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In this interview with Dennis Bentil, Dr. Olumide Emmanuel shares insights into his personal life and ministry, discussing his journey and experiences. He also delves into the challenges and opportunities of starting a business, as well as addressing controversial topics such as the practice of paying tithe and its implications.
Give us a brief introduction of who you are so that people can get to know more about you.
My name is Olumide Emmanuel. I am a Nigerian husband, father, pastor, and businessman. I am an apostle in the marketplace and the overseer of the Truth of Calvary Ministries, which has a network of churches globally. We have churches on four of the seven continents. Additionally, I run nine different companies under the Common Sense Group, with offices also on four continents. I am an author who has written over a hundred books, 58 of which have been published, and 59 are set to be published in two months. I am just trying to make a difference in our world.
I can’t believe one man can achieve all of this.
It is grace and time. It takes time. I have been around for a while; later this year, I will celebrate 35 years of full-time ministry and have been in business for 32 years.
How is it possible to be a full-time minister and a businessman at the same time, especially when you’re not running only one business?
It is a function of purpose, planning, time management, and structures. As I always say, fish don’t struggle to swim, and birds don’t struggle to fly because that is what they are created to do. Whatever you are created to do, whatever aligns with your purpose, grace will be available to make it happen. I believe that being an apostle in the marketplace is one of the things God has called me to do, so it comes naturally to me. Number two is planning. Whatever you want to do, you need to plan well so that you can manage your time, energy, resources, and systems. You need to implement systems to ensure you can manage all the different things you do. I say that S-Y-S-T-E-M means Save Yourself Time, Energy, and Money. So whatever takes your time, energy, and money, put structures in place to manage it effectively. Once the systems are in place, you’re good to go.
How do you manage people in this process?
There are many things I do, but I’ve come to realize that many people today have the character, competence, and capacity to start a business, yet they lack the courage to do so. What I do is lend them my courage. I use my courage to start the business, then employ their competence, capacity, and character to manage it. I own the business; they run it. Many of the people I work with today can start their own businesses but aren’t ready to take that leap because they’re afraid—what if it doesn’t work? What if it does?
So is it only fear that stops people from starting a business, pursuing their God-given purpose, or following their passions?
Well, there are many reasons, but fear is one of the major ones: fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of uncertainties. It takes a lot of courage to leave the known for the unknown and comfort for discomfort. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is doing it despite your fear. In the school of courage, we say, “Do it afraid.” You never know what you can achieve until you try. Another reason is ignorance; people often don’t know how to start or what to do. They think they need to have everything figured out before they begin. If you wait for favorable conditions, you will never get anything done. You just need to start, and many other things will begin to fall into place along the way. A lack of mentorship and support can also be a barrier. Many things can be achieved in life with mentors, sponsors, and supporters inspiring you. When you feel alone, it’s difficult to take that first step because you think, “If I fall, who will catch me?” However, one thing I’ve realized is that everyone who has accomplished something great in life started somewhere. So, until you start, you will never know what you can achieve. When you pursue higher education, you start with basic knowledge and then begin to question what exists. Eventually, you arrive at a point where you decide what should exist. Many things may be true at one stage but become untrue at another. For instance, we’re often told that a tree does not make a forest, which emphasizes the past. However, if we think about the future, every forest begins with a tree. So why not be the tree that starts a new forest? We have also heard that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but many people remain where they are. The truth is, that journey begins with a step taken. Until you take that step, your journey hasn’t begun. Many people say, “I plan to,” “I hope to,” “I intend to,” or “I wish to.” If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. A thousand good intentions are not as powerful as one action. It’s time to launch out. If you crash, you crash. Most of those who say, “If I perish, I perish,” never actually perish.
So do you think Christians don’t take action because they are always focused on prayers?
Many years ago, a very great man of God, Casey Price, did a series on faith, foolishness, and presumption, and later released a set of books around that. Most of what we call faith is foolishness, and most of what we call faith is presumption. As a matter of fact, I am working on a book that will be out in two months. It’s about ministers, mistakes, and ministry. As I celebrate 35 years of ministry, I want to help ministers identify the mistakes I’ve seen them make in the last three and a half decades. One of the things I have seen is that a lot of people are lazy. When we talk about laziness, people don’t realize that you can be physically lazy, spiritually lazy, and mentally lazy. A lot of people are mentally lazy, and some manifestations of laziness are procrastination, excuses, and blame. So when you see people say, “I’m going to pray about it,” they are often just lazy. They are not ready to face reality and do what needs to be done. Because when you sit down and ask yourself, “What is faith?” Faith is action. Faith does not deny facts, and faith goes with a plan. Just because you have faith does not mean there are no issues that should concern you. It doesn’t mean there are no issues that can deter you. But it means that regardless of these issues, I have faith in God, and I move forward. Because faith is not merely believing. A lot of people are believers. You can believe and still go to hell. You can believe and still die. Even the devil believes. So what do I believe? I believe that’s nonsense. You believe; everybody believes in something. So what is faith? Faith is acting on what you believe. If you don’t act, you are faithless. You’re operating in foolishness; that’s not faith. Acting on what you believe is faith. Faith is an action word. I believe, therefore I declare. So if you are not doing, that’s why I say faith without works is dead. If you don’t show me your faith, show me your faith by your works. If you are not working it out, you’re out of faith. You’re just fooling yourself.
But for Christians, we are always told to pray about things, right? So what if, for example, this podcast that I’m doing—I think this will be a good thing to do. I think I have the skillset and resources to start. But what if it’s not God’s plan for me or God’s will? How do we navigate this so that while we are praying, we don’t rush in our own understanding and make a mistake?
You see, the challenge with many of us is that we don’t have a functional relationship with God. We have what I call a fire brigade Christianity kind of approach, where we only pray when there’s a problem. If you are truly a child of God, you need to have intimacy with the Holy Spirit. If you are truly a child of God, it means that every day you’re praying, every day you’re reading your Bible, and every day you’re in the Spirit. You’re just spending time. So when you are in that realm where you’re praying every day, doing your daily devotion and quiet time, and having intimacy with the Holy Spirit, you wouldn’t need any special prayer for special guidance. Your spirit will be tuned to the Spirit of God, so even your desires and aspirations will be birthed of the Spirit, not out of ambition or trying to be like somebody else. When that becomes the software that runs your life, you won’t need to wake up every day asking, “What should I eat?” or “Should I enter that car?” No. Once you wake up, you just begin to flow in the leading of the Spirit. As many as are led—not pushed—by the Spirit of the Son of God, you will be led. There is a difference between a good idea and a God idea. Not all good ideas are God ideas, but a good idea can be part of a God idea. For instance, when you are born again, being born again does not suspend or cancel all the faculties of your life. When you got born again, your eyes could still see, your nose could still smell, your mouth could still speak, your ears could still hear, and your mind could still think. So when you are born again, it doesn’t mean you can’t see, hear, speak, or smell until the Holy Spirit tells you to do so. No, it doesn’t mean you can’t use your brain until the Holy Spirit tells you to use it. Every one of your faculties is now sanctified for the Master’s use. So once you know that something needs to be done, there are leadings from God that come through the Word of God. There are leadings from God that come through the character of God, and there are leadings from God that come through the purpose of God. Let’s break it down. Leadings that come through the Word of God are specifically documented instructions that should be followed. As a Christian, you know what the Word of God says, and you do it. Some of these are called doctrines, which are teachings of Christ that should be adhered to by every believer. However, there are some things that may not even be in the Bible, but they reflect the character of God. God is good, God is kind, and God is merciful. So anything you feel inclined to do that reflects the character of God doesn’t require asking, “God, should I give?” That’s foolishness because giving is part of the character of God. “Oh God, should I forgive? Should I have mercy? Should I let it go?” No, you just know that this reflects the character of God, so you are led by that character because you are God-like. Then there are some leadings based on the purpose of God. The purpose of God is that all men should be saved. So if God gives you an idea to do something that can lead to the salvation of people, what other prayer do you need? That kind of thinking is often spooky and religious. If you know that by doing this, you will reach more people and more will be saved, then it is the will of God. You should go ahead and do it. Many times, we want to hear God say, “Do this.” But sometimes, what you need to do is follow the promptings of your spirit and the opportunities presented to you. If it is not of God, He will tell you to stop. Do you understand? It doesn’t have to be a grand revelation; it can simply be a stop. That means you are moving forward, and God says, “No, that’s not My way for you. Stop.” So when you start doing many of the things you feel led to do, you might think, “It was just something that told me,” but it’s not just something; it’s Someone—the Holy Spirit. You may realize that as you start, everything just keeps working, and you don’t feel any restriction. You’re doing it, and then you think, “Oh, I never knew it was God; I just started.” Later, you realize that God was in it all along. Life is lived forward but understood backward. So when you look back, you can see that the hand of God was actually in the midst of it all.
Your new book, How to Create Wealth as a Career Person, addresses the fact that everybody is talking about entrepreneurship. How is it that a job is what they give you to forget about your dreams?
I focus primarily on career people because that’s where many individuals are locked in the rat race. Salaries are what they pay you to forget your dreams. I believe in entrepreneurship; I have written many books on it. ‘The School of Money’ has become a Bible of wealth creation, focusing on how to make money and multiply it. ‘The Entrepreneur’s Blueprint’ is a blueprint for entrepreneurship. So, while I believe in entrepreneurship, I also believe in balance, because many times, balance is the key to life. The challenge with a lot of people is extremes. We often go to extremes, leading to an “us against them” mentality. No, it’s not us against them, because most of the time, what I’ve seen is that people are not necessarily incorrect; they are incomplete. I bring that completion to the table in most of the discourse. I believe that there are three portals of wealth creation: entrepreneurship, career, and investment. You can be an investor, a career person, and an entrepreneur. So when people say that everyone has to be an entrepreneur, no, not everyone has to be an entrepreneur. But everyone has to be an investor. I decided to write this book by inspiration to address this. I strongly believe that if you understand wealth creation, you can be an entrepreneur and create wealth as an entrepreneur. One uniqueness of the book is that when I started this journey in 1997, I began teaching people, and I have been teaching people since then. I have raised many individuals who have become billionaires and millionaires all over the world. So, I said, “Now that I’m writing about career people, let me highlight some of the career people I have raised who are now wealthy and still in their careers.” They come from different sectors: health, manufacturing, entertainment, government, and civil service. I brought about 16 or 17 of them together and said, “Okay, you guys share your stories. Where were you when you met me? What did you learn from me? How did you apply it? What do you have now? What did you do? What are your assets? What is your net worth?” They shared their stories. So, this book talks about wealth creation, how you can create wealth as an entrepreneur, and shows you examples of people who have done it, so you know it’s not just theory; it’s practical. I see a lot of people claiming to be entrepreneurs, but they are not really doing anything substantial. They should actually be busy doing something in their career field. But because they want titles without entitlements, they just say, “I don’t want to work for anybody. I don’t want to serve anybody.” No, you’re not going to do well like that because you cannot run a successful business with an entitlement mentality. You cannot run a successful business with a survivor mentality. In order to run a successful business, it must be with a value creation mentality and a legacy mentality. You must think about offering value because money flows in exchange for value. You must also think about legacy, building something that will outlive you and be a blessing to your generation. Once we understand how to create wealth, sustain wealth, and transfer our wealth, then we can build transgenerational wealth.
I have heard you say there are two types of people: entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Which type of people do you think should not go into entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurs are people who start businesses, run businesses, and own businesses in different sectors. They are risk-takers. Entrepreneurship is a spirit—a risk-taking spirit, a problem-solving spirit, a solution-provision spirit. It’s a transformational spirit. Intrapreneurs, on the other hand, are those who work within organizations. They may not start the business, but they can run it. They are managers, innovators, and exceptional individuals who work within established organizations to drive progress. You may not start the hospital, but you can be a doctor working in the hospital who provides amazing service that enhances its reputation. You may not own a TV station as an entrepreneur, but if you are a broadcaster, newscaster, presenter, or show host, and you do it exceptionally well, you contribute to the TV station’s success. You are not the owner of the station; you are a host. You are an intrapreneur, functioning like a wheel within a wheel that keeps everything running smoothly. Once people understand this, they need to realize that to be a successful intrapreneur, they must have an entrepreneurial mindset, which many people lack. That’s why I differentiate intrapreneurs from salary earners and job seekers. Someone who works solely for a salary is just thinking of themselves: “I can’t come and kill myself. I’m not here to work for anybody; I just want to pay my bills.” They are operating with a survivor mentality, which is fractured. But an intrapreneur is someone within an organization who did not start it but runs it as if it were their own. They do everything to ensure the organization thrives because they have a mindset of offering value and providing solutions, even though they are not the business owners. One key to their success, which is why they need an entrepreneurial mindset, is understanding the business of their career. For example, a medical doctor can work in a hospital and be poor, while another medical doctor can work in the same hospital and become wealthy. The difference is that one is a salary earner, while the other is an intrapreneur who understands the business aspect of their career and uses their entrepreneurial mindset to unlock that potential. For instance, I am a doctor working in a hospital, earning a salary, going home, and waiting for the next paycheck. Meanwhile, another doctor earns a salary but notices problems and identifies issues that need addressing. They think, “I could develop a product or service to solve this.” They are still a doctor, but now they are thinking about the business of medicine. They approach manufacturers, suggesting they create a product based on observations about their patients. Eventually, the company develops the product, and that doctor earns a percentage from it, now making millions from an idea born out of their awareness. Let me share something that happened recently. Just yesterday, while in Chicago, when we were leaving the hotel to go to the airport, the driver who picked us up didn’t understand my language. I was talking to my wife in my language, saying, “Babe, you didn’t remind me to charge the phone. When we get to the airport, remind me, since we have enough time.” The driver picked up a charger and asked, “Do you need a charger? Do you need to charge your phone?” My wife was surprised and asked how he knew what we were discussing. He replied, “I saw you had a phone and thought maybe you’d need help.” That’s an intrapreneur with an intrapreneurial mindset. It’s not his job to charge our phone, but he is sensitive to opportunities. That sets him apart from someone who might just say, “I’m just going to take them to the airport, whether they charge their phone or not. That’s none of my business.” This mindset separates salaried earners from intrapreneurs. The same thing happened yesterday when I met a friend who wants to buy property. While in the Uber, my wife asked, “So what have they decided?” I told her, “Oh, they need a five-bedroom minimum.” The driver overheard and said, “Oh, you want to buy a house? I sell houses.” I replied, “No, I’m a developer; we buy and sell houses,” but he was still thinking like an intrapreneur. Some might say, “We’re all Uber drivers,” but not all Uber drivers think this way. Those with entrepreneurial mindsets see opportunities to earn extra income from their jobs. It’s all about mindset and understanding. When I travel, especially in North America or Australia, I notice that many people don’t understand the economic environment. They are locked in the rat race, proud of holding two or three jobs, and I think, “Who did this? This is slavery.” Paying bills is not the only purpose of life. In a capitalist environment, capitalism is built for entrepreneurs and investors, not for salaried workers. Once you get into that rat race of salaries, you are locked into that track. In the rat race of life, even if you win, you are still a rat. The challenge I have seen with people from our culture is that when Asians and Jews come into the Western world, they start businesses. When Africans come, they look for jobs, which has defined our destiny. Until there is a shift, once you are locked into the salary track, it becomes difficult to escape because bills and taxes don’t wait for you.
That is true because I lived in China for over six years. Coming back to Ghana, I realized that the Chinese have taken over, and many of these individuals lack education.
In their own country, they may be seen as useless, jobless, or illiterate, yet they come to Africa and become expatriates. They can’t even speak English. This lack of understanding persists, even when they enter the Western world. Before you know it, they start with a small takeaway and eventually grow into a significant business.
