My Daily Bread (Day 55) – Daily Wisdom | It is Not About How Much You Have

¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

Matthew 25:15-19 [NKJV] (Part of the Parable of Talents)

When I woke up this morning, the one thought that kept coming to my mind was about something that I had read from yesterday. There is this account on LinkedIn called, “The Woke Salaryman”. If you have never seen their posts before, I highly recommend that you check them out (provided if you have a LinkedIn account. I read their posts regularly and they always write about stuff that commoners like myself can relate with. Sometimes it is about climate change, other times is about mental health stuff, and this time, it is to do with the other topic that I care deeply about, “doing more with less”.

For those of you that have been following my entries for some time, you would already be aware of my journey these last couple of years. In 2018~2019, I made a decision that I would learn to do more with less because I was so broke at that time and I had so little to work with. I didn’t have a choice then, so I had to find a way to make the most of what little I had. I had to learn to be grateful and appreciative of all the little things in my life that I still have, in spite of everything else that I was still lacking in my life at that time.

I was eventually able to learn to train myself to stop thinking like the guy that was given only 1 talent, and I began to think like the guy that had been given two talents. Eventhough I had very little to begin with, I did everything in my power to turn that little that I had into something more. And when I received more, I decided to use it to invest and transform it into even more. Before I knew it, I actually was living in quite an abundance in my life. I wasn’t rich by any measure, and it’s not like I was living super comfortably either. But I was able to experience having some surpluses in my life. Back then, that was considered a really big thing for me. Going from zero, having absolutely nothing to having a surplus.

Focus on What You Do Have Right Now.

In quite a few different ways, I feel like my life is back to where I was back then, albiet I am truly starting from a very different place.

I was once that guy starting at the very bottom.

Yes, I actually was reminded of this image that I saw on LinkedIn before. It’s basically an illustration of how in life, we are always progressing and different paces and we all begin from somewhere. From where I am sitting today, my life and the circumstances surrounding it certainly feels like a major improvement from where I was in 2018~2019, right after I lost my MacBook Pro and all of my precious work in one night. I had to start from zero back then. And then today, I am starting with whatever is available to me now.

Now, because I am starting from a different level, it is true that I also have a lot more to be thankful for, and so much to be grateful for too. There’s no doubt about that. But it is also a fact and reality that for what I am working towards today (looking ahead to my next major milestone), I’m going to need a lot more than what I already have today if I want to make it there somehow. What I have today, in comparison to what I am hoping to achieve in the coming years, is truly humbling still.

But I have already learned and understood the lesson – “Don’t focus on what you don’t have now. Focus instead on what you do have and how you can make the very best of it so that you can have more of what you need to progress upwards/forwards.”

That is my current mentality today. And I am absolutely determined to do everything I possibly can to get what I need. That means going back to that former resourcefulness mentality that I was having back in 2019.

Learning to Invest with What Little You Have Today

One of the very important lessons I first learned on this journey of “doing more with less,” is to change my own mentality surrounding how I spend/use my money. I’ve learned that you don’t need to have a lot of money before you can start thinking like an investor in your own life. Even with whatever amount you have today, how can you turn what you have into something more?

For me, one of those ways is through brand collaborations. I’m thinking of using the different product subscriptions to convince the brands to collaborate and work with me. That way, I can also gain access to their tools and platforms without actually having to pay a full year for them. In exchange, I will provide written articles and social media posts to help promote their products and new features. That is also the very same thing that I did in 2019. And I must say, it was absolutely rewarding and fulfilling too. It was highly effective and also mutually benefitting for the parties involved in those brand collaborations.

I might not have much right now, but I am already thinking very seriously about how I can use what I have to turn them into something more. I don’t want to spend my money, I want to invest it.

Personal Prayer for Today

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for speaking to me today about a really important lesson that I had learned over the years. A lesson about being wise and being a good steward of all the things that You have blessed me with. Today, You have reminded me of that time in my life where I was able to change my mentality and start using what little I had to turn it into more over time.

I understand that You’re trying to remind me of that lesson yet again. I am super grateful today that I am starting this next phase of my journey from a much better position than where I was back in early 2019. But I am also practical and grounded enough to accept that what I have today will not be enough to help me get to my next major milestone years from now. It is going to require more.

But instead of focusing on the things that I do not have today (to help me get to my next goal), I will choose to focus on what I do have today. However humbling it might be. I will continue to find ways to make the most of what I have so that I can turn what I have today into something more over time.

What I ask from You is to give me the creative ideas and solutions, speaking to me and guide me on every single step that I need to take towards my next long-term goal.

I pray and ask all of this in Jesus’ mighty name.

Amen.