Early on in my life I decided to become a rebel. I would not take the beaten path. I wanted to clear my own way instead. To me, we all looked like sheep, never questioning, very easy to please and always quick to reply to a request in the affirmative.
At the age of 8 we were asked to state our life long ambitions. As an awkward child, I never fit in, I was what you would call a mamas boy. On and on the other children went, “I want to be a doctor, a pilot, a nurse e.t.c..”
My turn came finally, palms sweaty, eyes wide open and veins on my head about to pop from anxiety, I stood up frantically and responded, “I want to be a Business man!” I said, with a tone of finality in my voice. My English teacher was perplexed for a moment; I do not think that even he knew exactly what it was that business men do.
Why that particular choice in profession, well., let me explain; To me, at the time, business owners looked to be the builders of their destinies. I saw them as bold, charismatic individuals who refused to be pinned down by societal ideals such as “becoming a doctor, lawyer, etc..”
A business man was the person they asked for when politicians were low on funds and needed things to happen. They were behind great and sometimes obscure feats like helping America during World-War 2. Enterprise was the backbone of any greatly developed nation and entrepreneurs were the spinal cord.
To me, it was a no brainer, why be pinned down by a nine to five when you could decide your own time, shape your own future and become your own boss. This is why Independence as an ideal has always appealed to my senses. Deep down inside, I still hold on to that dream, I still picture myself as ruler of my world and king of my destiny.
In many ways I consider myself a societal rebel, with a cause. Through my farming projects I choose to focus on agriculture as a passion when so many of my peers gave up on theirs and chose to impress their friends and potential women friends on social media.
I chose to help out my fellow brothers through providing platforms for skills share and knowledge share, when I saw that no one was giving the youth of Lesotho a voice, I became a rebel, a rebel with a cause.
Adulthood is a stone-cold brick to the face, constant reminder that you are not getting any younger, yet at the same time responsibilities are piling up and your dreams seem to be fading away in front of your very own eyes.
The question you should ask yourself is this, “What would happen if scientists were to find out that it is mathematically impossible for hard work to pay off?” That really, in the grand scheme of things, it is more important for one to be born into the right family, and have access to the right contacts in order to make it in life…? Would you change your perspective towards work if you knew this for a fact? I wouldn’t.
You know why? Because nothing is guaranteed, only two things are, one, that life is the accumulation of time; seconds minutes and hours, and secondly, the measure of success lies in how a man was able to allocate and invest his time in what was worthy of his seconds, minutes and hours.