DAVID: All my life, I have struggled for one thing or the other. As a child, I struggled to earn the affection of my parents; as a boy I struggled for recognition from my peers; and now, as a man I struggle to earn a living. Each day, I stare into the future not knowing what to expect. I simply try to live one day at a time. But recently I began to hear a voice in my heart that bothers me. It is like the voice of an elderly wise one, and it keeps saying to me, “There is more to life than mere existence.”
MENTOR: Why does that bother you?
DAVID: I have gone through so much pain and disappointment in life. Even as I speak, there are so many issues to battle with, and all I can think of is survival. I don’t want anything more than to be free from these struggles some day. The best I can dream of is to be rich enough to take care of my family and provide them with the love and comfort that I never had. Yet, that voice keeps telling me that there is more that could be done in a lifetime than just passing through. It is hard to understand.
MENTOR: I am glad you opened up to me. Majority of those who come to seek my advice are only concerned about personal success in career, business or family. Over the years, I have observed that most people, irrespective of their backgrounds, financial, educational, and social status, are living life inside a box. I call it the Survival Box. To the average person, Life is a journey that goes from Birth to Education to Work / Family / Career to Retirement and then to Death, and the object of that journey is to arrive at a point where one has everything he wants – comfort, wealth, and influence. While some are able to attain success and wealth, the majority are not able to. So, they settle for a life of ‘managing’ or survival. Unfortunately, even those who attain success and wealth eventually realize that there is more to life than living for personal gains.
DAVID: And what is wrong with struggling to make life better for yourself?
MENTOR: There is nothing wrong with it. Only that you can never make the most of life that way
DAVID: I don’t understand.
MENTOR: How much is N1000 and N1 million worth to you respectively?
DAVID: N1000 would sustain me for 3 days, going by my very conservative spending plan. It would take care of feeding and probably recharge card for my phone. But with a million naira, I could start a business, sponsor my education, pay rent and furnish my apartment, buy as much foodstuff as I want, get new clothes, shoes and so on.
MENTOR: So the worth of money is in the quantity and quality of things it can be used for. Is that right?
DAVID: Sure.
MENTOR: What if you were given this N1 million that could be used for so many things, and it is all the money you will ever get in your lifetime. How would you spend it?
DAVID: Knowing that the N1 million is all I will ever have in my lifetime, I would not want to spend it all. Of course, I would use a small percentage of the money to take care of my immediate expenses, but the bulk of it would be invested in order for it to multiply. The returns from the investment would be used to meet other urgent needs.
MENTOR: You have spoken well. You seem to have some ideas about money management. But, you told me you had so many problems. Why don’t you just take the money and use it to buy all the things you are presently lacking – food, clothes, and other luxuries, maybe a small car to reflect your new status. You could give yourself a treat; organize a party for your friends; go on a shopping spree, just to take a break from your struggles.
DAVID: That would be stupid of me and that would amount to waste. The reason is money once spent is forever gone. When the money is gone, it means the rest of my life would be miserable. Inasmuch as I want to be comfortable, I would rather look at the long-term benefit of investing the money. There is a whole life to live and there are more important things I would need the money for as time goes on.
MENTOR: Again, you have spoken well. Every man has one life to live, but most people spend it rather than invest it. You spend your life when you go through life thinking only about how to survive, how to be comfortable and take care of yourself and at most your family. You forget that the same life could be multiplied and used to achieve far more than you could ever imagine.
DAVID: And how could that be done?
MENTOR: By finding a cause to live for. A man’s Life is like a river that has enough water to feed the whole community. You may choose to go to the river with a cup to get water for yourself alone. Or you may go with a bucket or even a tank so you can fetch water that would extend to others. The road to the river may be rough and you might be weak sometimes. There may even be people laughing at you because you want to fetch for others. But, never forget that the river is waiting to see what you would make of it. Never live for survival, but for Impact.
