THERE IS a tale I grew up hearing over and over again. It concerned a man who from a cattle-keeping community who had lived in the village all his life but one day found an opportunity to visit the city. As he prepared what to take, he made sure he did not forget his grazing stick because it was so important for him. When the day of travelling came, he was one of the first passengers on the bus. He placed his stick on the tyre of the bus and boarded. 

Upon arrival in the city, the man went straight to the tyre to pick his stick to be surprised that is was no longer where he had placed it. He nearly strangled the bus conductor, tasking him to explain where his grazing stick had gone. Little did he know that the moment the bus set off, his stick fell off and stayed right at that very point. He was definitely looking for his stick in a very wrong place. 

It’s futile to search for what we want in the wrong places. A drunkard whose wallet fell into the hands of the bar girl at night will be wasting his time to spend the whole morning looking for it in his compound. You cannot go to a eucalyptus plantation to harvest bananas nor to a fish pond to harvest rabbits. You cannot wait for a bus in your bedroom; you have to be in the right place – on the roadside, at the stage or in the bus park. If you want a wife/husband and you look in the long places, good luck. For instance, what kind of wife/husband do you expect to get from a night club when you are a staunch Christian? 

It’s good to look for things we love, but we must look for them in the right places. This principle applies in everything we do –work, career, business, relationships and life generally. For instance, to succeed at business you have to be in the right location, doing the right business. Don’t just choose to do a business just because ‘everyone’ else seems to be doing it.  

To get the money you are looking for, you must invest first your time, energy and other resources in the right things, at the right time and in the right places. You need to be surrounded by the right friends, right advisors, right role models and right business partners. We need to place ourselves in the right positions professionally.

There are people who could be struggling to become great sportsmen when their right ‘place’ to earn big is in the music industry. Others are miserable in jobs, waiting for a salary increment or a promotion when their right place is in business. This is where I caution young people in school to choose courses that match with their passions and natural talents so that they are in the right professions.

Finally, we should remain in the right class. Don’t be earning little and then try to put yourself in a higher class by spending more than you should. There are Africans who you find have just started earning but are already wasting their income on luxuries like fancy cars and partying. Some people spend their days lousing in bars arguing over which soccer club makes more money than others but expect to always have money on themselves. That’s as futile as a homosexual couple expecting a baby! 

Bake is the MD WORLD OF INSPIRATION & Founder, AUTHORS’ FORUM +256-704666851