Educational articles

Photo by Miglė Gylienė

About 10 years ago, I met Kang Yoto, who was then the Governor of the Indonesian province of Bodjonegoro, at an event. We struck up a conversation. Kang Yoto recalled his first years in power and told me a story that later strongly influenced my approach to business and finance.

Kang Yoto comes from a province in his area. He was disturbed by the fact that the very religious people in his tropical villages lived in poverty: there were no streets between the houses and the constant rain meant that there was only mud around. People rarely visited each other because it was simply inconvenient to wander through the mud. They constantly complained that no one cared for them and lived barely making ends meet. Many of them had never even left their village in their lifetime.

The newly elected, still young governor visited new provinces, but everywhere he saw much the same sad picture: people angry at the world living in reasonably tidy houses, but completely unconcerned about what lay beyond the fence. He talked to people a lot, took an interest in their lives and looked for solutions. Finally, he noticed that people kept asking him for things in their prayers to God (Allah). Some were asking for more material things, some for "just happiness", but the caring god had to give them what they lacked. Kang Yoto said that he eventually realised that people had placed the responsibility for their well-being on the shoulders of the god and were always waiting for his grace.

Kang Yoto, who had read the Arabic Koran, transcribed from primary manuscripts, knew that the essence of praying to a god was not a request, not a demand, but... giving thanks. In the version of the Koran that almost every family had, the Governor quickly found distortions in the Arabic to Indonesian translation and decided to correct them. There were other inaccuracies, but this was the one that he felt most affected people's consciousness and behaviour.

Within a year or so, the Governor, together with other enthusiasts, produced a new version of the Koran. Kang Yoto and his team were able to visit many families and turn them into ambassadors of their idea.

After about 3 years, the first physical symptoms of change began to appear: villagers started to pave and maintain the stretch of road that ran past their homes. Eventually, many villages had clean streets and people could easily visit each other, not only in their own villages but also in other villages. And that was just the beginning of the change...

I was very interested to know why the Governor was so convinced of the direct link between the words of prayer and people's actions. He explained it very simply. When a person wants something and keeps asking for it, he or she is putting a programme of lack and survival into his or her mind, i.e. living in a world of wants. When a person is constantly thanking someone for what he already has, a programme of abundance and prosperity is formed in his subconscious, i.e. he lives in the world of Wealth. Living in scarcity causes constant tension and dissatisfaction. People waste most of their energy not in building their own and their community's wealth, but in cursing each other and the government that is not taking good care of them. As the pattern of thinking has changed, so has the pattern of behaviour. In a world of wealth, poverty is disappearing.

Over the years, I have tested this truth in practice - not only in my own organisation, but also in other organisations. Positive changes have been seen in the paradigm shift from Survival to Prosperity.

For almost 30 years, I have been extremely concerned about the financial aspect of my organisation: from the first control and financial discipline reports to the creation of a fully open financial system. The financial system usually "serves" the business owner's fears and survival paradigms, becoming the biggest obstacle to development and prosperity. Budgets, production and sales plans, and various control mechanisms consume countless internal resources. And these investments have no return. Strategic objectives are often synonymous with financial ones, creating strategies for survival rather than prosperity. Entrepreneurs are always missing something. Even when they reach a goal, they don't have time to enjoy it and are already planning the next peak. Even those who have a lot of money often don't feel secure and wealthy enough.

There are many ways to talk about finances, but there is one fundamental question: what kind of world are we allowing ourselves to live in - a world of poverty or a world of abundance? Many entrepreneurs dream of a positive, strong, steady cash flow, but do not create the conditions for it. It may sound a bit mystical, but I dare to say that success and prosperity are directly linked to our states of mind, which are determined by our habits of thought. By changing them, we can make a real difference to everything around us. By learning to manage our states of mind, we create the conditions for the financial flow we need to ensure our own and our community's security and prosperity.