Tagalog Version (Click Here)
Some time ago I climbed Mount Pinatubo, one of the most famous volcanoes in the Philippines. It was a simple and enjoyable hike along the rivers and the canyons and the crater lake at the end was beautiful. Around the crater near the rest stop is a set of stairs, and it’s rather tiring to climb unless you exercise often. Of course, a lot of us tourists get tired there.
One of the guides, a local who is used to the mountain landscape remarked “Anak mayaman” (rich person’s offspring, or “rich kid”) in a disparaging tone. It’s a common mindset: Rich kids are weak, mean, and spoiled. I mean, that’s how they all are on TV, right?
That got me thinking. Who are those “rich kids” (or rich people) exactly? If I were to take a guess…
The son of the skilled doctor who can save your life if you contract a deadly disease or get into a horrific accident.
The daughter of the real estate developer who gives jobs to a hundred workers and builds homes for hundreds of families.
The grandchild of the school owner who runs the school where a thousand children (including yours) are studying.
The child of the grocery store owner who buys and sells food to feed hundreds of families every week.
The child of the person paying your salary.
It’s true that rich kids are born with everything handed to them, but let’s ask another question: what’s wrong with that?
To take it further, where did their wealth come from? Did it just pop up from thin air?
“Some people don’t get to succeed in life because they spend most of their energy and time being envious of those who have succeeded, instead of learning from them.” – Edmond Mbiaka
Where do they come from?
The Security Guard from Binondo
A few years ago (2013) I was traveling the famous Chinatown of Binondo to sample the local cuisine and I came across a local Kung Fu school (Seven Star Praying Mantis when I spoke with the teacher later) in one of the buildings. I was an hour early so I was able to chat with the building’s old security guard.
Normally, security guards are low wage employees and he was no exception. He worked hard and was likely wise with handling money, however, so he was able to send two of his children through college. One graduated as a Summa Cum Laude and had a great career as an officer at the Customs office, and the other also had a great career after graduating in Business.
Pretty soon, those two will advance further in their careers and have children themselves. What will the security guard’s grandchildren be called? “Rich kids.”
The Soldier and the Seamstress
There was a poor old couple who once lived in the rural province of Rizal. One was an enlisted soldier and the other was a seamstress who made and sold clothes for a living. Life was hard and they often had difficulty in making ends meet. Their daughter said that sometimes they had to eat just shrimp paste (bagoong) and rice for dinner (worse, they sometimes only had salt and rice). Despite that, however, they still managed to send their four children to school, even if they couldn’t afford to buy them shoes or give them lunch money.
Their daughter in particular had a goal in mind: “I don’t want my own children to experience the same hardships that I have, so I’ll do everything I can in order to become successful.” As the years passed, the children did well in their studies and eventually graduated.
The couple’s daughter did well in her career to become a supervisor before marrying a military officer and leaving the workplace to take care of her children.
One of their sons also did well and is currently an operations manager.
The other son studied at the Philippine Military Academy before joining the Air Force and eventually ended up as a highly paid Pilot Captain for a commercial airline.
The oldest son started a successful hardware business and is now sending HIS son through medical school.
It may have taken a generation of effort, but the family managed to escape poverty. Not bad for a poor old couple from the province. I should know them all well. They were my grandparents.
Think about your own family…
Imagine your children and future grandchildren. What kind of life do you want to give them?
Do you want your children to be homeless and starve on the streets? Do you want to see your grandchildren beg for alms on the sidewalk? Would you want to see them snatching wallets and cellphones?
Or…
Do you want to see your family living in a wonderful and clean home, eating good food, and having more than enough money to buy everything they need? Would you want to see your children and grandchildren study and graduate from the top universities of your country and lead promising careers and businesses? Do you want to see them earn enough money to enjoy life and achieve their dreams?
Again, what kind of life do you want to give your children and grandchildren?
Who ARE those “Rich Kids”?
If you were born from a poor or lower-middle class family, you might have experienced the pain of not having enough money to eat, not having enough money to go to the doctor or buy medicine when you’re sick, or not having enough money to buy what you want or go where you want. You weren’t lucky enough to be born rich.
So what did you do?
You had to earn everything yourself. You worked harder in your career to get promoted to a highly paid position, or maybe you started your own business to earn a lot of money. You did all that to earn enough to give your family, your children and grandchildren, everything they will ever need or want: a nice home, good food, nice clothes, and more…
…and people will hate your kids for being “born rich.”
“Many speak the truth when they say that they despise riches, but they mean the riches possessed by other men.” – Charles Caleb Colton
Now let me ask you something else:
Do you want people to look down on your children and grandchildren? Would you want people to automatically think they are *spoiled and mean even though you know they are kind and honest? I’m sure you don’t want that… so don’t do it to others.
How you treat people, whether they are rich or poor, is how people will treat you. You reap what you sow, so respect others and they’ll respect you.
*In my experience, you can only find “mean rich kids” on TV. If you’ve ever met a bad one, then you probably don’t remember the hundreds of other good ones. And you probably don’t remember the “mean poor kids” as well.
So again…
What are rich kids?
They are the HARD WORKER’S KIDS.
They are the children of people who worked day and night for YEARS in order to secure a wonderful life for their family. People who gave their best in their careers and businesses. People like you.
Who ARE those rich kids?
They’re YOUR kids and grandkids when you become financially successful.
“It is shockingly right instead of shockingly wrong for you to be prosperous. Obviously, you cannot be very happy if you are poor, and you need not be poor. It is a sin. Poverty is a form of hell caused by man’s blindness to God’s unlimited good for him.”
– Catherine Ponder, The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity
I found your blog on WarriorForum, and you motivated me! I’m a blogger as well! Keep publishing!
Thank you!