School of hard knocks,hustling while young

I thought Humorist George Ade would guide us right through title,after all isn't society constructed to make us persevere through the hard times! A lot of people have discussed the merits and demerits of school life and our education system. How it doesn't prepare us for real life. I will not join them.Instead I will concentrate on the opposite University across the Street,also sometimes called the University of Understanding. In this school you never graduate,but your lessons pile up high since you enroll and experience comes with them all. In this school,they don't issue graduation certificates,rather it just shows through what you achieve or sometimes the wrinkles on your face.

Not many people will tell you the risks or even hard part of doing business or going it alone. And this not meant to scare you.Just to prepare you.The best times are in business,the sky they say is not just the limit,it is the starting step to achieving your world.Like all good things however,it doesn't come cheap.It has a price,that must be paid way before the harvest. You must have heard of the law of the harvest,that you only reap what you sow and that you can never cheat nature,if maize takes three months to mature, you can't force it to mature earlier. So is life as it should be. Early preparation just like normal school is helpful, so is doing your home work.I n case you are already where you desire to be,give the lesson to your children.Encourage them to work on everything constructive and most importantly that which has a money element to it.

I had a proud childhood. Now that I think about it.Where parents provide but don't limit your potential to achieve more. In the village where we lived,we had several large coffee shambas and despite attending school being first priority, our teacher- Dad let us know that if we needed more than he could provide(or wanted to provide we suspected), we needed to do more than we were doing. I mean,we all knew he would spend money on weeding the farm and picking the coffee cherries. The catch was,if we found time(normally classified as strict play time) and did work that was designated 'for pay' then why not, we join the paid rank. So if you ever wanted non -school going shoes or those Savco jeans then,you were welcome to the farm,and missing the football match in the process. We didn't complain,because we only worked if we needed something.But the innovation of young age was not spared.
We bordered a large forest, constantly full of lumbering and, as children, loved the smell of oil mixed with wood saw dust.So we would go inspect every time we heard a 'machine' lumbering close by.After a while we also realized we could make some money too,a few errands here and there,getting the timber waste for fuel and lifting sawed timber for those of us who were heavy set enough for a few coins. We were then rich kids the next day. Surprise surprise,the same formula works so many years when I get into business. You must work for what you need. I guess the reason it wasn't ever classified at child labour then,was because we went to school first and did some work at leisure.

Times have changed.You don't have to live in a village like mine to encourage the young ones to be innovative or even earn some of their money.Music is now gladly paying and so is sport.So is software.Software is so easy for kids to manipulate,before you know it they could be the next billionaires. Not mentioning creativity with interiors and beauty solutions. Irrespective of whether they intend to make if a full time job or not,the training is invaluable. All I am saying is that those have opportunity to promote a hobby or passion within their young ones,it's an invaluable lesson that will serve them years to come.An example of an icon started young Michael Jackson can attest to that.

Children may not have the confidence to go forward. They don't see the potential for accomplishment. They may not believe in themselves or their ability to conquer the situation. Encouraging words and patience are needed from parents to help them through. And as Albert Einstein said,"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."