Sola Adesakin 
Winning with money isn’t just about earning more; it’s about evolving more. The truth is, financial success starts with personal growth, the kind that changes how you think, act, and relate with the world. As we move deeper in the final quarter of the year, this is a good time to make three solid commitments that can transform how you see and manage wealth.
1. Read more, grow more
One of the most underrated financial habits is reading. Knowledge compounds faster than interest — and the more you know, the better you grow.
Try this: commit to reading at least as many personal finance and personal growth books as your age in the next year. If you’re 30, that’s 30 books; if you’re 40, that’s 40 opportunities to grow your money mindset. Don’t worry about speed. Start small, one book every few weeks and take notes that you can act on.
Books are mental mentors. They help you see patterns, sharpen judgment, and learn from other people’s mistakes. Read about money, leadership, business, relationships, and purpose. Each area influences your ability to create and sustain wealth. Remember, your financial capacity rarely grows faster than your mental capacity. Feed your mind so your money can follow.
2. Audit your circle
Show me your five closest friends, and I’ll show you your future. The company you keep quietly determines your conversations, your confidence, and even your financial outcomes.
Audit your circle: who’s influencing you daily? Are they hungry for growth or stuck in a comfort zone? You need people who challenge you to dream bigger, think better, and execute smarter.
Your circle should be a blend of thinkers and doers — people who inspire and people who build. Seek relationships that go beyond social or financial wealth. You want a network rich in wisdom, character, legacy, and spiritual grounding.
If your circle isn’t stretching you, it’s shrinking you. Sometimes, the best financial decision you can make is to reposition your relationships. Iron sharpens iron, but only if the iron is close enough to strike.
3. Focus on purpose, not performance
Money is a tool, not a trophy. Many people chase financial performance, the numbers, the status, the validation, and forget why they started in the first place. Purpose is what gives your wealth meaning.
When your financial goals align with purpose, you stop chasing applause and start pursuing impact. You stop competing and start creating. It’s not about impressing anyone; it’s about building a life that funds your dreams, meets your needs, and leaves a lasting legacy.
Purpose keeps you grounded when success comes and motivated when it doesn’t. It helps you define wealth beyond bank balances — in the richness of your relationships, the quality of your work, and the peace that comes from knowing you’re on the right path.
As you move through the rest of October, these three commitments, to grow, to evaluate, and to realign , will do more for your finances than any quick win or trend. True wealth is built from the inside out.
So read more. Audit wisely. And live purposefully. Your financial transformation will follow suit.
Sola Adesakin is a highly respected wealth coach and chartered accountant with over two decades of transformative impact in the finance industry. As the visionary founder of Smart Stewards Financial Advisory Limited and Smart Stewards Advisory LLC, she has revolutionised the financial wellbeing of countless individuals and businesses across 40 countries. Her methodical approach to ‘make-manage-multiply’ money principles has elevated many from financial stress to prosperity, and mediocrity to exceptional achievement.