Advice for the young at heart
This is the title to a song by Tears for Fears about 30 years ago when I was still in that category and working like mad to amount to something. There were two lines in that song that had stuck in my mind and drove me to do my best, “soon we will be older” and “when we gonna make it work?”. You don’t need to be a genius to understand what those words mean but to take heed is something else.
I filed my first income tax return in 1977 and have been filing one every year without fail for past 40 years, and to set the record straight, I am not yet qualified to get the benefits of a senior citizen. However, through these many long years of working in various industries, in different positions, for different people and under different circumstances, I have amassed a database of what makes people happy, what makes them successful and how they live their lives.
As you can imagine, there are a number of ways people become successful and end up with the trappings of success such as recognition, fame and fortune. If I was just given one choice of what to receive for being successful, it would be fortune for me. Now how does one get fortune? You could do it the old fashioned way by earning it or working for it, inheriting it, marrying into money or winning the lottery. It is also possible to not only earn your fortune but on top of that you also inhe-rited wealth from your rich parents and have a rich wife as well, after all if you were privileged, your circle of friends will most likely be affluent as well. With that kind of luck, I would not be surprised if you won the lottery as well!
Let us focus on making it on your own. When I was in my formative years, I was so envious of many of my classmates who seemed to have everything and did not even have to study hard. I was somewhat upset at my Father who made me work for him on Saturdays and parts of my summer break, plus doing repair work in the house involving carpentry, masonry, plumbing, elec-trical and even welding! It was only much later that I fully realized the value of the training I got which is to understand work, time management, using tools and the importance of being able to do things yourself.
Another important lesson I learned from my Father was dealing with people. Even before I hit my teens, I was sent off with the delivery truck to collect from our clients, which I was not too thrilled about. First is the delivery truck was not air conditioned, second was it was a Saturday and I could have been playing, and the worst was to ask for payment from people I did not know. Come to think of it, the worst was probably the best part of the job. I recall that every place I went to collect, I was given a nice seat in an air conditioned room with something to drink or eat or both! Everyone just found it so cute that this little boy would be collecting and issuing the receipt for their payment, which means they had to pay so they can see me struggle to write out the receipt and it was al-ways 100% successful collection! Come to think of it, perhaps my late Father sent me because I was such a nice boy that our clients could not say no to!
Learn as much as you can from school, on the job or in any other situation. I am not talking about just the theoretical stuff but what really happens in the real world. Learn how to interact with people. Understand the time value of not just money but also the time of other people. Know how to respect others regardless of their position or stature. Build up know knowledge base, skill sets, good habits and reputation as early as you can because soon you will be older and by that time when you gonna make it work?
(Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@yahoo.com)