I was taught that one gets to learn something new everyday of one's life as long as he/she is alive and kicking.
My childhood was really a strict one and I really wasn't able to mingle with strangers. I grew up under the watch of both my mother and and elder siblings as the last child of the family, so most things I know about life are things I learnt from my mother and elder siblings. From personal hygiene to safety and from safety to self discipline, honesty, diligence and self-control. I was taught how to show respect to people no matter their age, whether they are older or younger. Mum emphasized on something called "Human dignity" which must be respected.
I was taught how to save money quite early but one thing I was not taught to do was how to make money or let me say "make much money".
Most members of my family prefer to acquire formal education rather than acquiring skills or go into business and of course, you know that getting a degree or education certificate will only help one to get a white collar job which is just a salary based job. You will only have to wait till the end of the month or the week (for weekly paid jobs) before getting your pay and most times, before the end of a new month, the previous salary is already exhausted and one might even run into debts.
I often wondered how people get to have so much money, enough to take care of their needs, take care of other members of their families and even give arms to the poor. I kept pondering about this until I came in contact with a man one afternoon in school.
We had just finished our second class for the day and had 2 hours break waiting for the commencement of the next one and since I had horridly left the house without breakfast that morning, I had to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I got a plate of food and began to eat. I was still on my food when I saw a man walk into the cafeteria with about five other guys with him. They moved to a table a table and this strange man ordered for a meal for everyone on that table. I kept looking at him and astonished at the fact that he paid for all of them.
Surprisingly, the man worked up to me and sat right in front of me. He asked what my name was and why I was in the cafeteria all alone. In his words: "You are supposed to have someone with you", I smiled and told him I was okay being alone. He told me his name and I won't forget in a hurry "Mr Clifford".
I was surprised he was also a student. He said he was studying Political Science but sincerely, I wasn't interested in all that. All I wanted to know was where he had all the money to pay for all those guys so, immediately he said he was going to pay for my meal, I couldn't help but burst out the question that was in my mind. "Sir, may I ask you a question?" I asked, "call me Clifford," he insisted. I sighed softly and asked again, addressing him as he desired and he began to tell me about what he does to make money and I won't forget it.
"I don't depend on my salary, I invest a whole lot of money in profitable businesses. Having one stream of income is the craziest thing to ever do. If you want to be rich, get yourself involved in a lot of things that brings you money as far as it is legal. Don't do anything that is not profitable."
Those were his words to me and before he walked back to his table, he paid for me meal and dropped his complementary card next to me. Till date, I can't tell how I missed the card and I haven't been opportune to see Mr Clifford in school again but the lesson I learnt from meeting him sticks to my mind and I am not letting it go in a hurry.
I am glad you read till the end.
My name is @mharvis
