(pix from www.istockphoto.com)
I came across this and i think i should not be the only one benefiting from this
(This not my original article)
Yesterday, i had a long-postponed meeting with a friend in his new office and two things caught my attention.
One:The office space was so big that I asked how much he got the office space... Your guess is as good as mine. It was in millions of Naira.
Two: I met his son, a young boy of 11 or 12 years at the office working alongside his father and i was drawn to that singular act.
During our discussion, he told me how his son brought in a deal of over 12 million Naira for him in December
The son was at the school assembly ground and the founder was talking to the students about the epileptic power supply and how the school solar inverter hasn't been working. He then asked them if any of the students knows or can recommend a company to fix it up.
After the assembly, my friend's son walked up to the founder and PITCHED his father's solar company to him. He told him what his father's does and how his father can repair the school solar issue.
The founder, amazed, placed a call to the father and the rest is history... My friend picked up his bill of 12 Million, did the job in two weeks and has gotten several referral from other schools...
LESSON ONE
How well do your kids knows about your job? Are you still the Baby Boomers Generation parents who believe kids should only focus on books and education and have no reason to learn about what you do? You want your kids to graduate and then start knocking on doors or submitting applications looking for jobs because you haven't equipped them with the right skills?
LESSON TWO
How well can your kids pitch? A young boy, less than 12 years can pitch his father's business to a third party and get an invitation for a presentation yet, we have adults here who can't pitch what they do. Ask them to tell you what they do, they will stammer and shake and you will not be able to put together a reasonable output... Pitching isn't inborn. It's learnt. You have to practice and master the act of pitching... What you watch and listen to can help you grow... What stations are your kids watching? Cartoon or Africa Magic Yoruba?.... How do you want them to reason?
I was talking to an eight year old girl recently and we were discussing an issue... She said "Uncle Steve, maybe the reason the lady died was because Babalawo killed her" My heart broke... In my mind, i was asking "Babalawo? eight years old? Where is that thinking coming from?
LESSON THREE
How much of an entitled kids are you grooming? You see, i weep when i see madness and failure in the name of luxury and sophistication... Let me tell you, Pampering your kids and giving them the best in life will not bestow success on them... Growing up, i do not have much luxury that some kids in the neighborhood have but, those kids do not have the same mental reasoning I have....
Your kids are on break and you have never thought it wise for them to learn a skill or help you out at the shop or just engage them in such a way that they will be useful... In Nigeria, young people are so entitled so much that even when you are 22 years and still in the university, your parents will still cater for you... As a matter of fact, it's their responsibility to cater for you... When they fail to send money at the right time, you will be upset and go about with the entitlement garb... Some of us have even extended it to uncles and aunties....
The only thing I realized late was that my father spoilt me so much that it took me a much later time to understand that money doesn't come easy... I will not allow my kids to do same.. They will work and earn money early so that they will understand why it is important to learn financial prudence... So your kids can't even write a single line of code, they can't take a hammer and strike in a nail or they can't do some gardening work and you think you are raising sophisticated kids... in one words, your kids don't know what they can do to generate money from the age of 10 and you are not even helping them to give them direction... You are pampering them...
LESSON FOUR
Good schools doesn't bestow sense on your kids... It can connect them to other privilege and high network kids but it won't teach them how to build relationships or how to make use of relationships built and how to be successful... Schools don't teach success in the sense of the world, they teach success in an academic way... And that is why most successful people aren't the best in class but they are mentally intelligent... It's your job to help your kids' mental growth. No school will do that for you