Are you hungry enough?

One day, a trusted, old friend of mine looked at me and said, “Francis, I have lived many years. And throughout my years, I figured out the reason why some people were so rich with tons of money and why some weren’t.”

I looked at him quizzically, partly curious and partly excited.

At that time, this friend of mine was 62 years-old and I was only 27. He was extremely productive and well-known. He single-handedly raised a huge family and all his children finished college and each settled with their families. There was always flair to his presentations. He mastered the drama. He was a well-known artist designer and his accomplishments gave him a renowned reputation.

He packed so much wisdom. He was number one in his craft. So naturally, I looked up to him and pegged him as a very successful career person. I wanted to walk the same path this master walked.

And I can only imagine how lucky I was that this man, this very successful man, was willing to impart a piece of priceless wisdom to me. Oh how grateful I really was.

“Sir, can you tell me what was it that you have discovered?”

My old trusted friend looked at me, gave a dramatic pause and then said, “Young man, you are half my age. You have all the time in the world to pursue success and become rich. So listen to me very carefully.”

And I was prepared to. 

My old friend continued, “Francis remember this, the reason that many of these business people, career people, politicians and government officials were wealthy was because….WE ARE NOT GREEDY AND HUNGRY ENOUGH TO WANT IT!”

My entire world was placed in suspended animation as I seriously and excitedly consumed this piece of wisdom that would someday make me rich.

I’ll never forget the words: “Greedy and hungry enough.”

And then he looked at me and said, “Francis, you are young and if you want to build a wealthy life for yourself, you have to be greedy and hungry.”

This was “wisdom!” I reminded myself.

And with this kind of mindset I went out to conquer the world.

I wanted to be hungry. I wanted to be greedy. I wanted to be “filthy” rich.

And in my desire to put this mindset to work, I have hurt people, manipulated relationships, earned money but ended up poorer and unhappy.

Many years later, my old friend passed away. He lived a life of regret and misery. He wanted material riches but in turn he missed the wealth that he already had, the real, non-material riches. It occurred to me that greed could get you what you want, but rob you of what you already have.

God’s grace prevailed. It was somewhere along my life’s journey that I discovered a greater and more powerful truth than my old friend. I discovered the law of sow and reap.

Scriptural truth was revealed to me, that if I delight in God, He will give me the desires of my heart. It was then that I discovered a totally different list of hungers and this was already shared to my children. My children were approaching the age I had when I first listened to my old friend just as I was approaching my old friend’s age.

Here is a short list of “hungers” we need to cultivate.

• We should have the hunger for learning, a craving to develop our personality, increase our skills and most importantly, the hunger to build a godly character.

• We should be hungry for true and faithful love. The mark of manhood is the courage to stay faithful to the one we have pledged before God and men to cherish and treasure in sickness or in health.

• We should have the hunger, not for worldly riches, but for truth and righteousness, and to crave an intimate relationship with our Maker. For He who created us holds the right to reclaim ownership and that life on the other side is infinitely longer.

These are hungers that won’t lead to wicked greed, these are healthy hungers that bring satisfaction, purpose and meaning to our short existence.

I have learned so many things and still have so many things to learn.

Are you hungry enough or better yet, what are your hunger items?

(Francis teams up with famous speaker and author Krish Dhanam on May 15 in a whole day seminar entitled “Achieving Peak Performance” at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call 632-6310912 for details.)