Life is about making decisions by which we hope to succeed. As beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is success. But could one be too young to make decision about success? To a young mind, the perception of success is wealth; even though there is much more to success than wealthiness. Success can be defined as a satisfactory outcome of life or an event that accomplishes its purpose. Success could also be defined as a state of prosperity or fame. But if success is not necessarily about wealth; what could success look like without riches?
Many years ago while in secondary school, the science teacher asked the class a question: “who wants to be reach?” The whole class raised their hands deciding and saying: I want to be rich? We were barely between 12 – 14 years old and as far as our understanding could bestow, riches is the desire. In that very same class was a girl –a Ghanaian national, a friend of mine who took a different stance, deciding that she does not want to be rich. I remember her as very brilliant, a member of the team that represents that school in debates. Never saw her since we left secondary school though. But the question I ask myself each time I remember her is: could we sometimes be too young to make decisions that are right for our future? We were just kids, being taken care of by parents. We do lack, sometimes we get hungry but we know not what it means to be poor. If at all we were poor, we lack what it takes to understand the concept. As kids, life is about waking up, feeding, school time, play time and bed time. When all these factors are present; it’s just alright. My friend who chose not to be rich was only naïve.
In life I have come across several kinds of people. As kids don’t understand what it means to be poor, so are many adults who have no understanding of what it means to be successful. What ever you can think, you can be –knowledge is power. But I have met quite a number of people who can’t even think “success”.
I use to have a neighbour many years ago who runs a transport business. He has about four long buses that generate huge income on daily basis. He lives in a two bedroom apartment with his family of about seven children. People knows he is rich and was respected for that in the community. I paid him a visit one day at his apartment to discover that this neighbour was living in abject poverty in the midst of his riches. My memory can still passive the odour of rubber as busted and all sort of automobile tires from his transport business leaned against the walls all around his two bedroom apartment. The dilapidation of his furniture has no diction to describe with. The entire apartment battered with grease oil; littered with used automobile parts looks like a black smith workshop. Amazingly before me he sat feeling so relax and speaking confidently without a pinch of embarrassment at least. He was my host and I as the guest who felt embarrassed by his situation. For almost an hour he spoke with me like on top of his world. After rubbing minds with him I realize that: as long as he could comprehend, God has brought him to the supreme-
I have met another set of people: they do not fear failure but despise it with an attitude. They will tell you: I must be rich and will do what ever it takes to be rich. Even if it means to rob, traffic drug, kill or die trying; failure is not an option. They are usually not patient, always available and looking around for dangerous businesses. Their obsession for riches is off the hook. They will do anything to mingle with the rich and when they get rich, they despise the poor; they can’t stand the sight of paupers. If you notice in this paragraph, there is a word I did not mention: success. These set of people may not necessarily be successful but they will do anything to get rich or not to be poor.
Also I have met with people who have taken a though stance on the positive side of life as their ride to success. It does not have to be a slow or a distant journey. Just like on the negative sides, there are opportunities and chances that lie ahead on the righteous streak. The difference is: the acquisition is by divine inspiration. The “Divine One” inspires who ever desires for it and pleases Him but we need understanding to be positioned.
Now that we are no more naïve, I wish I meet that little friend of mine again. I will not hesitate to remind and ask her that very same question: do you want to be rich? I am 95% certain that by now she would be saying a different answer. I have come to realize that success and riches are two different things but what is one without the other? A life without riches does not necessarily mean “poor”. It relates to how more blessed you are in substance. To whom much is given, much is expected. Remember it all comes at a cost.
When things happen to your advantage and you prosper in knowledge and substance, don’t start feeling too confident thinking you got there on your own. There is a divine empowerment behind success; it does not just come. How and why? The answer is for our maker, but we've got a serious role to play. Knowledge and wisdom do enhance but are not guarantee for fortunes –have we not seen professors languishing in poverty while the “street smart” is the employer of academic pinnacle? We dwell within a big mystery, set in motion by the God who exists up there. You may not know him, yet He blesses you. God’s criteria are beyond what is known to men.
Truly we live in a very dramatic world. You can decide what you want to be – you don’t have to be poor. But there are many paths that lead to prosperity. Some paths are short, some are dangerous and some are quite a distance. You must be ready to decide on these options and that is where wisdom comes in. Man is not born empty but with attributes –tendencies, nevertheless the factors that surround us as we grow constitute the type of person we are –but in some exceptional cases. The ability to choose right is the decisive -
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