Every day, for the next 20 days, the young man would return and help the old man. Prepare his meals. Do general cleaning, including general body cleaning – a rather tough job. These actions melted the heart of the old man. He offered the young man a paid job. He loved him so much he could not imagine the young boy leaving and disappearing for good.
The young man turned down the offer for payment but accepted to live with the man without pay. “When I leave here, I go to other people’s homes to collect rubbish and clean to earn money for my food and house rent. If you give me food and accommodation, I don’t have any other use for the extra money. So I will work for free if you allow me to move in with you”, said the young man.
After several days, the old man brought a small box and handed it to the young man, saying “take this box, I am sure it will help you. I want you to come back tomorrow when you are looking good. Go to the city and ask to be directed on where to buy Jewelry. Do not show anyone what you have inside, but only the owner of the shop in which they sell Jewelry.” The young man did not open the box. He went to the nearby city as told.
After walking for so many days, he finally arrived. He asked so many people until they directed him to the jewellery shop. While at the shop, he said:
“I want to see the manager, he asked.”
At first, the shop attendants did not take him seriously. Thanks to his instance, after about an hour, the manager appeared. I have been informed that you need me, what is it about? the manager asked the poor-looking boy. Byabagambi removed the small box and said, “my grandfather has sent me to sell this to you.” He handed over the small box to the manager, who upon opening and seeing the contents, had a beaming face.
Thinking Byabagambi knew the contents, the manager went behind and counted a lot of the local money, today’s equivalent of US $10,000. Before walking out, the boy asked the manager, “may I please see what is in the box, one more last time.” The manager signaled the boy back into his office and opened the box.
The boy saw the contents. He could not believe it. He told the manager, that the grandfather had made a mistake and instead, gave him the wrong box. He must take it back and bring the real box. Keep in mind the boy did not have transport money. He told the manager, for some transport money back home. The manager saw a rich boy at heart. He would have taken this money anyway, but on seeing how critical the contents were to the life of his old grandfather, he had decided to take back the box! The manager gave some money to the boy as requested.
Two days later, the boy (Byabagambi) returned to the old man, who was so surprised to see no change. What happened? Where are the money and clothes? Did you fail to find the Jewelry shop in town? No, sir. I found the shop. And met the manager. Who gave me a lot of money that I needed a bag to carry it? All long I had not opened the box to see the contents. But when the manager gave me a lot of money. I thought the box had valuables which must be dear to you. that is when I returned to the manager of the Jewelry and asked to see the contents of the box, one more time. When I saw what was inside, I could not sell it. I brought it back to you to keep the memories alive.”
The old man was so impressed. He asked the young man to sit down, “thanks for being thoughtful and putting my happiness before yours.” To live a good life, it should be well balanced. It is good to keep great memories, however, if my health is ailing and I do not have what to eat, I need to balance it with my assets.
I want to tell you about the wheel of life tool, which many people have talked about. The wheel of life is a balanced scorecard of life or a life balance tool that will transform your life if you take time to understand and apply it. See Figure 1, to understand the life wheel.
On the wheel, are the critical areas of life that must be balanced. These are career, finance, personal growth, personal health, relationship, social life, you could add faith or other things like community impact, depending on what is critical to you. However, these need to cover the key areas of a happy life. Draw a line from the centre of the circle to the surface and on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent), rate how you are fairing in each of the key areas in your wheel of life. Be as honest as possible. After scoring, connect the dots to see which areas you are strong, and which ones you are weak in. Then draw a clear plan on how you will address the weak areas to make them strong. That is how life balance is achieved.
It is possible to score highly in finances, but poorly in health and family because as you look for money, you do not give a lot of time to your health and family. This needs to be fixed and addressed through specific interventions.
Figure 1: The wheel of life, Internet photo.
Byabagambi, thanks a lot for having a good heart. However, I need that money to help me go for medical treatment and improve the furniture in our house. I had lost hope, but since you came to help me, I feel strong and hopeful. I want us to be happy.
Go back at once, and hand over the box, bring the money. I have many more items for my memories.
To be continued…
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, Mr. Strategy 2021. All rights reserved.
