In Nairobi’s posh Muthaiga suburbs, there lives a certain very rich woman named Shiko. Far and wide she is famed for her great wealth. Also is she famed for her liberality.
She is generous in her charities. She is generous with her family. She is liberal in her own expenses. But nevertheless each year her wealth increases more rapidly than she spends it.
And there are certain friends of younger days that have come to her saying “You, Shiko, are more fortunate than we. You have become the richest woman in all Nairobi while we struggle for existence. You can wear the finest garments and you can enjoy the rarest foods, while we must be content if we can clothe our families in raiment that is presentable and feed them as best as we can.”
“Yet, once we were equal. We studied under the same teacher. We played in the same games. An in neither the studies nor the games did you out shine us. And in the years since, you have not been a more honorable citizen than we.
“Nor have you worked harder or more faithfully, in so far as we judge. Why then should a fickle fate single you out to enjoy all the good things of life and ignore us who are equally deserving?”
And thereupon Shiko remonstrates with them, saying “If you have not acquired more than a bare existence in the years since we were girls, it is because you either have failed to learn the laws that govern the building of wealth, or else you do not observe them.
“'Fickle fate' is a vicious goddess who brings no good to anyone. On the contrary, she brings ruin to almost everyone upon whom she showers unearned gold, she makes wanton spenders, who soon dissipate all they receive and are left beset by overwhelming appetites and desires they have not ability to gratify. Yet others whom she favors become misers and hoard their wealth, fearing to spend what they have, knowing they do not posses the ability to replace it. They further are beset by fear of robbers and doom themselves to lives of emptiness and secret misery.
“Others there probably are, who can take unearned gold and add to it and continue to be happy and contented citizens. But so few are they, I know of them but by hearsay. Think you of the people who have inherited sudden wealth, and see if these things are not so.”
Her friends admit that of the people they know who had inherited wealth these words were true, and they beseech her to explain to them how she had become possessed of so much prosperity, so she explains.
“In my youth I looked about me and saw all the good things there were to bring happiness and contentment. And I realized that wealth increased the potency of all these.
“Wealth is a power. With wealth many things are possible.
“One may ornament and decorate the home with the richest furnishings.
“One may sail the distant sea.
“One may feast on the delicacies of far lands.
“One may buy the ornaments of the gold worker and the stone polisher.
“One may even build great and mighty churches.
“One may do all these things and many others for which there is delight for the senses and gratification for the soul.
“And when I realized all this, I decided to myself that i would claim my share of the good things of life. I would not be one of those who stand aside enviously watching others enjoy. I would not be content to clothe myself in the cheapest raiment that looked respectable. I would not be satisfied with the lot of a poor woman. On the contrary, I would make myself a guest at this banquet of good things.
"Being, as you know, the daughter of a humble merchant, one of a large family with no hope of an inheritance, and not being endowed, as you have frankly said, with superior powers or wisdom, I decided that if I was to achieve what I desired, time and study would be required.
“As for time, all people have it in abundance; each of you, have let slip by sufficient time to have made yourselves wealthy. Yet, you admit, you have nothing to show except for your good families, of which you can be justly proud.
“As for study, did not our wise teacher teach us that learning was of two kinds: the one kind being the things that we learnt and knew, and the other being the training that taught us how to find out what we did not know?
“Therefore did I decide to find out how one might accumulate wealth, and when I had found out, to make this my task and do it well. For, is it not wise that we should enjoy while we dwell in the brightness of the sunshine, for sorrows enough shall descend upon us when we depart for the darkness of the world of spirit?
“I found employment as a typist at Gill House and long hours each day I labored upon the type-writer. Week after week, and month after month, I labored, yet for my earnings I had nothing to show. Food and clothing and offerings to the church, and other things of which I could remember not what absorbed all my earnings. But my determination did not leave me.
“And one day Muthoni, a prominent business-woman, came to our office and asked me to type for her a proposal she was presenting to the bank, and she said to me, 'I must have this in two days, and if the task is done by that time, twenty shillings will I give to you.'
“So I labored hard, but the proposal was long, and when Muthoni returned the task was unfinished. She was angry, and had I been her servant, she would have scolded me. But knowing that our manager would not permit her to injure me, I was unafraid, so I said to her, 'Muthoni, you are a very rich woman. Tell me how I may also become rich, and all night I will type upon the proposal and when the sun rises it shall be complete.'
“She smiled at me and replied, 'You are shamelessly too ambitious for your age, but we shall call it a bargain.'
“All that night I typed, though my back pained and my fingers numbed, and the dim lighting made my head ache until my eyes could hardly see. But when she returned at sunup, the proposal was complete.
“'Now', I said, 'tell me what you promised.'
“'You have fulfilled you part of the bargain, my girl,' she said to me kindly, and I am ready to fulfill mine. I will tell you these things you wish to know because I am becoming an old woman, and an old tongue loves to wag. And when youth comes to age for advice she receives the wisdom of the years. But too often does youth think that age knows only the wisdom of days that are gone, and therefore profits not. But remember this, the sun that shines today is the sun that shone when your mother was born, and will still be shining when your last grandchild shall pass into the darkness.
“'The thoughts of youth,' she continued, 'are bright lights that shine forth like the meteors that often make brilliant the sky, but the wisdom of age is like the fixed stars that shine so unchanged that the sailor may depend upon them to steer his course.
“'Mark well my words, for if you do not you will fail to grasp the truth that I will tell you, and you will think that your night's work has been in vain.'
“Then she looked at me shrewdly from over her thick glasses and said in a low, forceful tone, 'I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep. And so will you.'
“Then she continued to look at me with a glance that I could feel pierce me but said no more.
“'Is that all?' I asked.
"'That was sufficient to change the heart of a house girl to the heart of a business woman,' she replied.
“'But all I earn is mine to keep, is it not?' I demanded.
“'Far from it,' she replied. 'Do you not pay the garment maker? Do you not pay the hairdresser? Do you not pay for the things you eat? Can you live in Nairobi without spending? What have you to show for your earnings of the past month? What for the past year? Fool! You pay to everyone but yourself. Dullard, you labor for others. As well be a slave and work for what your master gives you to eat and wear. If you did keep for yourself one-tenth of all you earned, how much would you have in ten years?'
“My knowledge of the numbers did not forsake me, and I answered, 'as much as I earn in one year.'
“'You speak but half the truth,' she retorted. 'Every shilling you save is a slave to work for you. Every cent it earns is its child that also can earn for you. If you would become wealthy, then what you save must earn, and its children must earn, that all may help to give to you the abundance you crave.'
“'You think that I cheat you for your long night's work,' she continued, 'but I am paying you a thousand times over, if you have the intelligence to grasp the truth I offer you.
“'A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less that a tenth no matter how little you earn. It can be as much more as you can afford. Pay yourself first. Do not buy from the clothes-maker and the sandal-maker more than you can pay out of the rest and still have enough money for food and charity and offerings to the church.
“'Wealth, like a tree, grows from a tiny seed. The first shilling you save is the seed from which your tree of wealth shall grow. The sooner you plant that seed the sooner shall the tree grow. And the more faithfully you nourish and water that tree with consistent savings, the sooner may you bask in contentment beneath its shade.'
“So saying, she took her proposal and went away. I thought much about what she had said to me, and it seemed reasonable. So I decided that I would try it. Each time I was paid I took one from each ten shillings and hid it away. And strange as it may seem I was no shorter of funds than before. I noticed little difference as I managed to get along without it. I was tempted, as my hoard begun to grow, to spend it for some of the good things the merchants displayed, but I wisely refrained.
“A twelfth month after Muthoni had gone, she again returned and said to me, 'Girl, have you paid to yourself not less than one-tenth of all you have earned for the past year?'
“I answered proudly, 'Yes Madam, I have.'
“'That is good,' she answered, beaming upon me, 'And what have you done with it?'
“'I have given it to my friend Wairimu, the hairdresser, who told me that she was traveling to Zaire and in Kinshasa she would buy for me the rare jewels of the Congo. When she returns, we shall sell them at high prices, and divided the earnings.'
“'Every fool must learn,' she growled, 'But why trust the knowledge of a hair-dresser about jewels? Would you go to the bread-maker to inquire about the stars? No, by my tunic, you would go to the astrologer, if you had power to think. Your savings are gone, girl, you have jerked your wealth tree up by the roots. But plant another. Try again. And next time if you would have advice about jewels, go to the jewel merchants. If you would know the truth about sheep, go to the herdsman.
"'Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having. He who takes advice about his savings from one who is inexperienced in such matters, shall pay with his savings for proving the falsity of their opinions.' Saying this, she went away.
“'And it was as she said, for the Zairean jewellers were scoundrels and sold to Wairimu worthless bits of glass that looked like gems. But as Muthoni had bid me, I again saved each tenth shilling, for now I had formed the habit and it was no longer difficult.
“Again, twelve months later, Muthoni came to our office and addressed me, 'What progress have you made since I last saw you?'
“'I have paid myself faithfully,' I replied, 'And my savings I have entrusted to Njoki, who has a second-hand clothes store, and each fourth month she does pay me the rental.'
“'That is good. And what do you do with the rental?'
“'I do have a great feast with honey and fine wine with spiced cake. Also I have bought myself a scarlet tunic. And some day I shall buy my little brother a bicycle upon which to ride.'
“To which Mumbi laughed, 'You do eat the children of your savings. Then how do you expect them to work for you? And how can they have children that will also work for you? First get yourself an army of golden slaves and then many a rich banquet may you enjoy without regret.' "So saying she again went away.
“Nor did I again see her for two years, and when she once more returned her face was full of deep lines and her eyes drooped, for she was becoming a very old woman. And she said to me, 'Shiko, have you yet achieved the wealth you dreamed of?'
“And I answered, 'Not yet all that I desire, but some I have and it earns more, and its earnings earn more.'
“'And do you still take the advice of hair dressers?'
"' About hairdressing, they give good advice,' I retorted.
“'Shiko,' she continued, 'You have learned your lessons well. You first learned to live upon less than you could earn. Next, you learned to seek advice from those who were competent enough through their own experiences to give it. And lastly, you have learned to make gold work for you.'
“'You have taught yourself hoew to acquire money, how to keep it and how to use it. Therefore, you are competent for a responsible position. I am becoming an old woman. My daughters think only of spending and give no thought to earning. My interests are great and I fear too much for me to look after. If you will go to Busia and look after my properties there, I shall make you my partner and you shall share in my estate.'
“So I went to Busia and took charge of her holdings, which were large, and because I was full of ambition and because I had mastered the three laws of successfully handling wealth, I was enabled to increase greatly the value of her properties. So I prospered much, and when the spirit of Muthoni departed for the sphere of darkness, I did share in her estate as she had arranged under the law.”
So spoke Shiko, and when she had finished her tale, one of her friends said, “You were indeed fortunate that Muthoni made of you an heir.”
“Fortunate only in that I had the desire to prosper before I first met her. For four years did I not prove my definiteness of purpose by keeping one-tenth of all I earned? Would you call a fisherman lucky who for years so studied the habits of the fish that with each changing wind he could cast his nets about them? Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.”
“You had strong will power to keep on after you lost your first year’s savings. You are unusual in that way.” Spoke up another.
“Will power!," retorted Shiko, "What nonsense. Do you think will power gives a person the strength to lift a burden the camel cannot carry, or to draw a load the oxen cannot budge? Will- power is but the unflinching purpose to carry a task you set for yourself to fulfillment. If I set for myself a task, be it ever so trifling, I shall see it through. How else shall I have confidence in myself to do important things? Should I say to myself, for a hundred days as I walk across the bridge into the city, I will pick from the road a pebble and cast it not into the stream, I would do it. If on the seventh day I passed by without remembering, I would not say to myself, tomorrow I will cast two pebbles which will do as well. Instead, I would retrace my steps and cast the pebble. Nor on the twentieth day would I say to myself, Shiko, this is useless. What does it avail you to cast a pebble every day? Throw in a handful and be done with it. No, I would not say that nor do it. When I set a task for myself, I complete it. Therefore, I am careful not to start difficult and impractical tasks, because I love leisure.”
And then another friend spoke up and said, “If what you tell is true, and it does seem as you have said, reasonable, then being so simple, if all people did it, there would not be enough wealth to go around.”
“Wealth grows wherever people exert energy,” Shiko replied. "If a rich man builds himself a new palace, is the gold he pays out gone? No, the brick maker has part of it and the laborer has part of it, and the artist has part of it. And everyone who labors upon the house has part of it. Yet when the palace is completed, is it not worth all it cost? And is the ground upon which it stands not worth more because it is there? Wealth grows in magic ways. No man can prophesy the limit of it. Have not the Emirates built great cities in the desert with the wealth that comes from their international airlines?”
“What then do you advise us to do that we also may become rich?," asks still another of her friends. "The years have passed and we are no longer young women and we have nothing put by.”
“I advise that you take the wisdom of Muthoni and say to yourselves, a part of all I earn is mine to keep. Say it in the morning when you first arise. Say it at noon. Say it at night. Say it each hour of every day. Say it to yourself until the words stand out like letters of fire across the sky. Impress yourself with the idea. Fill yourself with the thought, and then take whatever portion seems wise. Let it be not less that one tenth and lay it by. Arrange your other expenditures to do this if necessary. But lay by that portion first. Soon you will realize what a rich feeling it is to own a treasure upon which you alone have claim. As it grows it will stimulate you. A new joy of life will thrill you. Greater efforts will come to you to earn more. For of your increased earnings, will not the same percentage be yours to keep?
“Then learn to make your treasure work for you. Make it your slave. Make its children and children’s children work for you. Insure an income for your future. Look at the aged and forget not that in the days to come you also will be numbered amongst them. Therefore invest your treasure with great caution that it be not lost. Usurious rates of return are deceitful sirens that sing but to lure the unwary upon the rocks of loss and remorse.
"Provide also that your family may not want should the God’s call you to their realms. For such protection it is always possible to make provision with small payments at regular intervals. Therefore the provident person delays not in expectation of a large sum becoming available for such a wise purpose.
“Counsel with wise people. Seek the advice of people whose daily work is handling money. Let them save you from such an error as I made in entrusting my money to the judgment of Wairimu, the hair dresser. A small return and a safe one is far more desirable than risk.
“Enjoy life while you are here. Do not over-strain or try to save too much. If one tenth of all you earn is as much as you can comfortably keep, be content to keep this portion. Live otherwise according to your income and let not yourself get niggardly and afraid to spend. Life is good and life is rich with things worthwhile to enjoy”
Her friends thanked her and went away. Some were silent because they had no imagination and could not understand. Some were sarcastic because they thought that one so rich should divide with old friends not so fortunate. But some had in their eyes a new light. They realized that Muthoni had come back each time to the Gill House office because she was watching a young lady work her way out of darkness into light. When that lady had found the light, a place awaited her. No one else could fill that place until she had for herself worked out her own understanding, until she was ready for opportunity.
These latter ones will in the following months frequently revisit Shiko, who will receive them gladly. She will counsel with them and give them freely of her wisdom as people of broad experience are always glad to do. She will assist them in so investing their savings that it would bring in a good interest with safety and would neither be lost nor entangled in investments that pay no dividends.
The turning point in these people’s lives will come that day when they realize the truth that had come from Muthoni to Shiko and from Shiko to them.
A PART OF ALL YOU EARN IS YOURS TO KEEP.
This adaptation by M.Kanegeni is courtesy of John Murphy, www.the-Richest-Man-in-Babylon.com
Free English version eBook and eMail course. All rights reserved. www.african-investors.blogspot.com
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