I really learnt so many things in 2010 from books, movies to varying speakers but none of these lessons can be compared to one I picked from personal experience. At 5.00am, I was at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou rushing for a meeting in Chongqing. I was tired and sleepy because two days prior to this day, I just got back from an 15hours flight from Lagos. I got a tap on my shoulders while looking at the itinerary – “where are you headed to?” the short man with a funny accent looked at me with a bland face. I was too tired so I replied him; “I am looking for the earliest flight to Chongqing”.
He took me down the stairs to a place I seem not to know and I was approached by two guys speaking Mandarin to the short guy that escorted me downstairs. They asked for my passport which I willingly gave to them thinking they were security operatives of some sort. They asked how much Yuan and Dollars were with me; it was then that I realized that I forgot to bank the huge sum of money I came with. I had some few Yuan but a large amount of US Dollars. They spoke in Mandarin once more and brought out their ID card so I gave them the money and they gave me back almost immediately. They directed me to the earliest flight to Chongqing.
It was two days later in my hotel room in Chongqing that the reality of what had happened dawned on me; a huge percentage of my dollars was missing. I cannot really describe how I felt but it was not funny. My business partners consoled me but I was inconsolable; all my monies were budgeted and I had 4 weeks more to stay in China. Everything I hoped to achieve during my trip seemed bleak; to tell you the impact of this loss, I moved from my normal hotels to a one star hotel. As if things could not get worse, my blog site (which was a huge channel to my income) was down and my then internet host company was unresponsive. My site was down for 6 weeks (let’s leave this story for another day).
It was during these successive losses that I met the guy you saw in the picture above and I learnt the number 1 lesson for 2010: Whenever one faces a loss or a disappointment, there is a corresponding seed for greatness. Note the word seed (as oppose to fruits) – it is actually your adjustment and response to this loss that will qualify you for a huge blessing. Immediately, I realized the fraud, I adjusted my activities to my new found economy. I started taking metro train instead of taxes; going to cheap African restaurants instead of McDonalds, KFC and exclusive restaurants and I visited low-priced shopping mall. It was during one of my visits to one of the low-priced shopping malls that I met Ben (the guy in the picture above)
On a cursory look, Ben was not my usual guy; he owned a 4-square meter shop where he sells original BlackBerry phones in retail. So there was really nothing in common because I dealt with factories not wholesalers not to talk of retailers. I have neither been interested in dealing with phones nor was BlackBerry, a brand of phone I considered buying with my present economy but I was somehow drawn to his shop. I saw a young beautiful lady working with him (I later learnt was his wife) – Ben is 28 years old Electrical Engineer who graduated from one of the best universities in China. After my initial visit, I was in his shop everyday till I left China. This leads to lesson number 2: Anyone, that you have an unexplainable attraction to, has a very important role in your destiny.
The tiny shop was just a front; Ben owns one of the biggest VOIP Companies in Hong Kong and owns a lucrative Cargo Company in Guangzhou. If a Chinese citizen is driving any private car, he/she is likely to be in the upper middle class; Ben drives a 2010 Range Rover Sport and it was just April, 2010. Ben was neither a Christian nor a Buddhist but I learnt humility first hand. He taught me lesson number 3; it is paramount to appear small to attract the right people to your life. According to Ben, the right people in your life are vital to fulfilling your destiny and the wrong people will cause unnecessary delays. Then I remembered that I met strategic people in my life when I had no economic attachment.
Lessons Learnt in 2010 continues in my next write-up. Have a lovely week!
