50 Cent, Uncle Scrooge and the Almighty Dollar

50-Cent, Uncle Scroge and The Almighty Dollar

Does anyone else see the irony? 50 Cent has filed for bankruptcy protection...Irony? The dictionary says "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect." The name 50 Cent literally means he is all about the money, doesn't it? Oh, and 50 Cent needs protection... Have you ever seen this guy? Talk about fearsome.

Just so we're clear, this is personal bankruptcy, and does not affect his various business interests and, as his attorney explains, this " just allows him the chance to pursue an orderly reorganization of his financial affairs." 50 Cent told the Wall Street Journal he still hopes to become a billionaire one day, and if it doesn't work out, "I'll be extremely disappointed and feel like I haven't done what I was supposed to do."  Sounds almost like a higher calling.

50 Cent himself points out that even Walt Disney once filed for personal bankruptcy protection. Oh, yeah? Are you sure it wasn't one of his characters? Was it just some Mickey Mouse stuff? I don't know, it sounds Goofy to me.

Ah, but back to 50 Cent--he is beset by some personal setbacks in two recent civil cases, and thus he faces some significant challenges and "needs protection." Even those of us who aren't named after money have the need for bankruptcy protection. But maybe having a monetary name makes it more difficult, not easier. By making it big early this man named for money has stumbled. To whom should he turn for help? A couple of options come to mind. He could take heed of some advice from another person whose name means money--like , let's say the Reverend Creflo Dollar. Or, perhaps he can continue to follow in the footsteps of Walt Disney. 

As it turns out, if Mr. Disney had money troubles, Uncle Scrooge McDuck was probably involved in Disney's bankruptcy adventure referred to by Mr. 50 Cent above. You remember Scrooge McDuck--he had a giant room filled with gold where he enjoyed spending time, as I recall. Scrooge McDuck was not always highly successful. He stubbed his toe (do ducks have toes in those webbed feet?) a few times prospecting for gold before he struck it rich in the Klondike.

Recently, the Motley Fool (financial and investing advice web site) published a story on this highly successful billionaire, Scrooge McDuck. Given his earlier mention of Walt Disney as a well-known figure in whose footsteps he is already following, perhaps 50 Cent ought to look to those tips based on Uncle Scrooge's career.

1. Work harder (but smarter) than everyone else, and keep an eye out for con men. Says McDuck, "Life is filled with tough jobs, and there'll always be sharpies to cheat me ... well, I'll be tougher than the toughies and sharper than the sharpies, and I'll make my money square!"
2. Don't ignore the value of good connections to family or friends.   Young Scrooge comes to America with little more than the clothes on his back in "The Master of the Mississippi," but one of the first things he does is seek out his riverboat-captain uncle. Scrooge's only connection in his new country makes him a teen aged riverboat captain several years later.      
3. Persistence pays off ... eventually.  There wasn't gold at the end of most of Scrooge's rainbows, but in "The New Laird of Castle McDuck," he reaffirms his overriding optimism by exclaiming that "there's always another rainbow!" Scrooge's story is familiar to many entrepreneurs and self-made men, who often go through several failed ventures before they find one that really works.     
4. Sometimes what you really need is a stroke of luck.   Scrooge spent years trying and failing to strike it rich around the world before finally finding a gold deposit in the Yukon. The value of hard work and an expert knowledge of prospecting surely helped him discover the gold. However, in Scrooge's origin story, it's made clear that much of his success comes from having arrived in the Yukon before the gold rush began, and then happened to chance upon a completely isolated spot in Canada.     
5. Put your money to work for you.  Two years after Scrooge found gold in the Yukon, he'd pulled enough out of the ground to become a millionaire. At the prevailing exchange rate of the day, that means he'd managed to dig up about 3,300 pounds of the stuff. After that, he decided to become a businessman -- and that business, naturally enough, was bank ownership. According to "The Billionaire of Dismal Downs," Scrooge became a billionaire within five years of transitioning from laborer to lender, 

On the other hand, look at Creflo Dollar. Now here's somebody well on his way to financial security. He's the well-known minister in the World Changers Church International, whose Megachurch outside Atlanta, which cost $18 million and seats 8,500 members for services. Dollar owns multiple million dollar personal residence and was recently rewarded with a $65 million Gulfstream aircraft for his travel needs. 

The secret, I think, is found in his teachings. He espouses the "Prosperity Theology," which Wikipedia describes as "a Christian religious doctrine that financial blessing is the will of God for Christians, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to Christian ministries will increase one's material wealth." Wealth is interpreted in prosperity theology as a blessing from God, obtained through a spiritual law of positive confession, visualization, and donations. Donations, donations and more, with several hundred thousand members in his church, Creflo has it made. 

 Except for the deeply flawed mission of turning church contributions in the tens of millions of dollars to his own use (ownership of two Rolls Royces, three multimillion dollar homes and a private jet).  Think of the good that could have been accomplished with all those contributions.

So, 50 Cent, what will it be--your own Disney World or will you try Creflo's approach to  produce some "Prosperity Entertainment?"  Do you hear a higher calling or a low one?