The Amadi family were really excited about visiting the George family for the first time. The Georges lived in the coolest part of town in a home that resembled a castle. It had a home cinema, swimming pool, lawn tennis court, mini zoo and a large garden. Even though the Amadis were very comfortable themselves, money get level for this life abeg. They kept talking excitedly about the activities they were going to enjoy, and soon their car rolled to a stop in front of the humongous gate which seemed to open on its own.
Susan George was waiting for them on the portico to welcome them and the children flew into her arms. She was one of their favourite adults, fun to be with and not annoying at all. The best part was that her children who were in their teens just like them were also cool to hang out with.
“The kids will soon be done with their scheduled activities and they should join us in about 30 minutes”, Susan said as she noticed the questioning look on Sarah Amadi’s face. Susan came from a family that had retained wealth for several generations yet was so down to earth, easy going, and never tried to flaunt the wealth. Sarah Amadi on the other hand had experienced a lot of lack and suffered while growing up even though she and her husband had now become very comfortable and were building wealth.
One thing Sarah had promised herself was that her children would not suffer like she did so they were exempted from every chore and waited upon hand and foot. Even the school the kids attended was one that did everything for the students. She believed that now that there was money, her children would get the soft life she did not have.
“What kind of scheduled activities do your children do during this holiday? Shouldn’t you just allow them to chill and just enjoy themselves?” Sarah appeared surprised.
Susan knew that this question would come. People were always shocked to find out that her children had specific daily activities, somehow they expected that as ‘wealthy kids’, all they did was ball and chill without any structure. However, that is not how the family had retained wealth across several generations. She remembered how she met her husband.
It was her second year at university and she had been sent to the company the George’s family owned for industrial training during the long holidays. One of the young men in her group who worked on the company floor was the man who would later become her husband. Nobody knew he was a George until a week to the end of the training and people practically fainted when they found out. What was the son of a billionaire doing on the company floor when he practically did not have to work? It was later that she understood what was going on. Anyway, enough with the reminiscing and back to her surprised friend.
“This family has strong work ethics and values which are intentionally inculcated in every generation. You know how easy it is to blow money, it has to be balanced out by everyone understanding how to create the money they desire to blow. So from the age of 10 years the children start going to the factory during the holidays to do 1 or 2 tasks for which they are paid, and they start learning the principles of saving and investing. They also start reading books on wealth creation and personal development so that they learn other skills and ideas beyond ‘chopping life’. My kids have been to the factory today and have 30 minutes left to be done with reading, after which they can knock themselves out with play.” Sarah started thinking about her own children.
Hmmmm, so if she did not come here she wouldn’t have known the secret behind their wealth as the Georges money ‘no dey ever finish’ but their empire kept expanding. She thanked Susan and decided she too had to start teaching her children these principles when they got home.
