Chaka the Fool

This is a short story told to me by my father many years ago. Anyway, let the story telling begin.

There was a man named Chaka who lived in a village. Chaka was a very religious person. One day, a heavy thunder storm hit the village. The winds were very strong & it was very cold. Within an hour, the village was flooded. People were running to higher ground. Almost everybody in the village got to safety except Chaka.

Chaka was hanging on to a tree branch of a tall tree. Then an old man on a raft came along. He offered Chaka a lift to higher ground. Chaka declined his offer & told the man that God would save him. So the old man went away.

Half an hour later, a rescue boat arrived & offered Chaka assistance. Once again Chaka refused their help & said that God would save him. So the rescue boat moved along.

Within an hour, Chaka died.

Now in heaven, Chaka had a conversation with God.

Chaka to God: Oh God, I’ve been such a good person & never did any wrong. Why didn’t you save me ??

God to Chaka: I tried, but you refused.

Chaka to God: No you didn’t, now I’m dead!!

God to Chaka: You fool, I sent the old man & the rescue boat to you!!

Choosing a Career & its Reasons

For about 2 years or so, ever since I finished my tertiary education until today, I’ve had conversations with various people about what careers we’ve chosen to do. Sometimes I ask or get told on the reason the person has chosen that career. I can honestly say that about 90% of the time, the reason is $$$ & respect…nothing more.

In my opinion, I feel those reasons are just not right. Everybody dreams of being rich as soon as possible of course. I do too. However, wealth & respect do not come overnight. They have to be earned. How you earn them is a different story.

I feel that whatever career you choose, you should have at least some interest in it. The chances of you being successful in something you enjoy doing is higher than you doing something you’re not interested in. Besides that, it’s also better to make sure you can get a job & be able to progress in that career.

As for the $$$ part, I don’t think it’s relevant anymore to say that only certain careers can make you rich. In the age of globalization & competition, there are many ways to earn/increase wealth. Some people don’t even depend on a single paycheck..or a paycheck at all.

Just because you have a degree that is perceived to get you big $$$ doesn’t mean you’ll get big $$$. A degree is just a piece of paper & a ticket to an interview. Even some degrees nowadays are classified by class such as 1^st class honours, 2^nd class upper & lower honours, 3^rd class honours, & an ordinary degree. This is to ensure the quality of graduates to employers.

Now even if you’re a good graduate in a career you perceive to gain you big bucks, but can’t express yourself or can’t show how good you are to employers, most likely you won’t get the job. Worse, if you’re not good at the work itself, don’t expect to get the job at all.

There are many people out there with fancy degrees but know nothing. Some even buy their degrees! See how much competition there is in the world today ?

However, if you’re good in whatever field you do, & can prove it, your chances of getting a job is higher. You’ll be in demand in the job market by employers. Plus if you can market yourself well, the offers & $$$ will come to you. Of course you’ll have to upgrade your skills to make sure you remain valuable in the job market.

Now earning $$$ doesn’t have to come from a single paycheck or single source. There are many other ways to generate income. The most common way is to buy real estate & rent it out, or you can start up your own business. The sky is the limit. It all depends on how you play your cards.

Another thing is, you don’t need to have plenty of cash or a fancy car to qualify as a rich person. Some people are filthy rich just by the assets they have. Assets are things that a person owns. Assets can be converted to cash. So the next time you see a person driving a cheap car, don’t assume the person is poor. That person may be lacking in cash but could be loaded with assets.

…& don’t think a person with an expensive car is rich too. The person may be struggling to pay the bank loan!!

If everyone chose profession X only thinking it’ll guarantee them big bucks, then X will face unemployment due to too many of X in the market. That would bring up serious competition where only the best of the best will survive.

Before you jump in a pool, learn to swim first….& if you’re good, you’ll be recognized. If not, you need to get yourself recognized. How you do it is your matter.

The bottom line is, your job & wealth doesn’t necessarily have to reflect your degree/career. In today’s world, there are many ways to earn $$$ & earning $$$ depends a lot on how good you are & how you market yourself. It also depends on how you are able to create more sources of income. Choosing a career by just thinking you’ll get rich by doing it is not for sure at all. All this is just my opinion.