Always hustling
I met a very wealthy businessman at a wedding. We both stood as sponsors. Seated beside me, we began a conversation. He told me what his business was and I told him mine.
This gentleman was polite and poised yet when he began speaking, you could trace that he was a self-made man. In fact he told me that he was. He had the ability to venture into business, expand it over the years and make it to where he is today.
The conversation was cordial. He told me his life story. And when he mentioned the ages of his grandchildren, I was surprised. I asked him if he would not mind if I asked how old he is.
“Mid-70s! I can’t believe it because you do not look your age. You look like you’re in your mid-60s,” I said with astonishment. Without even smiling he said, “Stem cells Francis. Stem cells cost me a lot but it invigorates me and gives me the drive and the energy.”
Hmmm.... stem cells. No wonder his life’s longevity is extended. Youth is restored. And then something happened. A few minutes later the “stem- cell gentleman” saw me talking animatedly to another businessman who is infinitely wealthier than he is. He said, “Francis... Is he who I think he is?” I nodded in the affirmative. “I want to meet him.” He said.
And so they met and I was right in the middle of their conversation. I kid you not when just within 10 minutes of their conversation this stem-cell gentleman began making a pitch presenting a proposal to sell part of his business to the wealthy tycoon.
The tycoon said, “No I am not interested.” But the stemcell, mid-70s gentleman pushed on and said, “No... If you partner with us you will earn money.... Lots of money!” And this conversation took place in the middle of a wedding ceremony long before the bride and groom were proclaimed husband and wife.
“No... But you will make more money... Lots of money....” The words echoed in my ears long after the wedding ceremony was over. This mid-70s stem-cell gentleman did not even realize how inappropriate it was to be present a business pitch during such an occasion yet he pushed and he pressed.
There is never a point in a person’s life when one would say, “Enough!”
“I will make more money, I will build more bodegas to store my stuff and I will keep on hustling. Stem cells can enable me to do more, make more and have more...”
I do not mean to judge this person but he sure gave me a lesson and a warning I should never forget. If God provides me with more years to come, then those years should be spent not solely focused on hustling to get more money and make more money.
From a stage of success, one should make the rest of his or her years significant in the sense of mentoring others, blessing others, helping develop the community and country in order to bring more meaning to life. I am learning lessons here. When I reach that stage, and if God was gracious to me, I should focus more on the learning rather than just the earning. Not to continuously seek to acquire for the present but to seriously consider what to leave behind.
And one more thing; at that stage in my life and should I be invited to a wedding, I should pay more attention to the ceremony rather than to spot the who’s who in the audience so I can network with them and get more business.
The thing that hit me was this. The words “Till death do us part” do not only refer to the marriage vows but is a factual truth that death makes us part from all the things we have worked hard to accumulate. And the only thing we can bring with us is the kind of person we have become, not the stuff we acquired.
And by the way, in the next wedding ceremony, we should all focus on the ceremony and not on the celebrities.