in a unique position to do so.

Now, let's talk about power.

Let's talk about power.

Now, power can help you in economic significance.

And this is the capacity to be able to direct or influence the behaviors of others or the course of events.

Now, power, I did some research on this comes from the Latin word called potere, which means to be able.

So when you are in a position of owning and controlling, that means you are able to do business, you are able to, to do what you want, when you want, however you want it.

Of course, within the confines of the law and because those people who are in power control resources, wealth and power.

And Dr. Jordan B. Peterson once said that competence is power.

Competence means to be able.

So if you are highly skilled in something that the marketplace wants and values, then you're putting yourself in a position to be economically significant because you have power.

Then next we have competitiveness.

Competitiveness.

This is being able to the quality of being better or as good as your competition.

John D. Rockefeller, he's a titan.

There's a book of his that was pen called the Titan or the Dictator.

Telling his story.

Very fascinating.

And also you should check out his documentary on Magnets media.

Amazing channel.

You should check it out.

He said, and while this is quite Mailian, he said competition is a sin.

He said competition is a sin.

Now, in the realm of business, in the realm of the marketplace, you being an employee, remember you're a business who sells services to the marketplace.

Do not ever aim to compete.

That's what, that's, that's what a business mentor told me like, do not aim to compete.

Now, if you study Economics 101, there is a state in a market that's called, if I'm not mistaken, it's called perfect competition.

And that is when you've got so many competitors in a certain industry who are set a certain price whereby their profit margin is zero, where you make zero profit.

Now, for you, who wants to be economically, economically significant, why would you want to be in a position where you've got perfect competition, where you're not making any margin?

The best thing that you can do is to separate yourself so far from any one of your competitors, carved out a unique selling proposition for yourself and your own personal brand so that when they think about one thing, they think about you and think about you specifically.

And so that means that you have avoided your competition.

Again, look at the blue.

Read the Blue Ocean strategy and you put yourself in a position where you are not competing with anybody else, but you're competing with yourself in the industry that you are in.

So having less competition allows you to be more economically, economically significant and to be in the position where you own and control resources, wealth and power.

One of the reasons why I painted this book is because I saw a problem and I wasn't really happy about this problem.

And this problem was in the marketplace, in the workplace with artists, with singers, rappers, dancers, entertainers, DJs, accountants, auditors, project management professionals, there's this one word that kept on coming up over and over, and that was exploitation.

Exploitation.

Now, how many times have you ever heard of business?

Starters.

Venture capitalists, founders of startups, recording artists, creators, employees, and those with a lot of economic potential live in a life of exploitation without compensation.

And they live their lives being held as economic hostages.

The reason they found themselves in a position of being exploited, not being paid what they're worth, being overworked and underpaid, being passed over for promotions and for work and for, for client work and for tenders, is because their mindset was not 100% correct.

They had the mindset that they didn't have this mindset that we tried to inculcate here.

They didn't have the mindset to say, I am my own business and I will be economically significant by working and to it, by working to own and control at the largest scale possible.

Thing about Jay Z, I said in the previous video, Jay Z, think about a thing about a rapper.

Let's go back.

The thing about a rapper.

You can have a person who decides that they want to be a rapper.

They will be just rely on their talent.

They're very good with their talent.

However, they end up being exploited by record companies and record executives because they did not have the mindset that I am a business.

Then you have Jay Z, arguably the greatest, the greatest rapper alive, whose name is not Eminem.

No, I'm kidding.

He's one of the greatest rappers alive.

He will rap, but not only will he do that, he'll open up a business.

He will sign other artists, have his own record recording record label.

He will invest outside in other businesses and become a.

Become a billionaire.

And get to the point where he says, I'm not a businessman, I'm a businessman.

Let me handle my business, Dan.

Now you should have that mindset.

And once you have that, that mindset of saying that I am a business that provides services to the marketplace, you will start putting yourself in a position where you can own and control resources, wealth, power and privileges.

And you will not be in a position where you're exploited by anybody or anything.

And that mindset shift will make for a much better world.

What you own and control is represented by wealth.

And you can only achieve wealth through cultivating the wealth mindset.

Once you brothers and sisters, once you get to the point of treating yourself as your own business, you'll start to understand that you need to be as economically significant as possible so that you can own and control as many resources, wealth, power, opportunities and privileges.

Because it's your right to do so.

Sean Stephenson said, until you take ownership of your life, you will always be chasing happiness.

I hope that provided some help and insight and that you got some, some value out of the the session here today, this podcast here today.

Remember that success is the progressive realization of where the ideal.

That means you're going after what you've always wanted to go after because it's aligned with your highest values.

And that is the only way that you can live a truly fulfilled, successful and inspired life.

Now you need to make sure that you go out there, treat yourself as your own business.

Change your I ams.

Understand what economic significance is.

Understand what economic significance is not.

Make yourself as valuable to the marketplace.

Be, be, be very good at what you do.

Be very a good person.

And more importantly, change your mindset.

And then you can be like Jay Z.

You can say, I'm not a businessman.

I'm a businessman.

Let me handle my business, Dan and I will see you on the next one.

It can be the day that turns your life around.

All you need is a reason to turn you around.

Today my life changes.

Now, who can do that?

Anybody.

When can you do it?

Whatever day you pick.