WHY AREN'T BANKERS THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD?
So, a couple of days ago, Felix (not real name) and I were
having a conversation and he told me about his plight. I’ll like to share it
with you; maybe there’s someone going through the same situation. Hopefully,
this would serve as some sort of answer to get you dusted and moving on.
“I’m studying Microbiology presently but I don’t have one
grain of passion for it. I love to write and writing is the number one thing that
gives me joy. Sometimes, I lock myself away from the world and write away for
hours. Nothing else can take that much of my time. I’m single now though, so I don’t
know how it’ll be when I have a partner who’ll also need a portion of my time
and attention.”
“That’s great!” I replied “As a writer myself, I love it when
young minds say these things. It means that there are still very active sources,
where positive energy is dispelled into the atmosphere and other writers can
also tap from. Nice one bro!”
He then went quiet for one ‘very long’ minute, time long
enough for me to know something was wrong.
“But I don’t think I want to write anymore. My friends are
telling me to be serious and realistic with my life. They say writing is not a
lucrative line and I can’t be as financially comfortable as I want to be. They
said even though I’m a good writer, while my mates are working in banks, oil
and gas firms, building & construction companies, health, insurance, and
the rest, I’ll be scribbling words that people may not even read. Also they
said…”
I allowed him finish his epistle and here’s my simple reply,
which I’ll also like to give anybody having doubts about following their
passion.
“Felix, do you know that if what you studied in school is
directly proportional to your financial stability and sustainability, then Bankers
should be the richest people in the world. I mean, this people sleep and wake
up with money. They see, feel, and even dream about money. But do you know why
bankers aren’t the richest people in the world?”
“Why?”
“Simply because 89% (my personal stat from close interaction,
scrutiny and observation) of bankers don’t even know how they ended up there,
what they’re doing there, or when they’ll leave there. Cash isn’t money to them
but tools of their trade. Just so is it for people who have turned themselves into
professional robots, cycling the routine, month-after-month, living for the pay
day and nothing else.
The problem isn’t necessarily the tracks but the athletes. We
live in a world where a lot of fishes are up in the sky, praying and yearning
for water, and a lot of birds are deep down in the waters, drowning and gasping
for air. A world where we’ve been made to believe that some professions are
ants, when some others (elephants) are called.
There are a lot of people majestically seated behind large
mahogany desks, who know deep down that they should busy dirtying themselves in
their farms. There is that HR guy currently running a presentation, who knows
even at that spot that he should be in his kitchen with his co-chefs, “cheffing”
things out.
Felix, your friends, just like the society have lied! Look at
people like John Grisham, Stephen King, James Patterson and Mummy J.K. Rowling
and see the truth. Whatever it is you want to do, someone whose generation will
forever be thankful to, has done it. Hope that answers your question”
And yes, Felix is Nigerian, so I totally understand where he’s
coming from, but look at Late Isaac Durojaiye Agbetusin (SAN), aka Otunba
Gaddaffi and his “Sh*t Business is Serious Business” slogan. His fellow legal practitioners
would’ve thought he had mental hea…
…Enough said.
To every Felix out there, Go and turn your passion into
profit, so you understand how it feels, being paid to do “nothing”.
Mature Minds Talk.
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