In the book The Wealth Choice: Success Secrets of Black Millionaires, written by Dennis Kimbro, it says that the black millionaires that he surveyed didn’t have key connections, or superior intelligence, or wealthy parents but that they had something even more important — a spiritual foundation that defied the odds.

I like the fact that their daily routines generally consist of exercising at least 3-4 days a week.  They rise around 5:30 AM and go to bed around 11:00 PM.  They attend church twice a week.  They tithe with their churches,  They save 10-20% of their income.  They give 10-15% of their income to charities.  Their debt – not including their mortgage is less than $10,000 a year. In other words, their net worth is based on their self-worth – not based on just making money but on doing good.  Regardless of how they characterize it, they understand the first spiritual law of prosperity, and that is the spiritual law of overcoming.

For Prosperity 2013, we will be covering 10 prosperity laws during March, April and May: the law of overcoming, the law of ownership, the law of oneness, the law of organization, the law of obedience, the law of operation, the law of opportunity, the law of order, the law of offering, and the law of opulence.

The law of overcoming means discerning between what we need to keep in our lives and what we need to let go; what we need to embrace and what we need to release; what we need give our attention to and what we need to stop wasting our time with.

One of the things that Dennis Kimbro discovered, when he interviewed hundreds of black millionaires, is that they were not afraid to break away from the crowd, ignore conventional wisdom or use their creative imagination and courage.  They did not linger in fear – afraid to take risks.  They gave their energy to the good of blessing others.

As my finance professor at Howard taught us that the first principle of finance is that the only risk-free investment is a guaranteed loss.  If you don’t take the risk, you automatically lose; but if you do take it you may win.  I have an additional principle: if you take a risk with the faith and belief in the power of Spirit, there is no way that you will lose.

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Serving God means never giving up.  It doesn’t mean that money won’t come as an abundant and important means of exchange but that its rightful place is to serve us – not for us to serve it.

We have to stop worrying about what we have the power to command.  We can command the substance of life.  We can move forward with the faith that we don’t need to go to our good, our good is just waiting for us to overcome – that is get over ourselves – so that it can come to us.

Berry Gordy knew what it took to move forward with faith.  He said “There’s nothing magical about my success.  I just refused to give up.  Don’t judge yourselves by others’ standards – develop your own.  Don’t get caught in the trap of changing yourself to fit the world.  The world has to change to fit you.  We stuck to who we were at Motown, and the world eventually came around.”

In John 16:33, Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The law of overcoming the world means I have accepted the higher power of Spirit working for me, so I don’t have to worry about politics, or the economy, or my bank account, or my job – because I release them to the love, power, wisdom and victory that God has given me.

This is spiritual law – a consciousness that recognizes Matthew 13:47-50, when Jesus says “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.”

We overcome when we get rid of what doesn’t serve us and use what does: we let go of the thoughts of hate, lack and poverty – but we hold onto generosity, compassion and triumph.

It is the focus on a single purpose – rather than one that serves two masters.  We overcome the world when we have a single focus unifies all power and unites forces so that they are strengthened rather than weak.

I have unwavering focus on my goals – never turning my eye from objective—so that I can win.  I overcome, stop giving my energy to whatever doesn’t serve me.

That’s how Tyler Perry overcame the odds.  When he was in his 20s, he invested $12,000 of his money in his first play, and only 30 people attended it.

Gradually, this setback forced him to move from barely keeping his head above water until he became homeless, but you see, here’s where God comes in.  God will test you in the fire – to give you the faith to give you something greater.

Perry staged one final show at a theater that sat 4500 people.  But he did something different, he cast it with church folks. With no money in his pocket and no heat in the theater, and fearing that he wasted his life, he waited.

Not only did 30 people or 40 people of 50 people show up; the line wrapped around the corner and he filled the entire theater; he sold out 8 nights of a 4500 theater.  He produced his first two films for a total of $11 million and each opened at number one, earning more than $100 more million over costs.  His stage plays have earned over $150 million.  He has made almost $195 million on his sitcoms.  He now has 6 million Facebook followers – and more than $1 billion in sales.

Overcoming is not for the faint of heart.  Overcoming requires that we stop worrying about the obstacles and keep the faith.  Stop giving your attention to the difficulties and don’t let anything sway you from your course.

Toni Morrison worked for 20 years to become a writer, but she kept pressing on, and in 1988, she won a Pulitzer Prize and 5 years later, she won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In Matthew 25:31-33, Jesus said  “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

Overcoming requires that we be steadfast in believing that nothing and no one can keep my good from me; that through God all things are possible; that all we have to do is ask; that victory is mine; that when we seek we receive.  We must overcome the mediocre and be – really be the power that we are.  When we are washed clean in the Spirit, we cannot throw the baby out with the bath water; we have to keep what best serves us and the world.  You have to overcome your feelings of unworthiness and resolve not to be poor.

The affirmation that you should remember in order to feel the power of overcoming is: “Nothing can defeat or deter me — come what may, I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul and will press ahead; I will overcome.”

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