He was like a Joseph, sent to cause a positive change in Potiphar’s house. His perspectives about life were different, a refreshing change from current realities. He spoke confidently of his business strategies. He told stories of his journey from poverty to prosperity. And he held his audience spellbound as he spoke.

And why would they not feel that way?

This is a man who has forty thriving businesses while many were struggling to make one stand on unsteady feet. He had been listed in the Forbes Magazine as an entrepreneur to watch out for; a feat many will die to achieve. He was a man worth listening to.

Meet Joseph Agyepong, a speaker at the Excellence in leadership Conference 2017 of Daystar Christian centre.

Joseph punctuated his speech with the inspiring phrase, ’as far as the eyes can see, citing God’s encounter with Abraham when he asked him to choose a land to settle in. (Genesis 13: 14-17) He urged the audience not to just ‘look’ and keep missing opportunities.  ‘Look around as you walk around the street and you will see things. Look at everything you see twice,’ he said.

Mr Agyepong went beyond LOOKING; he SAW and was able to harness the opportunities around him to make a mark in the business world. ‘As far as you can see, you will achieve,’ he assured the audience. He urged the people listening not to be afraid of trying. ‘No one will arrest you for trying. Just try. Start something. I started with nothing and today, I am paying more than sixty-five thousand people.’ Because I dared to SEE when others were merely LOOKING.’

Mr Josepoh told the story of how he started a waste disposal company. Waste disposal was a problem in his country, Ghana and since he was an entrepreneur, he decided to tackle it. ‘Entrepreneurs solve problems. They don’t just talk about problems,’ he stated.

‘While the other people saw a filthy job, I saw a fortune. And so I went from waste to wealth. How could I have known that mere waste disposal will put me on the front page of Forbes magazine?’ Mr Joseph told people in the audience who were already fired up.

And so, Joseph Agyepong went from waste to wealth because he saw an opportunity. Quite an inspiring story. It is time to look around. Could there be something you are missing? An opportunity that you regard as WASTE which can take you to WEALTH?

I remember a story about a man who looked out of a window one day and saw so many cars abandoned in a particular place. He asked about them and was told they were second hand cars that the owners were thinking of how to dispose of.

A bright idea came to his head.

Back in his country, lots of people did not have cars because they could not buy the new models displayed in company showrooms. So he set to work.

That was how second hand cars began to come into Nigeria.

I heard the story of a jobless graduate who was being mocked by his friends and family. Then he prayed and was instructed to look for items, burn them and store the ashes. The idea sounded stupid at first but since he was convinced it was a divine instruction, he obeyed. And started storing ashes in the house he lived with his parents.

The laughter of his mockers grew louder. They said he had added madness to his list of calamities.

Then the eventful day came.

Some expatriates came around the area where he lived. They said they needed ashes as raw material for the company they wanted to site around that place and asked where they could get it. The man they met burst into derisive laughter. Then he pointed to a house and said, still laughing, ’There is one mad man there that has been storing ashes for a while. You can meet him.’ And they left, the laughter of the man trailing them.

The expatriates asked Mr Jobless Graduate how much he wanted for the ashes. And the money they paid him was enough to shut the mouth of all his mockers.

They saw MERE ASHES but hidden in it was a MINE OF WEALTH.

Again I say, ‘Look around you. What is that WASTE that you can turn to WEALTH? Look as far as your eyes can see.’  Someone said Nigeria is a land of opportunities. Whether you believe it or not, there are still a lot of UNTAPPED AREAS.

I am looking too. I hope to find something.