We have all done certain things in the past merely for our immaturity to see some people prosper or we may have naively sabotaged someone. This is not alright. By our actions some people never get the opportunity to change their life and for that reason, we must strive to watch what we say and be above that.
When I started my small fruit processing company, often I will negotiate with owners and managers of a restaurant, eatery, and event planners. They will love my product and get eager to help me sell my fruit juice but when they called their headwaiters and asked them how it would sell, they will taste the product and then pass a positive comment that it tasted great and it was well packaged and fruit juices were in demand.
Unfortunately, the moment the manger asked them to place orders, they will start with a but, most commonly was, yes its good but there is sugar in it. What was even wrong if there was sugar? First, the label said nothing about sugar besides 90% of all non-alcoholic drinks had some amount of sugar in it so what is the big deal even if there was sugar?
There is no sugar in it I will correct them and then they get offended and then change their stories about customers’ needs.
The question that infuriated them was when I asked if they had ever tasted a sweet pineapple before and why there is no sugar in it. These people had no idea of how this was processed. But they casually felt the need to downplay my hard efforts which will usually end with the managers reducing the orders, buying on credit, or not buying at all. I always wondered why they did that!
These workers had the power to help a young lady trying to make something good for herself, her family and the workers helping her make the company survive but they simply did not.
When you get the opportunity to serve as a link to a job for someone, please do it. Even if the person does not thank you, some other people might benefit from them.
I listened to Black Rasta in an interview narrate how some players of the Ghanaian entertainment industry sabotaged and blocked his opportunity of a lifetime.
Most people know Black Rasta from his mega hit song, Barrack Obama. This song came at a crucial moment in the history of the world as a black man was on his way to becoming a U.S President. It was a surreal time, and the music was a huge hit even though I sincerely didn’t understand the song, I heard “come and let’s talk about Barrack Obama” on a great beat and I danced to it. The magnitude of the airplay this song enjoyed especially after the man won the presidency gave many of us the impression that, Black Rasta had hit the jackpot.
We thought he had made something bigger from it. Unfortunately, according to him, he did not, and he is still waiting for his reward. It’s been ages and his time and opportunity has passed and I fear he may never get his due payment.
What happened to him was not the doing of outsiders but the orchestrations of his very own people. Some senior men in the entertainment industry, specifically, KOD and Fifi Banson went to the then minister of information and advised her against offering Black Rasta an opportunity to meet President Obama and monetary support because, the song was not “good”.
What their motive was, I still do not understand but I can bet was plain jealousy. I struggle to believe it was their genuine concern for the media or they truly did not measure the magnitude of the damage they were causing the artist and his work.
By this singular action of theirs, they blocked a lifetime opportunity for their fellow man to get paid for his hard work.
With all these examples, I am sure you remember how you may have casually ruined somebody’s life, prosperity or how you made someone missed a lifeline opportunity to change their destiny for the better. It is better we put aside our jealousy and help people when we can and if we cannot, we must strive to not be a stumbling block in their ways.
One thing we must all know is the fact that, someone’s prosperity will have no negative effect on you. Living and allowing others too to live is nothing but the humane thing to do.
Imagine you are the only working person who earns an income in your family. Your responsibilities are much higher than if more people had some sort of income. So why not help others if you can help ease your stress or at the barely least stay out of the way to make people elevate their standard of living.
Like I always say, being a good person is not hard, it is that simple.